Delayed greening of mountain birch leaves:Ecological and chemical correlates

Abstract

Flushing leaves of deciduous trees can be exposed to high herbivore pressure. Young foliage provides high quality food for herbivores, and therefore herbivore pressure is much higher in young than mature foliage. Plants may escape the effects of herbivory in time by delaying leaf greening. We measured delayed greening as an intensity of redness in leaves in mountain birch at bud burst. Furthermore, we analyzed covariation of leaf redness with leaf growth and leaf consumption by the autumnal moth, Epirrita autumnata (Bkh.), a major defoliator of mountain birch. We also analyzed concentrations of amino acids, sugars and phenolic compounds of leaves. Leaf redness was positively associated with leaf growth, and consumption by E. autumnata indicated reduced leaf resistance against herbivores. Concentrations of protein-bound amino acids and gallotannins in young leaves were closely and positively correlated with leaf redness. Concentrations of glucose exhibited close positive correlations with leaf redness at the beginning of the season, whereas the correlation was negligible in mature leaves. Concentrations of other sugars increased with increasing degree of leaf redness towards the end of leaf development. This may be one reason for high leaf biomass losses in trees with delayed greening.