A Structural Approach to the Function of Buttresses of Quararibea Asterolepis

Richter, Wayne

doi:10.2307/1939123

Cited by 32 publications

(44 citation statements)

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“…Navez 1930;Richter 1984;Lewis 1988;Ennos 1993). Strong gusts of wind ahead of thunderstorms over Korup are known but not with a consistent wind direction.…”

Section: Buttress Formmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…If a part of a tree's crown tended to be largely supplied with its mineral nutrients via the lateral buttressed roots directly below it (perhaps an explanation for the interesting observations of Whitford 1906, in this respect), then the pattern in buttressing developed in early life (when the tree was in the sub-canopy with minimal structural requirements) would not necessarily be ideally positioned to supply the tension or compression wood for an asymmetry of the crown on the other side as a large canopy/emergent adult (inferred from Richter 1984). This further explains the complicated and varied patterning in buttress sizes and directions.…”

Section: Buttress Formmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…& L. O. Williams (also Leguminosae) were not related to orientation of the wind nor were they consistently on the uphill side of leaning trees, although the largest buttresses were often on the windward side. Richter (1984) working on Quararibea asterolepis Pittier (Bombacaceae) found correlations between buttress direction, size and branches to be weak although the longest buttress (up to 2 m) tended to grow away from the point of largest crown load. Most authors have noted that buttresses grew allometrically at faster rates than stems, suggesting that buttress wood can react effectively when needed.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Buttress form of the central African rain forest tree Microberlinia bisulcata, and its possible role in nutrient acquisition

Newbery

Schwan

Chuyong

et al. 2008

Trees

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Buttressing is a trait special to tropical trees but explanations for its occurrence remain inconclusive. The two main hypotheses are that they provide structural support and/or promote nutrient acquisition. Studies of the first are common but the second has received much less attention. Architectural measurements were made on adult and juvenile trees of the ectomycorrhizal species Microberlinia bisulcata, in Korup (Cameroon). Buttressing on this species is highly distinctive with strong lateral extension of surface roots of the juveniles leading to a mature buttress system of a shallow spreading form on adults. This contrasts with more vertical buttresses, closer to the stem, found on many other tropical tree species. No clear relationship between main buttress and large branch distribution was found. Whilst this does not argue against the essential structural role of buttresses for these very large tropical trees, the form on M. bisulcata does suggest a likely second role, that of aiding nutrient acquisition. At the Korup site, with its deep sandy soils of very low phosphorus status, and where most nutrient cycling takes place in a thin surface layer of fine roots and mycorrhizas, it appears that buttress form could develop from soil-surface root exploration for nutrients by juvenile trees. It may accordingly allow M. bisulcata to attain the higher greater competitive ability, faster growth rate, and maximum tree size that it does compared with other co-occurring tree species. For sites across the tropics in general, the degree of shallowness and spatial extension of buttresses of the dominant species is hypothesized to increase with decreasing nutrient availability.

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“…Navez 1930;Richter 1984;Lewis 1988;Ennos 1993). Strong gusts of wind ahead of thunderstorms over Korup are known but not with a consistent wind direction.…”

Section: Buttress Formmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Buttress Formmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Buttress form of the central African rain forest tree Microberlinia bisulcata, and its possible role in nutrient acquisition

Newbery

Schwan

Chuyong

et al. 2008

Trees

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“…A study in southwest China shows that the percentage of buttressed trees is highest in the larger diameter classes (He et al 2013). Buttresses are complex features that are regarded as an adaptation to poor tropical soils, enabling trees to form a flat root system in the upper, nutrient richer soil layers while maintaining their mechanical stability and anchorage (Richards 1952, Richter 1984, Ennos 1993, Crook et al 1997, Newbery et al 2009, Niklas 2013. Usually Dipterocarpaceae, Ligumninosae and Sterculiaceae show a greater tendency to produce buttresses than other tree species.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

On the geometry and allometry of big-buttressed trees - a challenge for forest monitoring: new insights from 3D-modeling with terrestrial laser scanning

