Overview
- Unique and timely synthesis of current state of knowledge and future research needs on the topic
- Contents of interest to forest managers and silviculturists as well as those conducting basic research
- Information in book has important implications for policymakers in the context of forests, climate change and the carbon cycle
Part of the book series: Tree Physiology (TREE, volume 4)
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About this book
Millions of trees live and grow all around us, and we all recognize the vital role they play in the world’s ecosystems. Publicity campaigns exhort us to plant yet more. Yet until recently comparatively little was known about the root causes of the physical changes that attend their growth. Since trees typically increase in size by three to four orders of magnitude in their journey to maturity, this gap in our knowledge has been a crucial issue to address. Here at last is a synthesis of the current state of our knowledge about both the causes and consequences of ontogenetic changes in key features of tree structure and function.
During their ontogeny, trees undergo numerous changes in their physiological function, the structure and mechanical properties of their wood, and overall architecture and allometry. This book examines the central interplay between these changes and tree size and age. It also explores the impact these changes can have, at the level of the individual tree, on the emerging characteristics of forest ecosystems at various stages of their development. The analysis offers an explanation for the importance of discriminating between the varied physical properties arising from the nexus of size and age, as well as highlighting the implications these ontogenetic changes have for commercial forestry and climate change. This important and timely summation of our knowledge base in this area, written by highly respected researchers, will be of huge interest, not only to researchers, but also to forest managers and silviculturists.
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Keywords
Table of contents (18 chapters)
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THE WHOLE-LIFESPAN PERSPECTIVE ON INTEGRATION OF STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION
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INTEGRATION OF STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION ACROSS ONTOGENY
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PHOTOSYNTHETIC GAS EXCHANGE AND CARBON BALANCE
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WATER RELATIONS AND TRANSPORT PROCESSES
Editors and Affiliations
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Size- and Age-Related Changes in Tree Structure and Function
Editors: Frederick C. Meinzer, Barbara Lachenbruch, Todd E. Dawson
Series Title: Tree Physiology
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1242-3
Publisher: Springer Dordrecht
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life Sciences, Biomedical and Life Sciences (R0)
Copyright Information: Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2011
Hardcover ISBN: 978-94-007-1241-6Published: 01 July 2011
Softcover ISBN: 978-94-007-3769-3Published: 27 November 2013
eBook ISBN: 978-94-007-1242-3Published: 29 June 2011
Series ISSN: 1568-2544
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XIV, 514
Topics: Tree Biology, Plant Physiology, Forestry, Plant Ecology, Wood Science & Technology