Summary
Growth of woody species has two components, one pertaining to increment of biomass, the other to the architectonic arrangement of dry matter in space. Only the combination of both components explained the competitive strength of species that dominate in different stages of a hedgerow succession in Central Europe. Biomass increment was measured using an empirical volumetric method, and plant architecture was investigated from branching patterns which determined the growth form of species. Assimilate partitioning was determined from total plant carbon gain and biomass increment in different above-ground plant parts. Those species with lower dry matter, nitrogen, and phosphorus costs for occupying and shading space during canopy development were the stronger competitors and replanced pioneers, even though their rate of CO2 uptake was low. Ecological implications of different partitioning patterns for the survival of a plant and for successional changes in vegetation are discussed.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Anderson MC (1964) Light relations of terrestrial plant communities and their measurement. Biol Rev 39:425–486
Anderson MC (1966) Stand structure and light penetration. II. A theoretical analysis. J Appl Ecol 3:41–54
Bazzaz FA (1979) The physiological ecology of plant succession. Ann Rev Ecol Syst 10:351–371
Bazzaz FA, Pickett STA (1980) Physiological ecology of tropical succession: a comparative review. Ann Rev Ecol Syst 11:287–310
Brouwer R (1963) Some aspects of the equilibrium between overground and underground plant parts. Jaarb Inst Biol Scheikd Onderzoek (IBS) pp 31–39
Brouwer R (1983) Functional equilibrium: sense or nonsense? Neth J Agric Sci 31:335–348
Chalmers DI, Van den Ende B (1975) Production of peach trees: Factors affecting dry-weight distribution during tree growth. Ann Bot 39:423–432
Chapin III FS (1980) The mineral nutrition of wild plants. Ann Rev Ecol Syst 11:233–260
Daubenmire R (1968) Plant communities. Harper & Row, London
Drury WH, Nisbert ICT (1973) Succession. J Arnold Arboretum Harvard Univ, 54:331–368
Ellenberg H (1978) Vegetation Mitteleuropas mit den Alpen in ökologischer Sicht. 2nd edition, Stuttgart, p 982
Ellenberg H, Mueller-Dombois D (1967) A key to Rainkiaer plant life forms with revised subdivisions. Ber geobot Inst ETH Stiftung Rübel, Zürich 37:56–73
Field C, Merino J, Mooney HA (1983) Compromises between water-use efficiency and nitrogen-use efficiency in five species of California evergreens. Oecologia (Berlin) 60:384–389
Golley FB (1977) Ecological succession. Benchmark papers in ecology Vol 5. Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania: Dowden, Hutchinson & Ross. p 373
Horn HS (1971) The adaptive geometry of trees. Princeton, New Jersey, Princeton University Press, p 144
Horn HS (1974) The ecology of secondary succession. Ann Rev Ecol Syst 5:25–37
Horn HS (1975) Markovian processes of forest succession. In: Cody L, Diamond IM (ed) Ecology and evolution of communities. Harvard Univ Press, Cambridge, England, pp 196–211
Jarvis PG, Leverenz JW (1983) Productivity of temperate, deciduous and evergreen forests. Encyclopedia of plant physiology, NS, Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York, vol 12D, pp 233–280
Kriedemann PE, Neales TF, Ashton DH (1964) Photosynthesis in relation to leaf orientation and light interception. Aust J Biol Sci 17:22–52
Küppers M (1982) Kohlenstoffhaushalt, Wasserhaushalt, Wachstum und Wuchsform von Holzgewächsen im Konkurrenzgefüge eines Heckenstandortes. Dr. Thesis Bayreuth
Küppers M (1984a) Carbon relations and competition between woody species in a Central European hedgerow. I. Photosynthetic characteristics. Oecologia (Berlin) 64:332–343
Küppers M (1984b) Carbon relations and competition between woody species in a Central European hedgerow. II. Stomatal responses, water use, and conductivity to liquid water in the root/leaf pathway. Oecologia (Berlin) 64:344–354