Nölke¹,

Fehrmann²,

Nengah³

et al. 2015

iForest

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© iForest -Biogeosciences and Forestry IntroductionOne of the most meaningful attributes used to describe forests both as a resource and as an ecosystem is biomass density per unit area. Nondestructive measurements of tree biomass are not possible -at least if the term "measurement" is used in its generic sense. Therefore, models are established based on destructively sampled trees to estimate total biomass. Tree variables commonly used for such models are the diameter at breast height (DBH, measured at 1.3 m height) or DBH in combination with total tree height. These allometric relationships (from the ancient Greek word "αλλος" = "other") are commonly modeled as power functions (Niklas 1994, West et al. 1999a, Zianis & Mencuccini 2004, Pilli et al. 2006, Fehrmann & Kleinn 2006 of the form M = aDb, where M is the mass of dry matter, D is the diameter, b is the allometric scaling factor and a is a coefficient determining the allometric intercept (Parresol 1999). The general model formulation also complies with assumptions of process models in plant allometry that are based on considerations on the hydraulic architecture and structural design of vascular plants and derive a particular scaling exponent of 8/3 (West et al. 1997, 1999a, 1999b, Enquist 2002, Niklas 2004. Total tree biomass is expected to scale proportionally to the conducting tissue that determines the metabolic rate.The predicted biomass value, however, is not to be understood as a "measurement", but rather as "model-based estimation", carrying not only measurement errors (introduced by the measurement of the input variables to the model used) but also model errors (Clark & Kellner 2012). In many old-growth natural and close-to-natural forest types, in particular tropical forests, the relatively few very large trees fix a large amount of carbon (Stephenson et al. 2014) and contribute a considerable share to the stand basal area and total biomass: "Large trees drive forest aboveground biomass variation in moist lowland forests across the tropics" (Slik et al. 2010).In tropical forests the largest proportion of buttressed trees is usually among the emergent trees in the upper crown layer. These huge trees frequently show very irregular non-convex shapes (Chapman et al. 1998, Mehedi et al. 2012, Cushman et al. 2014. Clark (2002) reports for a Costarican lowland rain forest that about 52% of the stands' above ground woody biomass was constituted by trees whose diameter needed to be measured above stem irregularities. A study in southwest China shows that the percentage of buttressed trees is highest in the larger diameter classes (He et al. 2013). Buttresses are complex features that are regarded as an adaptation to poor tropical soils, enabling trees to form a flat root system in the upper, nutrient richer soil layers while maintaining their mechanical stability and anchorage (Richards 1952, Richter 1984, Ennos 1993, Crook et al. 1997, Newbery et al. 2009, Niklas 2013. Usually Dipterocarpaceae, Ligumninosae and Sterculiaceae show a greater tendency to p...

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“…In turn, Swaine (1983) observed that stilt roots may allow individuals to establish at ephemeral sites or sites with high amounts of debris by shifting the rooting location so as to avoid organic debris such as logs. Some studies have also suggested that stilt roots may act as tensioning buttresses and improve anchoring in less-developed substrates or in areas of high wind stress (Henwood 1973, Jeník 1978, Richter 1984. The association of Iriarteoid palms with steep sloped habitats has led to the suggestion that stilt roots may be an adaptation to unstable conditions and provide mechanical stability against uprooting (Henderson 1990, Chiatante et al 2002.…”

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confidence: 99%

The function of stilt roots in the growth strategy of Socratea exorrhiza (Arecaceae) at two neotropical sites

Goldsmith¹,

Zahawi

2007

RBT

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Arboreal palms have developed a variety of structural root modifications and systems to adapt to the harsh abiotic conditions of tropical rain forests. Stilt roots have been proposed to serve a number of functions including the facilitation of rapid vertical growth to the canopy and enhanced mechanical stability. To examine whether stilt roots provide these functions, we compared stilt root characteristics of the neotropical palm tree Socratea exorrhiza on sloped (>20º) and flat locations at two lowland neotropical sites. S. exorrhiza (n=80 trees) did not demonstrate differences in number of roots, vertical stilt root height, root cone circumference, root cone volume, or location of roots as related to slope. However, we found positive relationships between allocation to vertical growth and stilt root architecture including root cone circumference, number of roots, and root cone volume. Accordingly, stilt roots may allow S. exorrhiza to increase height and maintain mechanical stability without having to concurrently invest in increased stem diameter and underground root structure. This strategy likely increases the species ability to rapidly exploit light gaps as compared to non-stilt root palms and may also enhance survival as mature trees approach the theoretical limits of their mechanical stability. Rev. Biol. Tropical wet rain forest trees use several root architectural strategies to cope with a number of harsh edaphic conditions including waterlogging, poorly developed soil profiles, and unstable soils (Dransfield 1978). Jeník (1978) identifies at least 25 model root systems in tropical trees, of which the most striking are buttresses and stilt or aerial adventitious roots. Stilt roots have evolved in many plant families, but most species belong to the Arecaceae (Richards 1996). Iriarteoid palms, which include the genus Socratea H. Karst., have stilt roots that arise from the lower portion of the stem and grow freely in the air until they make contact with the ground and root (Kahn and de Granville 1992). In Socratea exorrhiza (Mart.) H. Wendl., a common lowland neotropical species, stilt roots begin establishing almost immediately following seedling germination (Kahn and de Granville 1992). Mature S. exorrhiza demonstrate great individual variation in stilt root patterns with respect to the number, size, and height of roots, such that their function has been debated extensively.Despite a number of proposed hypotheses, the function of stilt roots in palms remains poorly understood. In a now refuted hypothesis (Dransfield 1978, Kahn andde Granville 1992), Corner (1966) suggested that stilt root palms were associated with areas prone to water-logging and flooding. Bodley and Benson (1980) coined the term "walking palm" by observing saplings of S. exorrhiza 'escape' from beneath fallen debris by developing new roots on the opposing side of a disturbance and effectively righting themselves by allowing old roots to rot away. In turn, Swaine (1983) observed that stilt roots may allow individuals to est...

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A Structural Approach to the Function of Buttresses of Quararibea Asterolepis

Cited by 32 publications

References 14 publications

Buttress form of the central African rain forest tree Microberlinia bisulcata, and its possible role in nutrient acquisition

Buttress form of the central African rain forest tree Microberlinia bisulcata, and its possible role in nutrient acquisition

On the geometry and allometry of big-buttressed trees - a challenge for forest monitoring: new insights from 3D-modeling with terrestrial laser scanning

The function of stilt roots in the growth strategy of Socratea exorrhiza (Arecaceae) at two neotropical sites

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