Plant individuals are characterized by modular architecture, consisting of hierarchically positioned similar basic semi-autonomous units termed ‘‘modules’’ that have speciesand plant functional-type-specific morphological and physiological characteristics (White 1979; Harper 1985; Silvertown and Gordon 1989; Prusinkiewicz 2000; Kawamura 2010). The basic units underlying the modular organization can be buds, metamers, shoots, branches, or ramets depending on plant functional type (Barthelemy and Caraglio 2007; Kawamura 2010). The plants exhibit a characteristic acclimation ‘‘behavior’’ by changing the size, shape, number, and within-plant arrangement of such modular units in response to variation in local distribution and availability of resources required. Although the degree of plastic changes of the module attributes is genetically and mechanically restricted, module-level plasticity plays a key role in whole-plant acclimation to local resource heterogeneity (White 1979; Silvertown and Gordon 1989; Leverenz and Hinckley 1990; Karban 2008). Most terrestrial vascular plants are sessile organisms bound to accomplish their life cycle in one single location, and their growth and survival are therefore inevitably affected by environmental conditions prevailing in their habitat (Karban 2008). As environmental conditions strongly fluctuate in time and can change in a predetermined manner, for instance during growth and development of surrounding vegetation, acclimation to habitat environmental conditions is the key for survival of plants in changing environments. The capacity to change morphological and/or physiological characteristics at various organizational levels, phenotypic plasticity, is inherent to all plant species and leads to the enhancement of plants’ efficiency of resource capture and use (e.g., Valladares et al. 2007; Niinemets 2010). Extensive studies in a variety of taxonomically, phylogenetically, and ecologically different plant species have been conducted to determine phenotypic plasticity to optimize resource harvesting in changing environments in different species and plant functional types (e.g., Valladares et al. 2007 for a review). As a result, a vast body of information has been accumulated on plant plastic responses at scales of organization ranging from leaf to whole-plant (e.g., Barthelemy and Caraglio 2007). Studies demonstrate that leaf-, shoot-, branch-, crown-, and/or ramet-level variations in structural characteristics all contribute to maximization of resource capture of plants in resource-limited environments (Niinemets 2010). Modular responses to local heterogeneity, such as variable placement of foliage units in response to light availability, is one of the most significant drivers in generating the phenotypic plasticity of plants (e.g., Valladares and Niinemets 2007; Mori and Hasegawa 2007; Mori et al. 2008; Niinemets 2010). Nevertheless, there is still limited knowledge on how the module-level responses to within-crown and withinstand microenvironment affect whole-plant function under intrinsic multiple environmental and intrinsic biomechanical constraints. It is thus highly relevant to synthesize the current knowledge on diverse structural controls at various hierarchical scales to understand the resultant effects on plant performance (Kawamura 2010; Kennedy 2010; Niinemets 2010). Recent studies have shown that species-specific plasticity to spatial and temporal changes in resource availability within the crown results in functional diversification or convergence of key plant traits among coexisting species. Functional diversification has been proven by studies on morphological and physiological A. Mori (&) Graduate School of Environment and Information Sciences, Yokohama National University, 79-7 Tokiwadai, Hodogaya, Yokohama, Kanagawa 247-0072, Japan E-mail: akkym@kb3.so-net.ne.jp