INVESTIGADORES
RUBIO Gerardo
artículos
Título:
Allometric relations for biomass partitioning of Nothofagus antarctica trees of different crown classes growing in a site quality gradient
Autor/es:
GARGAGLIONE V, PERI P, RUBIO G
Revista:
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
Editorial:
ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV
Referencias:
Año: 2010 vol. 259 p. 1118 - 1126
ISSN:
0378-1127
Resumen:
Background and Aims Data on tree biomass are essential for understanding carbon cycle and plant adaptations to the environment. Some authors postulated that consistent allometric relationships exist among the different organs of the plants. In this research, we studied the biomass accumulation and allocation of Nothofagus antarctica, a native tree that grows across a variety of sites in South Patagonia. Our aim was to evaluate if this tree follow allometric patterns of biomass allocation and how these patterns are regulated.Methods We measured above- and belowground biomass of N. antarcica trees across a range of different ages (5-220 years) and crown classes (dominant, codominant, intermediate and suppressed) in three site qualities. The biomass allocation patterns were studied by fitting allometric functions and the proposed “canonical rules” for biomass partitioning between leaves (ML), stem (MS) and roots (MR). These rules were tested for all pooled data and discriminated according to site quality and crown classes. Key Results and Conclusions In all sites, biomass accumulation followed the same gradient: dominant > codominant > intermediate > suppressed. The root component represented 26 to 72 % of the total biomass depending on age and site. N. antarctica scaling exponents for the relationships ML vs. MS, MA vs. MR, and MS vs. MR were close to those predicted by the allometric biomass partitioning model. However, when biomass allocation was discriminated by the quality of the site, the scaling exponents varied following the optimal partitioning theory which states that plants should allocate more biomass to the organ that acquires the most limiting resource. In contrast, the crown class effect on biomass partitioning was almost negligible. In conclusion, to get accurate estimations of biomass in N. antarctica trees the allometric approach appears as an useful tool but the three analyzed factors, (age, crown class and site quality) should be taken into consideration.