title: Wood properties and trunk allometry of co-occurring rainforest canopy trees in a cyclone-prone environment.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  New Caledonia commonly experiences cyclones, so trees there are expected to have enhanced wood traits and trunk allometry that confer resistance to wind damage. We ask whether there is evidence of a trade-off between these traits and growth rate among species.
  
  
  METHODS
  Wood traits, including density, microfibril angle (MFA), and modulus of elasticity (MOE), ratio of tree height to stem diameter, and growth rate were investigated in mature trees of 15 co-occurring canopy species in a New Caledonian rainforest.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In contrast to some studies, wood density did not correlate negatively with growth increment. Among angiosperms, wood density and MOE correlated positively with diameter-adjusted tree height, and MOE correlated positively with stem-diameter growth increment. Tall slender trees achieved high stiffness with high efficiency with respect to wood density, in part by low MFA, and with a higher diameter growth increment but a lower buckling safety factor. However, some tree species of a similar niche differed in whole-tree resistance to wind damage and achieved wood stiffness in different ways.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There was no evidence of a growth-safety trade-off in these trees. In forests that regularly experience cyclones, there may be stronger selection for high wood density and/or stiffness in fast-growing trees of the upper canopy, with the potential growth trade-off amortized by access to the upper canopy and by other plant traits. Furthermore, decreasing wood density does not necessarily decrease resistance to wind damage, resistance being influenced by other characteristics including cell-level traits (e.g., MFA) and whole-plant architecture.
authors: School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Victoria 3800, Australia. jenny.read@monash.edu
authors: Jennifer
authors: J
authors: Read
authors: Robert
authors: R
authors: Evans
authors: Gordon D
authors: GD
authors: Sanson
authors: Stuart
authors: S
authors: Kerr
authors: Tanguy
authors: T
authors: Jaffré
mesh_terms: D001699:Biometry; D019245:Compressive Strength; D055867:Cyclonic Storms; D019684:Magnoliopsida / Q000254:growth & development*; D009510:New Caledonia; D018547:Plant Stems / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000254:growth & development*; D014197:Trees / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000254:growth & development*; D014329:Tropical Climate; D014919:Wind; D014934:Wood