Functional relationships between crown morphology and within-crown characteristics of understory saplings of three codominant conifers in a subalpine forest in central Japan

Light-related plasticity of crown morphology and within-crown characteristics were investigated in understory sun and shade saplings of three codominant subalpine conifers, Abies mariesii M.T. Mast., Abies veitchii Lindl. and Picea jezoensis var. hondoensis (Mayr) Rehd. Compared with those of sun saplings, current-year shoots of shade saplings allocated less biomass to needles, resulting in less dense needle packing and hence less mutual needle shading. The proportion of lateral branch biomass in foliage was either similar in sun and shade saplings or greater in shade saplings, depending on the species, suggesting that, over the lifetime of a branch, greater needle longevity in shade compensates for reduced biomass investment in needles of current-year shoots of shade saplings. Saplings with slower-growing branches tended to have greater needle life spans, suggesting that plasticity of branch growth rate and plasticity of needle life span are interdependent. Both Abies species showed greater light-related plasticity of needle life span and branch growth than P. jezoensis. The greater shade tolerance of the Abies species derives from their broad flattened crowns with slow-growing branches. This type of crown development incurs substantial support costs, but the long needle life span of shade saplings of the Abies species compensates, at least in part, for their low annual investment in foliage, especially in the case of A. mariesii, which has a longer needle life span and slower-growing and stouter branches than A. veitchii. Compared with the Abies species, P. jezoensis had a less plastic crown morphology, and less variability of needle life span and branch growth in response to light, resulting in lower shade tolerance. However, compared with the flattened crown of Abies shade saplings, the conical crown of P. jezoensis saplings imposes a smaller support cost, making this species better adapted to rapid height growth than to survival in shade.     

Changes in shoot properties in relation to vertical positions within the crown of mature canopy trees of Abies mariesii and Abies veitchii

We investigated current shoot properties in two contrasting vertical positions (leader crown; LC, and lower branch; LB) within the crowns of mature trees of two subalpine conifer species, Abies mariesii and A. veitchii. For both LCs and LBs, shoot length decreased with increasing branching order. However, shoot properties were different between LCs and LBs. Shoots in LCs had more needle biomass per unit of shoot length. Shoots in sunny conditions pack needles closer along the shoot and intercept incoming light more completely. This causes the shoots in the LCs to have more needles. In contrast, less needle packing per unit shoot length in LBs results in the avoidance of mutual shading among needles in order to intercept limited light more effectively. Because branch systems in lower layers tend to be more shaded, the quantity of irradiance received by the shoots in LBs is smaller. Thus, reduced needle amounts on the shoots in LBs reflect the needle arrangement acclimating to the lower light availability. This study suggests the importance of changes in the properties of individual shoot as a component of a branch system and accordingly a whole-crown system in mature canopy trees of A. mariesii and A. veitchii.     

Effects of undisturbed canopy structure on population structure and species coexistence in an old-growth subalpine forest in central Japan

We investigated structural and compositional characteristics of an old-growth subalpine forest in central Japan, to ascertain forest dynamics and species coexistence. The forest appeared to have been fairly-undisturbed, at least during several recent decades, judging from the maximum occupancy of space by living canopy trees and an unchanged canopy structure between pre- and post-mortality phase. This stable forest showed minimum-scale dynamics that occurred primarily at a single-tree scale. Within this forest, the dominant species were Abies mariesii, A. veitchii and Picea jezoensis var. hondoensis. The two Abies species were abundant and showed advance regeneration, resulting from their high shade-tolerance. On the other hand, Picea showed the greatest basal area, in spite of its lower density. Picea showed steeper initial height-diameter allometric slopes, suggesting that its understorey saplings could increase height more rapidly under sunny conditions. Picea regenerates, given the opportunity of larger disturbances, as approximately even-aged cohorts, and then escapes competition from other shade-tolerant species by attaining the uppermost part of the canopy, resulting from rapid height growth of sapling, longer longevity and emergent attainable height. However, beneath the undisturbed canopy of this forest, in spite of its many seedlings, Picea entirely lacked regenerating individuals, suggesting that its regeneration is in a fairly-limited stage. This suggests that within the undisturbed forest, a demographic trait of Picea, in which the lower mortality of its canopy trees can compensate for its lower recruitment, is not enough to explain its stable coexistence with shade-tolerant Abies spp. Thus, not only the demographic trait, but also the spatial/temporal disturbance magnitude is important for an explanation of the coexistence of Picea with Abies. Consequently, it seems that not only equilibrium process, such as species differences in life-history traits, but also non-equilibrium process, such as disturbances, is crucial for their coexistence in this subalpine forest in central Japan.     

