Seasonal changes in leaf number and shoot elongation of Fagus crenata Blume seedlings under deciduous broad-leaved forest and in an open site.

摘要

Seasonal changes in the leaf number per shoot and the shoot elongation of planted Fagus crenata seedlings growing for 4 yr in a Juglans mandshurica subsp. sieboldiana forest and an adjacent open site were investigated in Japan. The patterns of leafemergence and shoot elongation were almost the same in both habitats, although the leaf number per shoot and shoot length of the seedlings in the open site were greater than those in the forest. This result indicated that the seedlings had a low plasticity in the shoot elongation process. However, the seedlings in the forest had an earlier shoot or leaf blade elongation in the growing season and retained their leaves later in autumn. The leaves of the seedlings in the forest also had better shade leaf characteristics than those of the seedlings in the open site. Consequently, it is suggested that F. crenata seedlings were more advantaged towards tolerant growth in a forest rather than towards exponential growth in an open site.