Patterns of vegetative growth and reproduction in relation to branch orders: the plant as a spatially structured population |
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Authors: | A Suzuki |
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Institution: | (1) Laboratory of Forest Biology, Faculty of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Oiwake-cho, Kitashirakawa, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606–8502, Japan e-mail: tarata@kais.kyoto-u.ac.jp Tel.: +81-075-7536129, JP |
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Abstract: | The patterns of vegetative growth and reproduction in relation to orders of terminal branches were examined in the evergreen
woody plant, Eurya japonica. The branch order number was determined centrifugally. The trunk was given order number 1; branches issuing directly from
the trunk were order 2; branches growing on order 2 branches were order 3, and so on. The results of this study show the differential
patterns of vegetative growth and reproduction in relation to the branch orders. Lower-order shoots of terminal branches grew
more, but produced few flowers. On the other hand, for the higher-order terminal branches, shoot growth was very limited but
flowering was more intense. The results show that a tree can be interpreted not as a mere population of equivalent modules
but as a spatially structured population. Thus, it is essential to consider the position of modules within the branch system
when patterns of vegetative growth and reproduction are examined. It is hypothesized that the difference in the opportunity
cost in relation to the branch orders is the main cause of the spatial structure for patterns of vegetative growth and reproduction.
Furthermore, for same-order terminal branches, current-year shoot elongation was independent of flowering intensity. These
results suggest that this species only invests resources in reproduction that are surplus to its requirements for the functions
associated with survival, such as growth and/or storage.
Received: 22 July 1999 / Accepted: 12 January 2000 |
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Keywords: | Vegetative growth Reproduction Spatially structured population Hierarchical allocation Opportunity cost |
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