Light-related competitive effects of overstory trees on the understory conifer saplings in a subalpine forest

To clarify the mechanism by which overstory trees shade understory saplings, we investigated the relationships among light conditions of the saplings (measured as indirect site factor; ISF and direct site factor; DSF), the calculated competition effects of overstory trees on the saplings (W), and relative height growth rate of the saplings (RHGR). We calculated several W values in order to find a W value which can express the light conditions as appropriately as possible, and the results indicated that W explained only 21.9%–24.7% of the total variance of light conditions in the cases where W gave the best fit. In this study, W was calculated based on the basal areas of overstory trees. However, it is known that canopy structure also affects the light regimes in the forest understory, and this might yield the possible errors even within W representing the shading effects most adequately. Therefore, although W significantly represents the shading effect from overstory trees, a great proportion of the variance remained without being explained by W. RHGR was negatively correlated with W, and the W value which had the most adequate explanation of the shading effect also showed the best negative correlation with RHGR. This provides the evidence that the competitive effect of overstory trees on sapling growth is mediated by the shading effect, indicating that competition for light clearly exists within this forest. Such competition for light may closely relate to the well-known phenomenon of gap regeneration in subalpine forests in central Japan.     

Effects of clear-cutting on decomposition processes in leaf litter and the nitrogen and lignin dynamics in a temperate secondary forest

The effects of clear-cutting on the decomposition rate of leaf litter and on nitrogen (N) and lignin dynamics were investigated in a temperate secondary forest. Decomposition processes were examined over an 18-month period by the litterbag method and compared between a clear-cut site and an adjacent uncut control site using leaf litter from five dominant tree species (Clethra barvinervis, Quercus serrata, Camellia japonica, Ilex pedunculosa and Pinus densiflora). The decomposition rate for litter from C. barvinervis, Q. serrata and I. pedunculosa was significantly greater in the clear-cut plot than in the control plot, and there was no significant difference between plots for C. japonica and P. densiflora. Water content of litter was consistently lower in the clear-cut plot than in the control plot. Nitrogen mass increased after 6 months in the control plot, whereas no net increase of N was observed in the clear-cut plot. Nitrogen concentration increased with respect to accumulated mass loss of litter and was consistently lower in the clear-cut plot for all five species. The mass of lignin remaining in decomposing litter was generally lower in the clear-cut plot, but lignin concentration in decomposing litter was not significantly different between the clear-cut and control plots.     

Fine root dynamics in organic and mineral soil layers of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Cryptomeria japonica</Emphasis> D. Don plantation

Fine root dynamics and root architecture were studied in the organic and mineral soil layers of a Cryptomeria japonica plantation. Fine root biomass (<1 mm) showed seasonal changes whereas fine root biomass (1–2 mm) was unchanged over the study period. Root tips were grouped into size classes based on root tip diameter, including <0.5, 0.5–1, and 1–2 mm. Root tip density (<1 mm) was significantly correlated with fine root biomass (<1 mm). Root tip density and fine root biomass (<1 mm) increased in summer and decreased in winter, and both showed a similar seasonal pattern. Root tip dynamics influenced fine root dynamics. Root architecture as expressed by branching intensity changed with root tip production and mortality. Branching intensity also showed a similar seasonal pattern of root tip density dynamics. Root tips of both <0.5 and 0.5–1 mm were mainly produced in the organic soil layer, while root tips of 0.5–1 mm were mainly produced in the mineral soil layer. Because of the high RT1 root tip production in the organic soil layer, branching intensity was higher in the organic soil than in the mineral soil layer during summer. Root tip dynamics influenced fine root dynamics and the architecture of root systems in both organic and mineral soil layers.     

