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The importance of proleptic branch traits in biomass production of poplar in high-density plantations

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Abstract

Branch phenotypic traits determine tree crown architecture, which in turn governs leaf display, light interception, and biomass production. Sylleptic and proleptic branches are the obviously different branch phenotypes in the poplar crown. Many studies have focused on the influence of sylleptic branch numbers (SBN) on biomass production, but the research on the influence of proleptic branch phenotypes was only a few. To explore the relationship between proleptic branch traits and biomass generation production in a high-density poplar plantation, we investigated the branch phenotypic traits of three poplar genotypes, all of which have high survival rates in forests (> 95%) and significantly different crown architecture and biomass performance in the high-density plantations (1667 stems ha−1). The plantation site was established in 2007. A terrestrial laser scanner was used to measure branch characteristics such as length, angle of origin and termination, and azimuth angle. A hierarchical cluster analysis performed on branch characteristics showed that SBN, crown depth, and proleptic branch curvature (PBC) were clustered with biomass production and leaf area index (LAI). Among all of the monitored traits, PBC played the second most important role in biomass production after SBN and was significantly correlated with SBN, LAI, and biomass production. The positive correlation between PBC and SBN indicated that a larger PBC was associated with more sylleptic branches within the monitored genotypes planted in the high-density plantation, providing greater leaf area and biomass production. The results of this study will improve the identification of high-production poplar varieties for cultivation in high-density plantations for biofuel production.

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Acknowledgements

We gratefully acknowledge the technical assistance of Zhiyan Yang, Chengchao Yang, Jiandong Peng, and Shusen Liu. We also thank Wenguang Yin of Beijing Haoyu World Surveying and Mapping Developing Limited for his helpful advice with the terrestrial laser scanner and software for cloud data analysis. Further technical assistance was received from the Liaoning Provincial Poplar Research Institute. We also thank Dr. Liyan Ping and Dr. Eric McLamore for their help during the preparation of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Tree Genetics and Breeding, Research Institute of Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, People’s Republic of China

    Changjun Ding, Qinjun Huang, Weixi Zhang, Juan Huang & Xiaohua Su

  2. Key Laboratory of Tree Breeding and Cultivation of State Forestry Administration, Research Institute of Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, People’s Republic of China

    Changjun Ding, Qinjun Huang, Weixi Zhang, Juan Huang & Xiaohua Su

  3. College of Biological Sciences and Technology, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, People’s Republic of China

    Ningning Wang, Suli Yan, Boyi Chen & Yingbai Shen

  4. National Engineering Laboratory for Tree Breeding, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, People’s Republic of China

    Ningning Wang, Suli Yan, Boyi Chen & Yingbai Shen

  5. Liaoning Provincial Poplar Institute, Gaizhou, 115200, Liaoning, People’s Republic of China

    Dejun Liang

  6. Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Forest Tree Genetic Improvement, Shandong Academy of Forestry, Jinan, 250014, Shandong, People’s Republic of China

    Yufeng Dong

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  1. Changjun Ding
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Correspondence to Yingbai Shen or Xiaohua Su.

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Project funding: This work was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (Grant No. 2016YFD0600401), the Basic Research Fund of RIF (Grant No. CAFYBB2017ZA001-3), and the 12th 5-Year National Science and Technology Support Program (2012BAD01B03).

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Corresponding editor: Yanbo Hu

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Ding, C., Wang, N., Huang, Q. et al. The importance of proleptic branch traits in biomass production of poplar in high-density plantations. J. For. Res. 33, 463–473 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11676-021-01418-5

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