Foliar and shoot allometry of pollarded black locust, Robinia pseudoacacia L.

Abstract

Browse of multipurpose tree species such as black locust could be used to broaden grazing options, but the temporal distribution of foliage has not been adequately studied. Our objective was to determine effects of harvest date, P fertilization (0 and 600 kg ha 1 yr 1 ), and pollard height (shoots clipped at 5-, 50-, and 100cm above ground) on foliar and shoot allometry of black locust. The experiment was conducted on a naturally regenerated 2-yr-old black locust stand (15,000 trees ha 1 ). Basal shoot diameter and foliar mass were measured monthly in June to October 2002 and 2003. Foliar and shoot dry mass (Y) was estimated from basal shoot diameter (D) by the function Y = aD b , with regression explaining ‡95% of variance. Allometry of foliar mass was affected by harvest date, increasing at a greater rate with D in September than in June or July, but not by P fertilization or pollard height. Foliar mass was predicted best by monthspecific equations for the June to October growth interval. Allometry of shoot dry mass was unaffected by harvest date, P fertilization, or pollard height. These equations could be used as a first approximation of foliar and shoot mass for pollarded black locust.