How fast do European conifers overgrow wounds inflicted by rockfall?
| Autor: | Michelle Schneuwly-Bollschweiler, Dominique M. Schneuwly |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2012 |
| Předmět: |
0106 biological sciences
010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences Physiology Larix Plant Science 01 natural sciences Trees Rockfall Botany Picea Plant Diseases 0105 earth and related environmental sciences geography geography.geographical_feature_category Plant Stems integumentary system biology Picea abies 15. Life on land biology.organism_classification Abies alba body regions Horticulture Lateral extension Wound closure Abies Landslides 010606 plant biology & botany |
| Zdroj: | Tree Physiology. 32:968-975 |
| ISSN: | 1758-4469 0829-318X |
| DOI: | 10.1093/treephys/tps059 |
| Popis: | The capacity of trees to recover from mechanical disturbance is of crucial importance for tree survival but has been primarily investigated in saplings using artificially induced wounds. In this study, mature Larix decidua Mill., Picea abies (L.) Karst. and Abies alba Mill. trees growing on alpine slopes that were wounded by naturally occurring rockfall were analyzed to determine their efficiency in overgrowing wounds. In total 43 L. decidua, P. abies and A. alba trees were sampled. First, 106 samples from 27 L. decidua and P. abies trees were analyzed to reconstruct yearly and overall overgrowth rates. Cross sections were taken at the maximum extension of the injury and overgrowth rates were determined on a yearly basis. Results clearly showed that L. decidua overgrew wounds more efficiently than P. abies with an average overgrowth rate of 19° and 11.8° per year, respectively. The higher on the stem the injury was located, the faster the wound was closed. Young and small trees overgrew wounds more efficiently than older or thicker trees. In contrast, no correlation was observed between injury size or increment before/after wounding and wound closure. Second, cross sections from 16 L. decidua, P. abies and A. alba (54 injuries) were used to assess closure rates at different heights around the injury. Overgrowth was generally smallest at the height of the maximum lateral extension of the injury and increased at the upper and lower end of the injury. The efficiency with which L. decidua closes wounds inflicted by rockfall makes this species highly adapted to sites with this type of mechan ical disturbance. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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