Back to Search
Start Over
Sprouts of shoot-clipped oak (Quercus alba and Q. robur) germinants show morphological and photosynthetic acclimation to contrasting light environments
- Source :
- New Forests. 51:817-834
- Publication Year :
- 2019
- Publisher :
- Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 2019.
-
Abstract
- Sprouting by woody plants can increase species resilience to disturbance and foster regeneration during periods with little recruitment from seed. Though sprouting often plays a critical role in oak forest regeneration, there is little information available on sprouting capacity and sprout physiology at the seedling stage, particularly for new germinants. This study compared sprouting capacity and sprout photosynthesis of shoot-clipped germinants of two temperate oaks established in contrasting light environments. We studied the North American Quercus alba and the European Q. robur, both are in the section Quercus and appear to share similar biological and ecological requirements. Sprouting capacity for both species was enhanced under high light availability (29% more sprouts per plant), a response not previously noted for oak germinants. Seedling sprouts acclimated to high light with a 34% decrease in leaf area ratio, a 56% increase in leaf mass per area, and a 49% increase in the light-saturated maximum photosynthetic rate. Though both species appeared similarly adapted to shoot loss, a greater sprouting capacity (29% more sprouts per plant) and plant-level net photosynthesis (73% higher) was observed for Q. robur, regardless of light environment. As naturally regenerated oak seedlings in forest understories often experience disturbance or stress resulting in shoot loss or die-back, our results highlight the importance of the light environment during early plant development. Our comparison of temperate oaks from different continents should facilitate exchange of successful stand regeneration practices within the range of temperate oak forests.
- Subjects :
- 0106 biological sciences
Skogsvetenskap
biology
Forest Science
education
fungi
food and beverages
Forestry
Photosynthesis
biology.organism_classification
010603 evolutionary biology
01 natural sciences
Horticulture
Seedling
Photosynthetic acclimation
Shoot
Temperate climate
Shade tolerance
010606 plant biology & botany
Sprouting
Woody plant
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 15735095 and 01694286
- Volume :
- 51
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- New Forests
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....c1bbd730e3518c14c8a4f62f08ebfae9