Non-linear growth in tree ferns, Dicksonia antarctica and Cyathea australis.
Tree ferns are an important structural component of forests in many countries. However, because their regeneration is often unrelated to major disturbances, their age is often difficult to determine. In addition, rates of growth may not be uniform, which further complicates attempts to determine the...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:1de6b81d24a44740bd85a8c0e2353621 2023-05-15T13:37:25+02:00 Non-linear growth in tree ferns, Dicksonia antarctica and Cyathea australis. David P Blair Wade Blanchard Sam C Banks David B Lindenmayer 2017-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0176908 https://doaj.org/article/1de6b81d24a44740bd85a8c0e2353621 EN eng Public Library of Science (PLoS) http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5426625?pdf=render https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203 1932-6203 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0176908 https://doaj.org/article/1de6b81d24a44740bd85a8c0e2353621 PLoS ONE, Vol 12, Iss 5, p e0176908 (2017) Medicine R Science Q article 2017 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0176908 2022-12-31T07:10:41Z Tree ferns are an important structural component of forests in many countries. However, because their regeneration is often unrelated to major disturbances, their age is often difficult to determine. In addition, rates of growth may not be uniform, which further complicates attempts to determine their age. In this study, we measured 5 years of growth of Cyathea australis and Dicksonia antarctica after a large wildfire in 2009 in south-eastern Australia. We found growth rates of these two species were unaffected by aspect and elevation but slope had a minor effect with D. antarctica growing 0.3mm faster for each additional degree of slope. Geographic location influenced growth in both species by up to 12 - 14mm/yr. The most consistent factor influencing growth rate, however, was initial height at the time of the 2009 fire; a finding consistent in both species and all geographic locations. For both tree fern species, individuals that were taller at the commencement of the study had greater overall growth for the duration of the study. This effect did not decrease even among the tallest tree ferns in our study (up to 6 metres tall). Overall, Cyathea australis averaged 73 (± 22)mm/year of growth (± 1SD), with the rate increasing 5mm/yr per metre of additional height. Dicksonia antarctica averaged 33 (± 13)mm/year, increasing by 6mm/yr/m. Growth rates dependent on initial height were unexpected and we discuss possible reasons for this finding. Variable growth rates also suggest that common age estimation methods of dividing height by average growth rate are likely to underestimate the age of short tree ferns, while overestimating the age of tall tree ferns, particularly if they have been subject to a fire. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctica Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles PLOS ONE 12 5 e0176908 |
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Medicine R Science Q |
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Medicine R Science Q David P Blair Wade Blanchard Sam C Banks David B Lindenmayer Non-linear growth in tree ferns, Dicksonia antarctica and Cyathea australis. |
topic_facet |
Medicine R Science Q |
description |
Tree ferns are an important structural component of forests in many countries. However, because their regeneration is often unrelated to major disturbances, their age is often difficult to determine. In addition, rates of growth may not be uniform, which further complicates attempts to determine their age. In this study, we measured 5 years of growth of Cyathea australis and Dicksonia antarctica after a large wildfire in 2009 in south-eastern Australia. We found growth rates of these two species were unaffected by aspect and elevation but slope had a minor effect with D. antarctica growing 0.3mm faster for each additional degree of slope. Geographic location influenced growth in both species by up to 12 - 14mm/yr. The most consistent factor influencing growth rate, however, was initial height at the time of the 2009 fire; a finding consistent in both species and all geographic locations. For both tree fern species, individuals that were taller at the commencement of the study had greater overall growth for the duration of the study. This effect did not decrease even among the tallest tree ferns in our study (up to 6 metres tall). Overall, Cyathea australis averaged 73 (± 22)mm/year of growth (± 1SD), with the rate increasing 5mm/yr per metre of additional height. Dicksonia antarctica averaged 33 (± 13)mm/year, increasing by 6mm/yr/m. Growth rates dependent on initial height were unexpected and we discuss possible reasons for this finding. Variable growth rates also suggest that common age estimation methods of dividing height by average growth rate are likely to underestimate the age of short tree ferns, while overestimating the age of tall tree ferns, particularly if they have been subject to a fire. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
David P Blair Wade Blanchard Sam C Banks David B Lindenmayer |
author_facet |
David P Blair Wade Blanchard Sam C Banks David B Lindenmayer |
author_sort |
David P Blair |
title |
Non-linear growth in tree ferns, Dicksonia antarctica and Cyathea australis. |
title_short |
Non-linear growth in tree ferns, Dicksonia antarctica and Cyathea australis. |
title_full |
Non-linear growth in tree ferns, Dicksonia antarctica and Cyathea australis. |
title_fullStr |
Non-linear growth in tree ferns, Dicksonia antarctica and Cyathea australis. |
title_full_unstemmed |
Non-linear growth in tree ferns, Dicksonia antarctica and Cyathea australis. |
title_sort |
non-linear growth in tree ferns, dicksonia antarctica and cyathea australis. |
publisher |
Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
publishDate |
2017 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0176908 https://doaj.org/article/1de6b81d24a44740bd85a8c0e2353621 |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctica |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctica |
op_source |
PLoS ONE, Vol 12, Iss 5, p e0176908 (2017) |
op_relation |
http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5426625?pdf=render https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203 1932-6203 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0176908 https://doaj.org/article/1de6b81d24a44740bd85a8c0e2353621 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0176908 |
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PLOS ONE |
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12 |
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5 |
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e0176908 |
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