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Does shade improve light interception efficiency? A comparison among seedlings from shade‐tolerant and ‐intolerant temperate deciduous tree species
Author(s) -
Delagrange Sylvain,
Montpied Pierre,
Dreyer Erwin,
Messier Christian,
Sinoquet Hervé
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
new phytologist
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.742
H-Index - 244
eISSN - 1469-8137
pISSN - 0028-646X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1469-8137.2006.01814.x
Subject(s) - shade tolerance , shading , interception , irradiance , biology , botany , deciduous , fagus sylvatica , seedling , specific leaf area , horticulture , beech , ecology , photosynthesis , canopy , physics , art , quantum mechanics , visual arts
Summary• Here, we tested two hypotheses: shading increases light interception efficiency (LIE) of broadleaved tree seedlings, and shade‐tolerant species exhibit larger LIEs than do shade‐intolerant ones. The impact of seedling size was taken into account to detect potential size‐independent effects on LIE. LIE was defined as the ratio of mean light intercepted by leaves to light intercepted by a horizontal surface of equal area. • Seedlings from five species differing in shade tolerance ( Acer saccharum , Betula alleghaniensis , A. pseudoplatanus , B. pendula , Fagus sylvatica ) were grown under neutral shading nets providing 36, 16 and 4% of external irradiance. Seedlings (1‐ and 2‐year‐old) were three‐dimensionally digitized, allowing calculation of LIE. • Shading induced dramatic reduction in total leaf area, which was lowest in shade‐tolerant species in all irradiance regimes. Irradiance reduced LIE through increasing leaf overlap with increasing leaf area. There was very little evidence of significant size‐independent plasticity of LIE. • No relationship was found between the known shade tolerance of species and LIE at equivalent size and irradiance.