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On the applicability of the pipe model theory on the chestnut tree (Castanea sativa Mill.)

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Leaf to sapwood area ratio in Castanea sativa is constant within a branch, but decreases with branch height. We propose a modeling approach to mitigate this effect.

Abstract

The pipe model theory postulates the constancy of the relationship between leaf to sapwood area among single parts and for a whole tree. By analyzing 218 branches belonging to 67 different chestnut trees (Castanea sativa Mill.), we tested the correctness of this postulate at three different levels: intra-branch, among different branch types (structural crown branches vs. epicormic branches), and within structural branches of the same trees. Results confirm the constancy of the leaf to sapwood area ratio (AL:AS ratio) at the intra-branch level, but show variability among branches within a tree. The AL:AS ratio of crown branches declines with height. Furthermore, epicormic branches display enhanced sturdiness with respect to crown branches. A generalized linear mixed modeling approach was used to explain the intra-tree AL:AS ratio variability of structural crown branches. The main explanatory variable on the AL:AS ratio within a chestnut tree was found to be the height of the branch insertion. To neutralize this effect when comparing the AL:AS ratio among different trees for general environmental and physiological studies, we propose the concept of the AL:ASground consisting of the AL:AS ratio of a hypothetical branch at ground level.

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Author contribution statement

EG: sampling design, fieldwork, data analysis, drawings, manuscript draft, and submission. GBP: concept of the study, sampling design, database development and management, data analysis, and manuscript revision. PK: leaf area measurement concept and data management. SM: concept of the study, sampling design, and manuscript revision. MC: research project coordination, sampling design, manuscript editing, and research funding.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Insubric Ecosystems Research Group, WSL Swiss Federal Research Institute, Via Belsoggiorno 22, 6500, Bellinzona, Switzerland

    Eric Gehring, Gianni Boris Pezzatti, Patrik Krebs & Marco Conedera

  2. Dip. di Arboricoltura, Botanica e Patologia Vegetale, University of Naples Federico II, via Universit 100, 80055, Portici, Naples, Italy

    Stefano Mazzoleni

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  1. Eric Gehring
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  2. Gianni Boris Pezzatti
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  3. Patrik Krebs
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  4. Stefano Mazzoleni
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  5. Marco Conedera
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Correspondence to Eric Gehring.

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Communicated by Y. Sano.

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Gehring, E., Pezzatti, G.B., Krebs, P. et al. On the applicability of the pipe model theory on the chestnut tree (Castanea sativa Mill.). Trees 29, 321–332 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-014-1093-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-014-1093-z

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