Next Article in Journal
Assessing the Influence of Social Factors on Local Perceptions of Climate Change, Product Value Addition, Multiple Uses of NTFPs, and Their Influence on Poverty Alleviation in Ghana
Next Article in Special Issue
Assessing the Relationship between Tree Growth, Crown Size, and Neighboring Tree Species Diversity in Mixed Coniferous and Broad Forests Using Crown Size Competition Indices
Previous Article in Journal
Preliminary Tests of a Hybrid Cable Splice (Synthetic–Metal) to Innovate Timber Harvesting in the Mediterranean Forestry Sector
Previous Article in Special Issue
Assessing Water Relations and Carbon Dynamics of Pinus taeda Branches Undergoing Shade-Induced Mortality
 
 
Font Type:
Arial Georgia Verdana
Font Size:
Aa Aa Aa
Line Spacing:
Column Width:
Background:
Article

Branch Elongation, Bud Durability, and Wind-Generated Crown Movement Associated with Crown Abrasion in Deciduous Trees

by
Wayne K. Clatterbuck
1,*,
Tyler M. L. Brannon
1,† and
Edward C. Yost
2
1
School of Forest Resources, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
2
Forest Resources Research & Education Center, Institute of Agriculture, AgResearch, University of Tennessee, Oak Ridge, TN 37830, USA
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
This work was part of the Master’s thesis of the second author Tyler M. L. Brannon.
Forests 2024, 15(2), 247; https://doi.org/10.3390/f15020247
Submission received: 19 December 2023 / Revised: 18 January 2024 / Accepted: 24 January 2024 / Published: 28 January 2024

Abstract

Trees that grow in close proximity to other trees are subject to crown and branch abrasion, causing mechanical injury. The loss of branch tips and buds through abrasion can affect the architecture and growth of tree crowns. This research quantifies the impacts of crown abrasion between neighboring trees of several deciduous species and how crown abrasion may influence stand dynamics. Tree interactions were evaluated during the dormant and growing seasons to determine how wind-generated movement affects crowns under foliated and un-foliated conditions. Branch elongation was measured in tree crowns where growth was both inhibited and uninhibited by adjacent trees. Bud durability was evaluated by growing season for species with determinate and indeterminate shoot growth forms using a pendulum impact tester. Crown movement during wind events was assessed by using three-axial accelerometers in the outermost points of tree crowns. Accelerometers logged the movement of branches in the tree crown. By using both the crown sway acceleration and associated bud durability and mass data, the possible force necessary to break or abrade buds and branches was calculated at different wind speeds. Branch elongation was greater for most species on the exposed side of the crown that was not affected by adjacent trees. Preformed buds from the determinate growth form were determined to have greater durability than sustained growth or indeterminant buds. Acceleration from wind gusts increased more rapidly as wind speed intensified in the growing season when leaves were on the tree than in the dormant season. This research suggests that crown abrasion contributes to the development of mixed species stands by reducing crown size and growth therefore allowing slower-growing species with determinant growth to stratify above faster growing trees with indeterminant growth.
Keywords: crown abrasion; crown shyness; crown dynamics; bud durability; tree sway acceleration and force; stand development crown abrasion; crown shyness; crown dynamics; bud durability; tree sway acceleration and force; stand development

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Clatterbuck, W.K.; Brannon, T.M.L.; Yost, E.C. Branch Elongation, Bud Durability, and Wind-Generated Crown Movement Associated with Crown Abrasion in Deciduous Trees. Forests 2024, 15, 247. https://doi.org/10.3390/f15020247

AMA Style

Clatterbuck WK, Brannon TML, Yost EC. Branch Elongation, Bud Durability, and Wind-Generated Crown Movement Associated with Crown Abrasion in Deciduous Trees. Forests. 2024; 15(2):247. https://doi.org/10.3390/f15020247

Chicago/Turabian Style

Clatterbuck, Wayne K., Tyler M. L. Brannon, and Edward C. Yost. 2024. "Branch Elongation, Bud Durability, and Wind-Generated Crown Movement Associated with Crown Abrasion in Deciduous Trees" Forests 15, no. 2: 247. https://doi.org/10.3390/f15020247

APA Style

Clatterbuck, W. K., Brannon, T. M. L., & Yost, E. C. (2024). Branch Elongation, Bud Durability, and Wind-Generated Crown Movement Associated with Crown Abrasion in Deciduous Trees. Forests, 15(2), 247. https://doi.org/10.3390/f15020247

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

Article Metrics

Back to TopTop