TY - JOUR
T1 - The limits to tree height
AU - Koch, George W.
AU - Stillet, Stephen C.
AU - Jennings, Gregory M.
AU - Davis, Stephen D.
N1 - Funding Information:
Acknowledgements This work was supported by the Global Forest Society, the Save-the-Redwoods League, and Northern Arizona University’s Organized Research, and permitted by Redwood State and National Parks. J. Amthor, S. Burgess, T. Dawson, A. Fredeen, B. Hungate and H. Mooney provided comments that improved the paper.
PY - 2004/4/22
Y1 - 2004/4/22
N2 - Trees grow tall where resources are abundant, stresses are minor, and competition for light places a premium on height growth. The height to which trees can grow and the biophysical determinants of maximum height are poorly understood. Some models predict heights of up to 120 m in the absence of mechanical damage, but there are historical accounts of taller trees. Current hypotheses of height limitation focus on increasing water transport constraints in taller trees and the resulting reductions in leaf photosynthesis. We studied redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens), including the tallest known tree on Earth (112.7 m), in wet temperate forests of northern California. Our regression analyses of height gradients in leaf functional characteristics estimate a maximum tree height of 122-130 m barring mechanical damage, similar to the tallest recorded trees of the past. As trees grow taller, increasing leaf water stress due to gravity and path length resistance may ultimately limit leaf expansion and photosynthesis for further height growth, even with ample soil moisture.
AB - Trees grow tall where resources are abundant, stresses are minor, and competition for light places a premium on height growth. The height to which trees can grow and the biophysical determinants of maximum height are poorly understood. Some models predict heights of up to 120 m in the absence of mechanical damage, but there are historical accounts of taller trees. Current hypotheses of height limitation focus on increasing water transport constraints in taller trees and the resulting reductions in leaf photosynthesis. We studied redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens), including the tallest known tree on Earth (112.7 m), in wet temperate forests of northern California. Our regression analyses of height gradients in leaf functional characteristics estimate a maximum tree height of 122-130 m barring mechanical damage, similar to the tallest recorded trees of the past. As trees grow taller, increasing leaf water stress due to gravity and path length resistance may ultimately limit leaf expansion and photosynthesis for further height growth, even with ample soil moisture.
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U2 - 10.1038/nature02417
DO - 10.1038/nature02417
M3 - Article
C2 - 15103376
AN - SCOPUS:1942467025
SN - 0028-0836
VL - 428
SP - 851
EP - 854
JO - Nature
JF - Nature
IS - 6985
ER -