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Comparison of dwarf bamboos (Indocalamus sp.) leaf parameters to determine relationship between spatial density of plants and total leaf area per plant.

ABSTRACT: The relationship between spatial density and size of plants is an important topic in plant ecology. The self-thinning rule suggests a -3/2 power between average biomass and density or a -1/2 power between stand yield and density. However, the self-thinning rule based on total leaf area per plant and density of plants has been neglected presumably because of the lack of a method that can accurately estimate the total leaf area per plant. We aimed to find the relationship between spatial density of plants and total leaf area per plant. We also attempted to provide a novel model for accurately describing the leaf shape of bamboos. We proposed a simplified Gielis equation with only two parameters to describe the leaf shape of bamboos one model parameter represented the overall ratio of leaf width to leaf length. Using this method, we compared some leaf parameters (leaf shape, number of leaves per plant, ratio of total leaf weight to aboveground weight per plant, and total leaf area per plant) of four bamboo species of genus Indocalamus Nakai (I. pedalis (Keng) P.C. Keng, I. pumilus Q.H. Dai and C.F. Keng, I. barbatus McClure, and I. victorialis P.C. Keng). We also explored the possible correlation between spatial density and total leaf area per plant using log-linear regression. We found that the simplified Gielis equation fit the leaf shape of four bamboo species very well. Although all these four species belonged to the same genus, there were still significant differences in leaf shape. Significant differences also existed in leaf area per plant, ratio of leaf weight to aboveground weight per plant, and leaf length. In addition, we found that the total leaf area per plant decreased with increased spatial density. Therefore, we directly demonstrated the self-thinning rule to improve light interception.

SUBMITTER: Shi PJ

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4670054 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Comparison of dwarf bamboos (Indocalamus sp.) leaf parameters to determine relationship between spatial density of plants and total leaf area per plant.

Shi Pei-Jian PJ Xu Qiang Q Sandhu Hardev S HS Gielis Johan J Ding Yu-Long YL Li Hua-Rong HR Dong Xiao-Bo XB

Ecology and evolution 20150930 20

The relationship between spatial density and size of plants is an important topic in plant ecology. The self-thinning rule suggests a -3/2 power between average biomass and density or a -1/2 power between stand yield and density. However, the self-thinning rule based on total leaf area per plant and density of plants has been neglected presumably because of the lack of a method that can accurately estimate the total leaf area per plant. We aimed to find the relationship between spatial density o ...[more]

PMID: 26668724

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Project description:Background and aimsThe growth of crops in a mixture is more variable and difficult to predict than that in pure stands. Light partitioning and crop leaf area expansion play prominent roles in explaining this variability. However, in many crops commonly grown in mixtures, including the forage species alfalfa, the sensitivity and relative importance of the physiological responses involved in the light modulation of leaf area expansion are still to be established. This study was designed to assess the relative sensitivity of primary shoot development, branching and individual leaf expansion in alfalfa in response to light availability.MethodsTwo experiments were carried out. The first studied isolated plants to assess the potential development of different shoot types and growth periods. The second consisted of manipulating the intensity of competition for light using a range of canopies in pure and mixed stands at two densities so as to evaluate the relative effects on shoot development, leaf growth, and plant and shoot demography.Key resultsShoot development in the absence of light competition was deterministic (constant phyllochrons of 32·5 °Cd and 48·2 °Cd for primary axes and branches, branching probability of 1, constant delay of 1·75 phyllochron before axillary bud burst) and identical irrespective of shoot type and growth/regrowth periods. During light competition experiments, changes in plant development explained most of the plant leaf area variations, with average leaf size contributing to a lesser extent. Branch development and the number of shoots per plant were the leaf area components most affected by light availability. Primary axis development and plant demography were only affected in situations of severe light competition.ConclusionsPlant leaf area components differed with regard to their sensitivity to light competition. The potential shoot development model presented in this study could serve as a framework to integrate light responses in alfalfa crop models.

Dataset Information

Comparison of dwarf bamboos (Indocalamus sp.) leaf parameters to determine relationship between spatial density of plants and total leaf area per plant.

Publications

Comparison of dwarf bamboos (Indocalamus sp.) leaf parameters to determine relationship between spatial density of plants and total leaf area per plant.

Similar Datasets

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