Abstract
PREMISE OF STUDY: New Caledonia commonly experiences cyclones, so trees there are expected to have enhanced wood traits and trunk allometry that confer resistance to wind damage. We ask whether there is evidence of a trade-off between these traits and growth rate among species. METHODS: Wood traits, including density, microfibril angle (MFA), and modulus of elasticity (MOE), ratio of tree height to stem diameter, and growth rate were investigated in mature trees of 15 co-occurring canopy species in a New Caledonian rainforest. KEY RESULTS: In contrast to some studies, wood density did not correlate negatively with growth increment. Among angiosperms, wood density and MOE correlated positively with diameter-adjusted tree height, and MOE correlated positively with stem-diameter growth increment. Tall slender trees achieved high stiffness with high efficiency with respect to wood density, in part by low MFA, and with a higher diameter growth increment but a lower buckling safety factor. However, some tree species of a similar niche differed in whole-tree resistance to wind damage and achieved wood stiffness in different ways. CONCLUSIONS: There was no evidence of a growth-safety trade-off in these trees. In forests that regularly experience cyclones, there may be stronger selection for high wood density and/or stiffness in fast-growing trees of the upper canopy, with the potential growth trade-off amortized by access to the upper canopy and by other plant traits. Furthermore, decreasing wood density does not necessarily decrease resistance to wind damage, resistance being influenced by other characteristics including cell-level traits (e.g., MFA) and whole-plant architecture.
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Claims 11
Claim · model-written summary
Wood density did not correlate negatively with growth increment in canopy trees.
Verbatim
e0“wood density did not correlate negatively with growth increment”
t0“trees”
Claim · model-written summary
Among angiosperm canopy trees, greater wood density correlated with greater diameter-adjusted tree height.
- Taxon
- angiospermsMagnoliopsidae0
- Organ / stage
- woode0
- Outcome
- diameter-adjusted tree heighte0
- Direction
- correlated positivelye0
Verbatim
e0“Among angiosperms, wood density and MOE correlated positively with diameter-adjusted tree height”
Claim · model-written summary
Among angiosperm canopy trees, greater MOE correlated with greater diameter-adjusted tree height.
- Taxon
- angiospermsMagnoliopsidae0
- Organ / stage
- woode0
- Outcome
- diameter-adjusted tree heighte0
- Direction
- correlated positivelye0
Verbatim
e0“Among angiosperms, wood density and MOE correlated positively with diameter-adjusted tree height”
Claim · model-written summary
Among angiosperm canopy trees, MOE correlated positively with stem-diameter growth increment.
Verbatim
e0“MOE correlated positively with stem-diameter growth increment”
t0“trunk allometry of co‐occurring rainforest canopy trees”
Claim · model-written summary
Tall slender trees achieved high stiffness efficiently relative to wood density, partly through low MFA.
Verbatim
e0“Tall slender trees achieved high stiffness with high efficiency with respect to wood density, in part by low MFA”
Claim · model-written summary
Tall slender trees had higher diameter growth increment.
Verbatim
e0“Tall slender trees achieved high stiffness with high efficiency with respect to wood density, in part by low MFA, and with a higher diameter growth increment but a lower buckling safety factor”
Claim · model-written summary
Tall slender trees had a lower buckling safety factor.
Verbatim
e0“Tall slender trees achieved high stiffness with high efficiency with respect to wood density, in part by low MFA, and with a higher diameter growth increment but a lower buckling safety factor”
Claim · model-written summary
Some tree species occupying similar niches differed in whole-tree wind-damage resistance.
Verbatim
e0“some tree species of a similar niche differed in whole-tree resistance to wind damage”
Claim · model-written summary
Some tree species occupying similar niches achieved wood stiffness in different ways.
Verbatim
e0“some tree species of a similar niche differed in whole-tree resistance to wind damage and achieved wood stiffness in different ways”
Claim · model-written summary
The trees showed no evidence of a growth-safety trade-off.
Verbatim
e0“There was no evidence of a growth-safety trade-off in these trees”
Claim · model-written summary
Decreasing wood density does not necessarily reduce wind-damage resistance because other cell and architecture traits contribute.
Verbatim
e0“decreasing wood density does not necessarily decrease resistance to wind damage, resistance being influenced by other characteristics including cell-level traits (e.g., MFA) and whole-plant architecture”
t0“trees”