title: Maximum plant height and the biophysical factors that limit it.
abstract: Basic engineering theory and empirically determined allometric relationships for the biomass partitioning patterns of extant tree-sized plants show that the mechanical requirements for vertical growth do not impose intrinsic limits on the maximum heights that can be reached by species with woody, self-supporting stems. This implies that maximum tree height is constrained by other factors, among which hydraulic constraints are plausible. A review of the available information on scaling relationships observed for large tree-sized plants, nevertheless, indicates that mechanical and hydraulic requirements impose dual restraints on plant height and thus, may play equally (but differentially) important roles during the growth of arborescent, large-sized species. It may be the case that adaptations to mechanical and hydraulic phenomena have optimized growth, survival and reproductive success rather than longevity and mature size.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA. kjn2@cornell.edu
authors.forename: Karl J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Niklas
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D018533:Biomass; D017753:Ecosystem; D008954:Models, Biological; D063245:Plant Development; D010944:Plants / Q000378:metabolism; D014197:Trees / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism; D014867:Water / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D014867:Water