ibclogo XVI International Botanical Congess

Abstract Number: 6041
Session = 11.15.7


THE ALLOMETRY OF NITROGEN UPTAKE IN CROWDED BETULA SPP. SEEDLING POPULATIONS


G.M. Berntson#, P.Wayne*, J. Weiner+, and F.A. Bazzaz*, (#Complex Systems Research Center, Morse Hall, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH 03824, USA, *Dept. Organismal and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA and +botany Section, royal Veterinary and Agricultural University, DK-1958 Frederiksberg, Denmark)


We looked at individual growth and resource competition in Betula spp. Populations in terms of the relationship between plant size and uptake of two specific resources: nitrogen and light. When plants were growing without competition, there was a linear relationship between measures of size and uptake of the resource for both resources. When plants were crowded, nitrogen uptake still showed a linear relationship with measures of plant size, such that larger plants received a disproportionate share of the incident light. This provides a basis for understanding the mechanisms determining the degree of size-asymmetry" in competition among plants.

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