Investigation of the process of stem shape formation in relation to the crown dynamics, and its application to estimation of the leaf amount of trees and a forest

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 24580209
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Forest science
• Research Institution: Hokkaido University
• Principal Investigator: Sumida Akihiro 北海道大学, 低温科学研究所, 准教授 (50293551)
• Co-Investigator(Renkei-kenkyūsha): MIYAURA Tomiyasu 龍谷大学, 理工学部, 教授 (90222330)
• Research Collaborator: WATANABE Tsutomu 北海道大学, 低温科学研究所, 教授 (60353918) ; CHEN Lei
• Project Period (FY): 2012-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: 葉面積指数 / アロメトリー / バイオマス / 樹冠 / 幹形状 / 直径成長

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Processes of stem shape formation and crown development were analyzed using a data set of stem diameters measured at various stem locations and tree heights recorded for all the trees of a plantation of hinoki cypress (_Chamaecyparis obtusa_) collected over 20 years. Dominant trees in the stand increased crown length and leaf amount with age, whereas suppressed trees decreased crown length and leaf amount due to a rapid rise in crown-base height before they died due to among-tree competition. It was found out that this among-tree difference in the long-term process of crown development lead to among-tree difference in stem-shape formation patterns. Owing to the detailed dataset, meteorological factors affecting annual changes in stem biomass growth and the leaf area index (LAI) could be identified with high values of coefficient of determination.

Free Research Field

森林生態学