<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
				
				 The study focuses on two young stands of European beech (Fagus sylvatica) and Norway spruce (Picea abies) of the same age (12-yearold) with similar sized trees grown at near identical sites. After performing a destructive sampling technique which included all tree compartments except fine roots; allometric equations were constructed for all tree components. Diameter at stem base (do) was utilized as an independent variable for the equations. The models expressed not only biomass of woody parts (branches, stem and coarse roots) and foliage but also foliage area and specific leaf area (SLA). Results indicate that the basic morphological properties of foliage vary in both species along the vertical crown profile. In spruce, contrasting values of needle area and SLA were recorded among needle sets (based on year of establishment). On a tree level, both spruce and beech had similar foliage areas however, beech had a larger biomass comprising of woody parts while spruce biomass was dominated by foliage. Therefore the leaf mass ratio (LMR) defined as the ratio between foliage biomass and total tree biomass, as well as leaf area ratio (LAR) defined as the ratio between leaf area and total tree biomass were much larger in spruce than in beech species. On a stand level, spruce manifested a higher value (18.64 m2.m−2) of leaf area index (LAI) than beech (12.77 m2.m−2). Moreover, while the biomass of foliage was 4.6 times higher in spruce than in beech, total biomass of woody parts were similar in both stands. These contrasts indicate very different growth strategies and biomass allocations between beech and spruce at the young growth stages
			</abstract>

The study focuses on two young stands of European beech (Fagus sylvatica) and Norway spruce (Picea abies) of the same age (12-yearold) with similar sized trees grown at near identical sites. After performing a destructive sampling technique which included all tree compartments except fine roots; allometric equations were constructed for all tree components. Diameter at stem base (do) was utilized as an independent variable for the equations. The models expressed not only biomass of woody parts (branches, stem and coarse roots) and foliage but also foliage area and specific leaf area (SLA). Results indicate that the basic morphological properties of foliage vary in both species along the vertical crown profile. In spruce, contrasting values of needle area and SLA were recorded among needle sets (based on year of establishment). On a tree level, both spruce and beech had similar foliage areas however, beech had a larger biomass comprising of woody parts while spruce biomass was dominated by foliage. Therefore the leaf mass ratio (LMR) defined as the ratio between foliage biomass and total tree biomass, as well as leaf area ratio (LAR) defined as the ratio between leaf area and total tree biomass were much larger in spruce than in beech species. On a stand level, spruce manifested a higher value (18.64 m2.m−2) of leaf area index (LAI) than beech (12.77 m2.m−2). Moreover, while the biomass of foliage was 4.6 times higher in spruce than in beech, total biomass of woody parts were similar in both stands. These contrasts indicate very different growth strategies and biomass allocations between beech and spruce at the young growth stages

Similar foliage area but contrasting foliage biomass between young beech and spruce stands / Porovnateľná plocha avšak kontrastná biomasa asimilačných orgánov medzi mladými porastmi buka a smreka

National Forest Centre-Forest Research Institute Zvolen, T. G. Masaryka 2175/22, SK – 960 92 Zvolen, Slovakia / Czech University of Life Sciences, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Kamýcká 1176, CZ – 165 21 Prague, Czech Republic

Central European Forestry Journal

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

The study focuses on two young stands of European beech (Fagus sylvatica) and Norway spruce (Picea abies) of the same age (12-yearold) with similar sized trees...

Similar foliage area but contrasting foliage biomass between young beech and spruce stands / Porovnateľná plocha avšak kontrastná biomasa asimilačných orgánov medzi mladými porastmi buka a smreka

Published Online: Mar 04, 2015

Page range: 205 - 213

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/forj-2015-0002

Keywords
Fagus sylvatica, Picea abies, leaf area index, specific leaf area, woody and foliage biomass

© by Bohdan Konôpka

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Similar foliage area but contrasting foliage biomass between young beech and spruce stands / Porovnateľná plocha avšak kontrastná biomasa asimilačných orgánov medzi mladými porastmi buka a smreka

Published Online: Mar 04, 2015

Page range: 205 - 213

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/forj-2015-0002

KeywordsFagus sylvatica, Picea abies, leaf area index, specific leaf area, woody and foliage biomass

© by Bohdan Konôpka

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
Fagus sylvatica, Picea abies, leaf area index, specific leaf area, woody and foliage biomass