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Abstract
We used modified shadehouses to simulate the complex light conditions within forest openings and tested the effects of time of direct light exposure, the ratio of direct light to day length, and daily photosynthetically active radiation on aboveground biomass and morphological characteristics of 2-year-old cherrybark oak (
Quercus pagoda Raf.) seedlings. The five treatments represented the time of exposure to direct sunlight: NO, NOON, MORNING, AFTERNOON, and FULL. At the end of the second growing season, aboveground biomass was not statistically different among the treatments receiving direct sunlight but was significantly lower for the NO treatment. The NO seedlings had the lowest foliage density (leaf number per unit of stem height), while the FULL seedlings had the greatest foliage density. The mean weight of individual leaves did not differ among the light regimes, but individual leaf area in the NO treatment was 65 percent greater than that in the FULL treatment. Results of this study indicate that cherrybark oak seedlings adapt their physiological and morphological features to the prevailing light regime.
Parent Publication
Citation
Guo, Yanfei; Shelton, Michael G. 2004. Effects of Light Regimes on the Biomass and Morphological Characteristics of 2-Year-Old Cherrybark Oak Seedlings. Gen. Tech. Rep. SRS–71. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Research Station. pp. 483-486
