Influence of shade tolerance and development stage on the allometry of ten temperate tree species

Allometry studies the change in scale between two dimensions of an organism. The metabolic theory of ecology predicts invariant allometric scaling exponents, while empirical studies evidenced inter- and intra-specific variations. This work aimed at identifying the sources of variations of the allometric exponents at both inter- and intra-specific levels using stem analysis from 9,363 trees for ten Eastern Canada species with a large shade-tolerance gradient. Specifically, the yearly allometric exponents, α _v,DBH [volume (v) and diameter at breast height (DBH)], β _v,h [v and height (h)], and γ _h,DBH (h and DBH) were modelled as a function of tree age for each species. α _v,DBH, and γ _h,DBH increased with tree age and then reached a plateau ranging from 2.45 to 3.12 for α _v,DBH, and 0.874–1.48 for γ _h,DBH. Pine species presented a local maximum. No effect of tree age on β _v,h was found for conifers, while it increased until a plateau ranging from 3.71 to 5.16 for broadleaves. The influence of shade tolerance on the growth trajectories was then explored. In the juvenile stage, α _v,DBH, and γ _h,DBH increased with shade tolerance while β _v,h was shade-tolerance independent. In the mature stage, β _v,h increased with shade tolerance, whereas γ _h,DBH decreased and α _v,DBH was shade-tolerance independent. The interaction between development stage and shade tolerance for allometric exponents demonstrates the importance of the changing functional requirements of trees for resource allocation at both the inter- and intra-specific level. These results indicate the need to also integrate specific functional traits, growth strategies and allocation, in allometric theoretical frameworks.