2012 Fiscal Year Final Research Report
Understanding the relationship between masting and stored carbohydrate resources in trees by a radioactive carbon analysis method
| Project/Area Number |
23657022
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
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| Allocation Type | Multi-year Fund |
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| Research Field |
Ecology/Environment
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| Research Institution | Kochi University |
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Principal Investigator |
ICHIE Tomoaki 高知大学, 教育研究部自然科学系, 准教授 (80403872)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
TAYASU Ichiro 京都大学, 生態学研究センター, 准教授 (80353449)
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| Co-Investigator(Renkei-kenkyūsha) |
TANAKA Kenzo 独立行政法人森林総合研究所, 国際連携推進拠点, 主任研究員 (30414486)
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| Research Collaborator |
IGARASHI Syuichi 愛媛大学大学院, 連合農学研究科, 博士課程
YOSHIDA Syohei 高知大学大学院, 総合自然科学研究科, 修士課程
YOSHIHARA Ryo 高知大学大学院, 総合自然科学研究科, 修士課程
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| Project Period (FY) |
2011 – 2012
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| Keywords | 結実豊凶 / 一斉開花 / 種子生産 / ブナ科 / フタバガキ科 / 熱帯雨林 / 落葉広葉樹林 |
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| Research Abstract |
Many tree species undergo a large fluctuation from year to year in seed production, a phenomenon known as masting. The resource budget model, based on the assumption that abundant seeding in a masting year depends on abundant resources stored over several years, is a key hypothesis in explaining the mechanism of masting. But do masting species really need such a long-term storage in order to produce a large seed crop? To test this hypothesis, we studied relation between carbon accumulation periods for seed production, estimated by radiocarbon (^<14>C) analyses, and reproductive intervals in 10 canopy-tree species in a temperate deciduous forest and 17 dipterocarp species in a tropical rain forest. These species differ widely in their reproductive intervals. In all the species studied, the accumulation period toward seed maturation was less than 1.4 years. Moreover, regardless of species or reproductive intervals, there was no significant correlation between the carbon accumulation period and the fluctuation of annual seed production. Our results suggest that temperate and tropical canopy trees used the photosynthates produced in the current and/or the previous year for seed production regardless of reproductive intervals. It might therefore be necessary to reconsider the importance of stored carbohydrate resources for masting.
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