Küppers M (1984c) Carbon relations and competition between woody species in a Central European hedgerow. III. Carbon and water balance on the leaf level. Oecologia (Berlin) 65:94–100
Larcher W (1980) Ökologie der Pflanzen. UTB 232, 3rd ed., Ulmer, Stuttgart
MacArthur RH (1958) A note on stationary age distributions in single-species populations and stationary species populations in a community. Ecology 39:146–147
Mooney HA (1980) Seasonality and gradients in the study of stress adaptation. In: Turner NC, Kramer PI (eds) Adaptation of plants to water and leaf temperature stress. John Wiley, New York, pp 279–294
Newman EI (1983) Interactions between plants. Encyclopedia of Plant Physiology NS Vol 12C. Springer Verlag, Berlin Heidelberg New York, pp 679–710
Odum EP (1969) The strategy of ecosystem development. Science 164:262–270
Odum EP (1971) Funamentals of ecology. Philadelphia: Saunders, 3rd ed, p 574
Penning de Vries FWT (1983) Modelling of grwoth and production. Encyclopedia of plant physiology NS Vol 12D, Springer Verlag; Berlin Heidelberg New York, pp 117–150
Rauth W (1938) Über die Verzweigung ausläuferbildender Sträucher. Hercynia 187–231, Halle/Saale
Rauh W (1950) Morphologie der Nutzpflanzen. Heidelberg
Reif A (1983) Nordbayerische Heckengesellschaften. Hoppea 41:3–204
Richards D, Rowe RN (1977a) Effects of root restrictions, root pruning and 6-benzylaminopurine on the growth of peach seedlings. Ann Bot 41:729–740
Richards D, Rowe RN (1977b) Root-shoot interactions in peach: The function of the root. Ann Bot 41:1211–1216
Schmidt W (1975) Vegetationsentwicklung auf Brachland — Ergebnisse eines fünfjährigen Sukzessions-Versuches. In: Schmidt W (ed) Sukzessionsforschung, J Cramer, Vaduz, pp 407–434
Schulze E-D (1970) Der CO2-Gaswechsel der Buche (Fagus silvatica L) in Abhängigkeit von den Klimafaktoren im Freiland. Flora 159:177–232
Schulze E-D (1972) Die Wirkung von Licht und Temperatur auf den CO2-Gaswechsel verschiedener Lebensformen aus der Krautschicht eines montanen Buchenwaldes. Oecologia (Berlin) 9:235–258
Schulze E-D (1982) Plant life forms and their carbon, water and nutrient relations. Encylopedia of Plant Physiology, NS Vol 12B. Springer Verlag, Berlin Heidelberg New York, pp 616–676
Schulze E-D, Reif A, Küppers M (1982) Ökologische Funktionsanalyse von Hecken und Flurgehölzen — Ökologische Untersuchungen über Strukturen und Funktionen der Pflanzen in Feldhecken und deren Beziehung zu angrenzenden Biotopen. Schlußbericht Bayerisches Landesamt für Umweltschutz, München p 450
Schulze E-D, Turner NC, Glatzel G (1984) Carbon, water and nutrient relations of two mistletoes and their hosts: A hypothesis. Plant Cell Env 7:293–299
Schulze E-D, Küppers M, Matyssek R (1985) The roles of carbon balance and branching pattern in the growth of woody species. In: Givnish TJ (ed) Evolutionary constraints on primary productivity: Adaptive strategies of energy capture in plants. Cambridge University Press, London (in press)
Troll W (1937) Vergleichende Morphologie der höheren Pflanzen Bd 1, Teil 1, Vegetationsorgane. Berlin, Reprint Koeltz, Königstein
Wareing PF (1970) Growth and its co-ordination in trees. In: Luckwill LC, Cutting CV (eds) Physiology of tree crops. Academic Press, London
Whittaker RH (1975a) Functional aspects of succession in deciduous forests. In: W. Schmidt (ed) Sukzessionsforschung, Cramer, Vaduz, pp 377–405
Whittaker RH (1975b) Communities and ecosystems. New York, London: MacMillan, p 385
Willmanns O (1975) Junge Änderungen des Kaiserstühler Halbtrockenrasens. Daten und Dokumente zum Umweltschutz Nr. 14, Vorträge der Tagung über “Umweltforschung” der Universität Hohenheim, Hohenheim
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Küppers, M. Carbon relations and competition between woody species in a Central European hedgerow. Oecologia 66, 343–352 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00378296
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00378296