Neighbor effects on tree architecture: functional trade-offs balancing crown competitiveness with wind resistance

1. The architecture of trees is the result of constrained, morphologically plastic growth—constrained by an underlying architectural model embedded in their genome, the structure of which can be significantly altered during growth to match the changing environmental conditions to which the tree is exposed. Here, we examined the hypothesis that crowding from neighbors should cause trees to optimize traits for light competition at the expense of wind resistance, with the reverse being true for trees lacking neighbors. Previous studies have examined the influence of light competition or wind resistance on shaping tree architecture, but few, if any, have simultaneously addressed tradeoffs for optimizing these traits in response to crowding from neighboring trees in forests, as compared to open-grown conditions. 2. We studied the response of tree- and branch-level architectural traits of temperate, broad-leaved, deciduous tree species of differing shade tolerance and wood strength from multi...

1. 树木构型（tree architecture）是受约束且具备形态可塑性（morphologically plastic）的生长过程的产物——其生长受到嵌入基因组（genome）的基础构型模型的约束，该模型的结构可在生长过程中发生显著改变，以匹配树木所处环境的动态变化。本研究旨在验证如下假说：邻体拥挤会促使树木以牺牲抗风性（wind resistance）为代价优化光竞争（light competition）相关性状，而无邻体的孤立树木则会呈现相反的性状优化方向。既往研究多分别探讨光竞争或抗风性对树木构型塑造的影响，但鲜有（即便存在）研究同时针对森林邻体拥挤与露天生长两种环境，分析树木为优化这两类性状所面临的权衡关系。2. 我们针对不同耐荫性（shade tolerance）与木材强度（wood strength）的温带阔叶落叶树种，研究了其树体与枝条水平的构型性状对……