Sapling growth and survivorship as affected by light and flooding in a river floodplain forest of southeast Texas.

Autor: Jie Lin, Harcombe, Paul A., Fulton, Mark R., Hall, Rosine W.
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Zdroj: Oecologia; May2004, Vol. 139 Issue 3, p399-407, 9p, 3 Charts, 5 Graphs
Abstrakt: We investigated the effects of light and flooding on growth and survivorship of saplings in a river floodplain forest of southeast Texas. Growth responses to light were consistent with the expectation that shade-intolerant species grow faster than shade-tolerant species in high light, and vice versa. Mortality risk was not associated with shade tolerance level unless high mortality risks associated with a period of high flooding were removed. These results support the hypothesis that shade-tolerant species in floodplains may be limited by flooding as previous studies suggested. Also, compared to their performance at a nearby mesic site, common species showed little intraspecific difference in shade tolerance, especially for shade-intolerant species. Finally, the positive correlation between low-light growth and survivorship suggests that carbon allocation to continued growth may be favored as a sapling strategy in floodplains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Databáze: Complementary Index
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