Abstract
Functional size-structure-based models of forest tree population dynamics present a unifying explanation for population-level patterns and tree community organization. Density-dependent regulation can be explicitly replaced by the effect of size-structure-dependent suppression on demographic processes in functional size-structure models. This suppression effect sufficiently explains various patterns reported for crowded evenaged populations. Further, it stabilizes natural forest populations of overlapping generations at a stationary state with balanced recruitment and mortality. The spatial heterogeneity of light resources created by tree size structure offers an opportunity for multiple species to coexist by means of trade-offs between demographic parameters. The energy correlation of tree species diversity at a geographic scale is also attributable to the architectural feature of forests.
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Recipient of the Botanical Society Award of Young Scientists, 1992.
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Kohyama, T. Size-structure-based models of forest dynamics to interpret population- and community-level mechanisms. J. Plant Res. 107, 107–116 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02344537
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02344537