Gourlet-Fleury, S., Blanc, L., Picard, N., Sist, P., Dick, J., Nasi, R., et al. (2005). Grouping species for predicting mixed tropical forest dynamics: looking for a strategy. Ann. For. Sci., 62(8), 785–796.
Abstract: The high species diversity of mixed tropical forests hinders the development of forest dynamic models. A solution commonly adopted is to cluster species in groups. There are various methods for grouping species that can be linked to three strategies (i) the ecological subjective strategy, (ii) the ecological data-driven strategy, and (iii) the dynamic process strategy. In the first two strategies a species will be assigned to a single group while in the latter strategy, a specific grouping is defined for each process of population dynamics ( typically based on recruitment, growth, mortality). Little congruency or convergence is observed in the literature between any two classifications of species. This may be explained by the independence between the sets of tree characters used to build species groups, or by the intra-specific variability of these characters. We therefore recommend the dynamic process strategy as the most convenient strategy for building groups of species.
Keywords: cross-comparisons; functional groups; modelling strategy; species classifications
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Coste, S., Roggy, J. C., Garraud, L., Heuret, P., Nicolini, E., & Dreyer, E. (2009). Does ontogeny modulate irradiance-elicited plasticity of leaf traits in saplings of rain-forest tree species? A test with Dicorynia guianensis and Tachigali melinonii (Fabaceae, Caesalpinioideae). Ann. For. Sci., 66(7), 701–709.
Abstract: Irradiance elicits a large plasticity in leaf traits, but little is known about the modulation of this plasticity by ontogeny. Interactive effects of relative irradiance and ontogeny were assessed on leaf traits for two tropical rainforest tree species: Dicorynia guianensis Amshoff and Tachigali melinonii (Harms) Barneby (Fabaceae, Caesalpinioideae). Eleven morphological and physiological leaf traits, relative to photosynthetic performance, were measured on saplings at three different architectural development stages (ASD 1, 2 and 3) and used to derive composite traits like photosynthetic N-use efficiency. Measurements were made along a natural irradiance gradient. The effect of ASD was very visible and differed between the two species. For Dicorynia guianensis, only leaf mass-per-area (LMA) significantly increased with ASDs whereas for Tachigali melinonii, almost all traits were affected by ASD: LMA, leaf N content and photosynthetic capacity increased from ASD 1 to ASD 3. Photosynthetic N-use-efficiency was not affected by ASD in any species. Leaf traits were severely modulated by irradiance, whereas the degree of plasticity was very similar among ASDs. Only few interactions were detected between irradiance and ASD, for leaf thickness, carbon content, and the ratio Chl/N in T. melinonii and for photosynthetic capacity in D. guianensis. We conclude that ontogenic development and irradiance-elicited plasticity modulated leaf traits, with almost no interaction, i.e., the degree of irradiance-elicited plasticity was stable across development stages and independent of ontogeny in these two species, at least in the early stages of development assessed here.
Keywords: plant architecture; phenotypic plasticity; photosynthetic capacity; leaf structure; tropical rain forest
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Amusant, N., Fournier, M., & Beauchene, J. (2008). Colour and decay resistance and its relationships in Eperua grandiflora. Ann. For. Sci., 65(8), 806.
Abstract: Eperua grandiflora, which is widely distributed in the French Guiana forest region, shows high variability in decay resistance. Further information concerning this wood quality parameter is necessary, but standard testing methods are complex and time-consuming. We assessed the use of colorimetry to determine durability in heartwood samples from a range of trees. Eperua grandiflora colour parameters were measured using a CIELAB system, revealing that the tree effect was greater than the radial position and height effects. The wood samples were exposed to Coriolus versicolor and Antrodia sp. according to two European standards (En 350-1 and XP CEN TS 15083-1). Eperua grandiflora is more susceptible to brown rot. These two standards did not give the same durability classes. The high variation in natural durability was due to the tree effect. These two properties were found to be correlated and the assessment also distinguished the extreme durability classes but they are not sufficient to classify the class of durability of this species.
Keywords: natural durability; colour; decay resistance; variability; heartwood; tropical wood
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Ollivier, M., Baraloto, C., & Marcon, E. (2007). A trait database for Guianan rain forest trees permits intra- and inter-specific contrasts. Ann. For. Sci., 64(7), 781–786.
Abstract: We present a plant trait database covering autecology for rain forest trees of French Guiana. The database comprises more than thirty traits including autecology (e. g., habitat associations and reproductive phenology), wood structure (e. g., density and tension characteristics) and physiology at the whole plant (e. g., carbon and nitrogen isotopes) and leaf level (e. g., specific leaf area, photosynthetic capacity). The current database describes traits for about nine hundred species from three hundred genera in one hundred families. For more than sixty species, data on twelve morphological and ecophysiological traits are provided for individual plants under different environmental conditions and at different ontogenetic stages. The database is thus unique in permitting intraspecific analyses, such as the effects of ontogenetic stages or environmental conditions on trait values and their relationships.
Keywords: plant traits; tropical forest; French Guiana; functional groups; plasticity; ontogeny
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Ruelle, J., Beauchene, J., Thibaut, A., & Thibaut, B. (2007). Comparison of physical and mechanical properties of tension and opposite wood from ten tropical rainforest trees from different species. Ann. For. Sci., 64(5), 503–510.
Abstract: On 10 trees from 10 species of French Guyana tropical rainforest in a clear active process of restoring verticality growth strains were measured in situ in order to determine the occurrence of tension wood within samples. Wood specimens were cut in the vicinity of the growth strains measurements in order to measure some mechanical and physical properties. As suspected, tensile growth strains was very much higher in tension wood zone, because longitudinal modulus of elasticity was slightly higher. Longitudinal shrinkage was also much higher in tension wood than in opposite wood.
