EFFECTS OF AGE AND SIZE ON LIFE HISTORIES AND POPULATION GROWTH OF RHODODENDRON MAXIMUM SHOOTS

Age- and size-specific shoot life histories were studied with population censuses in June 1984 and June 1985 in an evergreen understory shrub. Rhododendron maximum. Most shoots (65%) survived without branching or flowering, and lesser numbers branched (2%), flowered (20%), or died (23%) during the year between censuses. The probabilities of surviving, branching, flowering or dying were both age- and size-dependent. Small, young shoots increased in leaf area. Flowering occurred most prominently in 3- to 6-year old shoots that had exceeded a leaf area of 200 cm², and the rate of flowering increased proportionately with size above this threshold. Branching normally occurred in the year following flowering. The age and size distributions of the population shifted significantly between years, indicating a nonequilibrium population. The survival schedule was Deevey Type I, indicating a high degree of “parental care” of young shoots. Age- and age + size-based demographic models predicted a rapid decline of the shoot population over a decade, while a size-based model predicted a much slower decline in shoot numbers. A sensitivity analysis of the models showed that overall shoot population growth was positively influenced by branching shoots and shoots that added leaf area, and negatively influenced by shoots that lost leaf area, died, or flowered. The role of shoot life histories in determining individual plant fitness and ecological dominance is discussed.