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(American Journal of Botany. 2007;94:1316-1320.)
© 2007 Botanical Society of America, Inc.

Ecology

Evolutionary correlations of polycyclic shoot growth in Acer (Sapindaceae)1

Miguel Verdú4 and José Climent

Centro de Investigaciones sobre Desertificación (CSIC-UV-GV), Apartado Oficial, 46470 Albal (Valencia), Spain; CIFOR, Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Agrarias y Alimentarias (INIA), Apdo 8111, 28080 Madrid, Spain

ABSTRACT

Two strategies have evolved in understory trees in relation to light availability: maximization of light capture and shade tolerance. In the genus Acer, light capture is favored by a suite of traits maximizing twig thickness and leaf size and minimizing the density of branching in the crown. In contrast, shade tolerance is enhanced by minimizing crown area, crown volume, and total leaf area per unit height. Maples with polycyclic shoot growth (i.e., successive flushes of shoot growth separated by a resting phase within the same vegetative period) may benefit from the prolonged growth by growing more and increasing total leaf area; thus we hypothesize that polycyclism is evolutionarily correlated with the suite of traits related to light capture. We tested this hypothesis using different phylogenetic trees to explore correlations between polycyclism and both suites of traits. Polycyclism was correlated with the suite of traits maximizing light capture, suggesting that polycyclic maples are "optimists" (i.e., they make vigorous vertical extensions in rich light) and monocyclic maples are "pessimists" (i.e., they wait in the dark understory until a gap is opened). Both strategies have been described for different floras, and interestingly, polycyclic species recruit over a wider range of environments than the monocyclic species.

Key Words: comparative method • heterochrony • light competition • shade tolerance • understory maples






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