Expression of physiological and morphological plasticity in response to gap formation in Japanese forest trees

研究了日本沙山林中常见树种对林隙的生理和形态反应。高茎粗生长与叶片细胞间隙、栅栏叶肉层厚度、叶面积和单位叶面积叶重等形态结构性状的可塑性显著相关。这些结果表明，遮荫和林隙之间较大的叶水平表型可塑性对林木在波动的光环境中的生长和长期生存至关重要。

Physiological and morphological responses to canopy gap for tree species commonly found in Japanese satoyama forests were studied. High stem diameter growth was significantly related to high plasticity in leaf morphological and structural traits such as intercellular space, palisade mesophyll layer thickness, leaf area, and leaf weight per unit leaf area. These results suggest that greater leaf-level phenotypic plasticity between shade and gap is critical to the growth and long-term survival of forest tree species in the fluctuating light environment of the satoyama forest.