Comparison of two coniferous plantations in central Japan with respect to forest productivity, growth phenology and soil nitrogen dynamics

Japanese cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa Endl.) and Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica D. Don) are common species for plantation forestry in Japan. Cypress is conventionally planted on sites of low fertility whereas for cedar high fertility sites are used. Objectives of this study were to compare the productivities of cypress and cedar plantations grown on adjacent sites where common properties of soils, such as pH values and C and N contents, were similar, and to relate the N cycling at their site with productivities. The stem diameter of trees, aboveground litter production and fine root biomass were measured as indices of forest productivity. Parameters of N cycling included pools of total N and mineral N (ammonium + nitrate), annual N leaching, and potentially mineralizable N. The radial stem increment of the two tree species was similar. However, cedar site had higher total basal area and annual basal increment than cypress site reflecting higher tree density on the cedar site. Aboveground litter, fine root biomass, soil organic matter, and N turnover were higher on the cedar site than on the cypress site. However, litter production and fine root biomass per unit basal area was greater at the cypress site. Phenological pattern of stem growth and periodical litter production were similar for both species during the study period (1992–2000), but showed distinct annual variations caused by the fluctuation in the ambient temperature and precipitation. Mineral N content and the N mineralization potential were greater on the cedar site, indicating greater N availability and higher total tree productivity at the cedar site than those at the cypress site. When provided with more space in the canopy to expand more needles and in the soil to develop more fine roots to exploit sufficient resources, the individual cypress trees have the potential to grow faster. On fertile site and at lower tree density, thicker logs of cypress might be yielded.     

Effective sampling method for estimating bending strength distribution of Japanese larch square-sawn timber

Information on the strength distribution of timbers and other wood products seems to have become more important for users and producers after revision of the Japan architectural standard in 1998, which emphasizes the performance requirements of structures. Because there is no way other than expensive destructive tests to collect strength data, many researchers have proposed many inspecting methods for predicting strength by nondestructive evaluation. The most popular method for structural timber is the mechanical grading method based on the relation between Young's modulus (E) and strength () with some linear regression models. On the other hand, it is well known that the proof loading test is superior for obtaining information on the lower tail of distribution. If the E distribution of the objective timbers is known approximately, selecting timbers nearest to the projected E values saves timbers for destructive tests. We examined the alternative sampling method using the reported e- data sets of Japanese larch square-sawn timber. The simulated results showed that the estimated lower tail of the bending strength distribution by the alternative method was a better approximation of the experimental distribution than that derived from the conventional linear regression model.Part of this paper was presented at the 47th Annual Meeting of the Japan Wood Research Society, Kochi, April 1997     

Antioxidant mechanism studies on ferulic acid: identification of oxidative coupling products from methyl ferulate and linoleate

In our studies of the chain-breaking antioxidant mechanism of natural phenols in food components, ferulic acid, a phenolic acid widely distributed in edible plants, especially grain, was investigated. The radical oxidation reaction of a large amount of ethyl linoleate in the presence of the methyl ester of ferulic acid produced four types of peroxides as radical termination products. The isolation and structure determination of the peroxides revealed that they had tricyclic structures which consisted of ethyl linoleate, methyl ferulate, and molecular oxygen. Based on the formation pathway of the products, a radical scavenging reaction occurred at the 3'-position of the ferulate radical with the four types of peroxyl radicals of ethyl linoleate. The produced peroxides subsequently underwent intramolecular Diels-Alder reaction to afford stable tricyclic peroxides.