Keywords: tension wood; opposite wood; tropical rainforest; physical and mechanical properties
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Bonal, D., Born, C., Brechet, C., Coste, S., Marcon, E., Roggy, J. C., et al. (2007). The successional status of tropical rainforest tree species is associated with differences in leaf carbon isotope discrimination and functional traits. Ann. For. Sci., 64(2), 169–176.
Abstract: We characterised the among species variability in leaf gas exchange and morphological traits under controlled conditions of seedlings of 22 tropical rainforest canopy species to understand the origin of the variability in leaf carbon isotope discrimination (Delta) among species with different growth and dynamic characteristics (successional gradient). Our results first suggest that these species pursue a consistent strategy in terms of. throughout their ontogeny (juveniles grown here versus canopy adult trees from the natural forest). Second, leaf Delta was negatively correlated with WUE and N, and positively correlated with g(s), but among species differences in Delta were mainly explained by differences in WUE. Finally, species belonging to different successional groups display distinct leaf functional and morphological traits. We confirmed that fast growing early successional species maximise carbon assimilation with high stomatal conductance. In contrast, fast and slow growing late successional species are both characterised by low carbon assimilation values, but by distinct stomatal conductance and leaf morphological features. Along the successional gradient, these differences result in much lower Delta for the intermediate species (i.e. fast growing late successional) as compared to the two other groups.
Keywords: C-13; functional diversity; leaf gas exchange; species grouping; tropical rainforest
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Scotti, I., Paglia, G., Magni, F., & Morgante, M. (2006). Population genetics of Norway spruce (Picea abies Karst.) at regional scale: sensitivity of different microsatellite motif classes in detecting differentiation. Ann. For. Sci., 63(5), 485–491.
Abstract: Four populations of Norway spruce (Picea abies Karst.) were screened using nine nuclear microsatellite markers (three trinucleotides and six dinucleotides) and four chloroplast markers (all mononucleotides). Marker classes were compared for their variability, mutation rate and ability to detect differentiation between stands. Dinucleotide markers proved to be the most variable group and chloroplast stretches the least variable, with differences in mutation rate between the former and the latter spanning over two orders of magnitude. Variability correlated to the number of repeats but not to the absolute length of the microsatellite region. The different marker classes were combined with two different measures of genetic distance in order to investigate the performance of markers and evolutionary models for the study of genetic variation in natural populations of Norway spruce. Weir and Cockeram's F-ST generally performed better in this clear-cut, four-population model study. Chloroplast haplotypes turned out to be the most sensitive marker system, being able to differentiate populations and to detect differences in genetic variability between sub-regions.
Keywords: conifers; SSR; divergence; statistical testing; genetic distance
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Clair, B., Almeras, T., & Sugiyama, J. (2006). Compression stress in opposite wood of angiosperms: observations in chestnut, mani and poplar. Ann. For. Sci., 63(5), 507–510.
Abstract: In order to face environmental constraints, trees are able to re-orient their axes by controlling the stress level in the newly formed wood layers. Angiosperms and gymnosperms evolved into two distinct mechanisms: the former produce a wood with large tension pre-stress on the upper side of the tilted axis, while the latter produce a wood with large compression pre-stress on the lower side. In both cases, the difference between this stress level and that of the opposite side, in light tension, generates the bending of the axis. However, light values of compression were sometimes measured in the opposite side of angiosperms. By analysing old data on chestnut and mani and new data on poplar, this study shows that these values were not measurement artefacts. This reveals that generating light compression stress in opposite wood contributes to improve the performance of the re-orientation mechanism.
Keywords: reaction wood; compression wood; tension wood; opposite wood; plant biomechanics; growth stresses; microfibrils angle
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Liu, S. Q., Loup, C., Gril, J., Dumonceaud, O., Thibaut, A., & Thibaut, B. (2005). Studies on European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.). Part 1: Variations of wood colour parameters. Ann. For. Sci., 62(7), 625–632.
Abstract: Colour parameters of European beech were measured using CIELab system. 103 logs from 87 trees in 9 sites were cut into boards to study the radial variations of wood colour parameters. Both site and tree effects on colour were observed. Patterns of red heartwood occurrence were defined. When excepting red heartwood there was still a highly significant effect of site and tree. Axial and radial variations were small, except very near the pith or in red heartwood, suggesting possible early selection at periphery under colour criteria. Red heartwood is darker, redder and more yellow than normal peripheral wood.
Keywords: Fagus sylvatica L.; CIELab colour system; solid wood; red heartwood
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Scotti-Saintagne, C., Bertocchi, E., Barreneche, T., Kremer, A., & Plomion, C. (2005). Quantitative trait loci mapping for vegetative propagation in pedunculate oak. Ann. For. Sci., 62(4), 369–374.
Abstract: Vegetative propagation is one of the main methods used for the deployment of improved genetic forest tree species. The objective of this paper was to study the genetic architecture of vegetative propagation by detecting Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL) in pedunculate oak ( Quercus robur). The mapping population consisted on an F-1 family of 278 offspring. Assessment of rooting ability over three years permitted the detection of 10 QTLs explaining between 4.4 and 13.8% of phenotypic variance, of which the two strongest were stable across years. Ongoing genomics programs in trees and in Arabidopsis are starting to shed light on the nature of the underlying genes.
Keywords: vegetative propagation; QTL; Quercus robur
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