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Tree allometry variation in response to intra- and inter-specific competitions

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Crown, height and stem allometry vary with stand density and species composition, the plasticity in response to inter- and intra-specific competitions being related to species shade tolerances.

Abstract

Determining the way in which variability in tree allometry is modulated by intra- and inter-specific competitions in different species and stand compositions is of particular interest for forest modelling and practice. In this study, we explore this variability by developing models for tree crown diameter, total height and diameter at a height of 4 m, which include intra- and inter-specific competition terms. More than 19,000 Scots pine, silver fir, sessile oak and European beech trees from 4711 sample plots belonging to the Spanish National Forest Inventory were included in the study, covering both monospecific and two species mixed stands in Northern Spain. Trees growing under conditions of high competition displayed narrower crowns, greater heights and less taper for a given tree diameter, the plasticity in crown and height in response to intra-specific competition being related to species shade tolerance. The inter-specific competition effect on crown diameter and height was related to the difference in shade tolerance between the two species of the mixture, while stem taper did not exhibit this pattern. These results suggest that trees in mixed stands indeed show a modified allometry, which might be related to complementary resource acquisition strategies. The large variability observed in tree allometry indicates the need to consider both intra- and inter-specific competitions in allometric models.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge Roberto Vallejo, in charge of the Spanish National Forest Inventory, for the provision of the NFI data. They also thank the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness for funding the research project “Mixed Forest complexity and sustainability: dynamic, silviculture and adaptive management tools” (AGL2014-51964-C2-2-R).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Forest Research Centre, INIA, Crta, La Coruña km 7,5, 28040, Madrid, Spain

    Miren del Río & Ricardo Ruiz-Peinado

  2. iuFOR, Sustainable Forest Management Research Institute University of Valladolid & INIA, Palencia, Spain

    Miren del Río, Andrés Bravo-Oviedo & Ricardo Ruiz-Peinado

  3. Department of Biogeography and Global Change, National Museum of Natural Sciences, Spanish National Research Council (MNCN,CSIC), Madrid, Spain

    Andrés Bravo-Oviedo

  4. Department of Natural Systems and Resources, School of Forestry, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain

    Sonia Condés

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  1. Miren del Río
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  2. Andrés Bravo-Oviedo
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  3. Ricardo Ruiz-Peinado
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  4. Sonia Condés
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Correspondence to Miren del Río.

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del Río, M., Bravo-Oviedo, A., Ruiz-Peinado, R. et al. Tree allometry variation in response to intra- and inter-specific competitions. Trees 33, 121–138 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-018-1763-3

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