Size- and Age-Related Changes in Tree Structure and Function -

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Résumé :
Millions of trees live and grow all around us, and we all recognize the vital role they play in the world?s ecosystems. Publicity campaigns exhort us to plant yet more. Yet until recently comparatively little was known about the root causes of the physical changes that attend their growth. Since trees typically increase in size by three to four orders of magnitude in their journey to maturity, this gap in our knowledge has been a crucial issue to address. Here at last is a synthesis of the current state of our knowledge about both the causes and consequences of ontogenetic changes in key features of tree structure and function. During their ontogeny, trees undergo numerous changes in their physiological function, the structure and mechanical properties of their wood, and overall architecture and allometry. This book examines the central interplay between these changes and tree size and age. It also explores the impact these changes can have, at the level of the individual tree, on the emerging characteristics of forest ecosystems at various stages of their development. The analysis offers an explanation for the importance of discriminating between the varied physical properties arising from the nexus of size and age, as well as highlighting the implications these ontogenetic changes have for commercial forestry and climate change. This important and timely summation of our knowledge base in this area, written by highly respected researchers, will be of huge interest, not only to researchers, but also to forest managers and silviculturists.

Sommaire:
List of contributorsPrefaceSECTION I: THE WHOLE-LIFESPAN PERSPECTIVE ON INTEGRATION OF STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION1. A Lifespan Perspective on Integrating Structure and Function in TreesThomas M. Hinckley, Barbara Lachenbruch, Frederick C. Meinzer, and Todd E. Dawson?SECTION II: REPRODUCTION AND REGENERATION2. Age-related Changes in Tree Growth and Functional Biology: the Role of ReproductionSean C. Thomas3. The Earliest Stages of Tree Growth: Development, Physiology and Impacts of Climate ChangeDaniel Johnson, Katherine A. McCulloh, and Keith Reinhardt?SECTION III: INTEGRATION OF STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION ACROSS ONTOGENY4, Regulation of Ontogeny in Temperate ConifersMichael E. Day and Michael S. Greenwood5. Radial Variation in Wood Structure and Function in Woody Plants, and Hypotheses for its OccurrenceBarbara Lachenbruch, John R. Moore, and Robert Evans6. Size-related Changes in Tree Proportions and Their Potential Influence on the Course of Height GrowthDavid A. King7. Influence of Tree Ontogeny on Plant-Herbivore InteractionsKarina Boege, Kasey E. Barton, and Rodolfo Dirzo8. How do Changes in Leaf/shoot Morphology and Crown Architecture Affect Growth and Physiological Function of Large, old Trees?Hiroaki Ishii?SECTION IV: PHOTOSYNTHETIC GAS EXCHANGE AND CARBON BALANCE9. Tree size- and Age-Related Changes in Leaf Physiology and Their Influence on Carbon GainKathy Steppe, Ulo Niinemets, and Robert O. Teskey10. Relationships Between Tree Height and Carbon Isotope DiscriminationNate G. McDowell, Barbara J. Bond, Lee T. Hill, Michael G. Ryan, and David Whitehead11. Carbon Storage in Trees: Does Relative Carbon Supply Decrease With Tree Size?Anna Sala,Willa Fouts, and GÜnter Hoch?SECTION V: WATER RELATIONS AND TRANSPORT PROCESSES12. Comparative Criteria for Models of the Fluid Transport System of Tall TreesMaurizio Mencuccini, Teemu HÖlttÄ, and Jordi Martinez-Vilalta13. Hydraulic Capacitance: Biophysics and Functional Significance of Internal Water Sources in Relation to Tree SizeFabian G. Scholz, Nathan G. Phillips, Sandra J. Bucci, Frederick C. Meinzer, and Guillermo Goldstein14. Size-Dependent Changes in Biophysical Control of Tree Growth: the Role of TurgorDavid R. Woodruff and Frederick C. Meinzer15. Instrumental Approaches to Studying Tree Water Relations Along Gradients of Tree Size and Forest AgeJan Cerm?k and Nadezhda Nadezhdina?SECTION VI: SCALING FROM INDIVIDUAL TRAITS TO STANDS16. Ecophysiology of Secondary Succession in Tropical Moist Forest: Scaling From Individual Traits to Whole-Plant PerformanceNiels Anten and N. Galia Selaya 17. Age-Dependent Changes in Environmental Influences on Tree Growth and Their Implications for Forest Responses to Climate ChangeSteven L. Voelker18. Consequences of Stand age and Species' Functional Trait Changes on Ecosystem Water use of ForestsBrent Ewers, D. Scott Mackay, and Ben Bond-Lamberty