Your browser version may not work well with NCBI's Web applications. More information here...
1: Nature. 2004 Apr 22;428(6985):851-4.
Related Articles, Links
Click here to read Click here to read
Comment in:
The limits to tree height.

Koch GW, Sillett SC, Jennings GM, Davis SD.

Department of Biological Sciences and the Merriam-Powell Center for Environmental Research, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona 86011, USA. george.koch@nau.edu

Trees grow tall where resources are abundant, stresses are minor, and competition for light places a premium on height growth. The height to which trees can grow and the biophysical determinants of maximum height are poorly understood. Some models predict heights of up to 120 m in the absence of mechanical damage, but there are historical accounts of taller trees. Current hypotheses of height limitation focus on increasing water transport constraints in taller trees and the resulting reductions in leaf photosynthesis. We studied redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens), including the tallest known tree on Earth (112.7 m), in wet temperate forests of northern California. Our regression analyses of height gradients in leaf functional characteristics estimate a maximum tree height of 122-130 m barring mechanical damage, similar to the tallest recorded trees of the past. As trees grow taller, increasing leaf water stress due to gravity and path length resistance may ultimately limit leaf expansion and photosynthesis for further height growth, even with ample soil moisture.

Publication Types:
PMID: 15103376 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]