Browsed Betula pubescens trees are not carbon-limited

1. Slower growth after repetitive browsing of young trees has been attributed to a carbon (C) limitation, but data from long-term studies are lacking. To determine if repeated summer browsing causes a C (source) limitation in trees in the long-term, we analysed the non-structural carbohydrate (NSC)...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Functional ecology 2008-10, Vol.22 (5), p.808-815
Main Authors: Palacio, S., Hester, A. J., Maestro, M., Millard, P.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal and plant ecology
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Autoecology
Betula pubescens
Biological and medical sciences
Browsing
clipping
Defoliation
downy birch
Forest ecology
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
General aspects
herbivores
herbivory
Leaves
nitrogen
non-structural carbohydrates
Plant roots
Plant-Animal Interactions
Plants
Saplings
Starches
Stems
storage
Trees
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:1. Slower growth after repetitive browsing of young trees has been attributed to a carbon (C) limitation, but data from long-term studies are lacking. To determine if repeated summer browsing causes a C (source) limitation in trees in the long-term, we analysed the non-structural carbohydrate (NSC) and nitrogen (N) concentrations and pools of Betula pubescens saplings subjected to different clipping treatments (unclipped, 33% and 66% shoot removal) for 7 years. 2. The short-term effect of browsing on C allocation was assessed by clipping trees with different browsing histories and analyzing their C and N responses within the same growing season. 3. Long-term repetitive summer browsing significantly decreased sapling growth and soluble sugar (SS) concentrations in fine roots. However, trees subjected to different browsing histories did not change their C partitioning into starch. Although trees with a different browsing history showed differences in the NSC concentrations and pools of leaves, these differences were not maintained through time. 4. Simulated browsing had no significant short-term effect on root C and N pools of birch trees, but it decreased all C pools in leaves, 1-year and current-year stems and the starch and total NSC pools in main stems. 5. We conclude that although browsing may cause a temporary decrease in C pools, B. pubescens trees are able to compensate for such losses and hence are not C-limited in the long-term.
ISSN:0269-8463
1365-2435
DOI:10.1111/j.1365-2435.2008.01433.x