Crown exposure to light and tree allometry of 11 tree species in a snowy cool-temperate forest in Japan

Abstract

Crown exposure to light (CE) and tree allometry were investigated for 11 species in a snowy cool-temperate secondary forest dominated by Fagus crenata and Betula ermanii in Japan. The 11 species differentiated horizontal and vertical light gradients for regeneration. CE was highly variable across species in small trees, but variation in CE decreased with increasing height. The 11 species were classified into three patterns of height-dependent change in CE in comparison to community-level trends, and rank reversal of CE with increasing height was not apparent. Allometric relationships between trunk diameter (D) and height (H) and between D and trunk length (L) differed little between trees of high and low CE within species. In contrast, slopes of the allometric relationships between D and H differed across species; species with larger maximum height (H max) were taller at a given D, as was noted in previous studies of warm-temperate and tropical forest trees. Differences in trunk angle among the species of different H max were the main factor generating the differences in allometric relationships between D and H in this forest. Trunk angle increased with increasing height in the species of large H max but decreased in those of small H max. Hence, allometric relationships between D and L were not related to H max. Since the species of small H max grow laterally and are easily covered in snow during winter while those of large H max grow vertically above snow cover, differences in trunk angle may reflect species mechanical properties.