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Allometric scaling of production and life-history variation in vascular plants

Author

Listed:
  • Brian J. Enquist

    (National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis
    The Santa Fe Institute)

  • Geoffrey B. West

    (The Santa Fe Institute
    T-8, MS B285, Los Alamos National Laboratory)

  • Eric L. Charnov

    (University of New Mexico)

  • James H. Brown

    (University of New Mexico
    The Santa Fe Institute)

Abstract

A prominent feature of comparative life histories is the well documented negative correlation between growth rate and life span1,2. Patterns of resource allocation during growth and reproduction reflect life-history differences between species1,2. This is particularly striking in tropical forests, where tree species can differ greatly in their rates of growth and ages of maturity but still attain similar canopy sizes3,4. Here we provide a theoretical framework for relating life-history variables to rates of production, dM/dt, where M is above-ground mass and t is time. As metabolic rate limits production as an individual grows, dM/dt ∝ M3/4. Incorporating interspecific variation in resource allocation to wood density, we derive a universal growth law that quantitatively fits data for a large sample of tropical tree species with diverse life histories. Combined with evolutionary life-history theory1, the growth law also predicts several qualitative features of tree demography and reproduction. This framework also provides a general quantitative answer to why relative growth rate (1/M)(dM/df) decreases with increasing plant size (∝M-1/4) and how it varies with differing allocation strategies5,6,7,8.

Suggested Citation

  • Brian J. Enquist & Geoffrey B. West & Eric L. Charnov & James H. Brown, 1999. "Allometric scaling of production and life-history variation in vascular plants," Nature, Nature, vol. 401(6756), pages 907-911, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:401:y:1999:i:6756:d:10.1038_44819
    DOI: 10.1038/44819
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Nadia S Santini & Quan Hua & Nele Schmitz & Catherine E Lovelock, 2013. "Radiocarbon Dating and Wood Density Chronologies of Mangrove Trees in Arid Western Australia," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(11), pages 1-8, November.
    2. Tao, Yong & Lin, Li & Wang, Hanjie & Hou, Chen, 2023. "Superlinear growth and the fossil fuel energy sustainability dilemma: Evidence from six continents," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 39-51.
    3. Janko Arsić & Marko Stojanović & Lucia Petrovičová & Estelle Noyer & Slobodan Milanović & Jan Světlík & Petr Horáček & Jan Krejza, 2021. "Increased wood biomass growth is associated with lower wood density in Quercus petraea (Matt.) Liebl. saplings growing under elevated CO2," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(10), pages 1-20, October.
    4. Hannah Capes & Robert J. Maillardet & Thomas G. Baker & Christopher J. Weston & Don McGuire & Ian C. Dumbrell & Andrew P. Robinson, 2017. "The Allometric Quarter-Power Scaling Model and Its Applicability to Grand Fir and Eucalyptus Trees," Journal of Agricultural, Biological and Environmental Statistics, Springer;The International Biometric Society;American Statistical Association, vol. 22(4), pages 562-584, December.
    5. Masae Iwamoto Ishihara & Yasuo Konno & Kiyoshi Umeki & Yasuyuki Ohno & Kihachiro Kikuzawa, 2016. "A New Model for Size-Dependent Tree Growth in Forests," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(4), pages 1-18, April.
    6. Tyson L Swetnam & Christopher D O’Connor & Ann M Lynch, 2016. "Tree Morphologic Plasticity Explains Deviation from Metabolic Scaling Theory in Semi-Arid Conifer Forests, Southwestern USA," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(7), pages 1-16, July.
    7. Nath, Arun Jyoti & Sileshi, Gudeta W. & Das, Ashesh Kumar, 2018. "Bamboo based family forests offer opportunities for biomass production and carbon farming in North East India," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 191-200.

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