Morphological acclimation to light intensity in Douglas-fir seedlings

Abstract

Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco) seedlings were grown outdoors under 9, 44, and 100% light intensity and were sampled periodically over their first growing season for stem, leaf, and root dry weights, and the data were analyzed allometrically. In addition, seedlings were assessed for number of needles per stem length, ratio leaf surface area: leaf dry weight, and maximum seedling dry weight. The experiment was repeated during a 2nd, warmer, year.Maximum growth occurred under partial shade and moderate temperatures. In the 1st year, seedlings allocated progressively more dry matter to shoot than to root growth as light intensity decreased. In the 2nd year, root growth was favored at the expense of shoot growth. In both years, shoot structural alterations were such as to favor enhanced photosynthesis under low light. Acclimative changes are explained in terms of an interaction between light, temperature, and seedling size.A second experiment showed that seedlings grown under low light set a terminal bud sooner in the fall and broke bud sooner the next spring than seedlings preconditioned to high light. They also suffered more spring frost damage and showed greater incidence of lammas growth in the 2nd year. No effect of 1st-year preconditioning on timing of budbreak was evident in the 3rd year.