An explanation of natural forest dieback based on the “pipe model” analogy |
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Authors: | G Gerrish |
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Institution: | (1) Dept. of Botany, University of Hawaii, 96822 Honolulu, Hawaii, USA |
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Abstract: | A decade of investigation of stand-level dieback ofmetrosideros in the Hawaiian montane rain forests has led to the theory that one of the major underlying causes is cohort senescence.
A literature review shows that while there is little evidence of a senescence mechanism in polycarpic trees, the low vigor
associated with the senescent state is correlated with a declining balance of photosynthesis to respiration. Specific Leaf
Burden (SLB, cm3 of sapwood per g of leaf mass) is here defined as an index of respiring to photosynthesizing tissue. Using the assumptions
of the pipe model theory, it is shown that SLB increases with stem elongation and is independent of tree diameter. Thus, the
trees of a cohort that are the same height although variable in diameter will have the same carbon balance, as indexed by
the SLB, and could be expected to decline synchronously, as stands ofMetrosideros do. Changes in growth patterns, deviating from the pipe model, that minimize the SLB as trees grow larger are identified.
Research undertaken to test the assumptions of the pipe model and the conclusion of uniform SLB in a cohort of agingMetrosideros is described. |
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