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The regeneration mechanisms of a Pterocarya rhoifolia population in a heavy snowfall region of Japan

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Abstract

To uncover the population regeneration mechanisms and function of sprouting of the canopy tree species, Pterocarya rhoifolia, in a heavy snowfall region of Sado Island, Japan, we investigated the stool structure and sprouting throughout the life history stages of the tree. We set up a plot, categorized the life history stages, characterized the relationship between individual growth and sprouting, and recorded the age and distribution of sprout stems in stools. We found that established juveniles were often damaged by snow pressure but did produce some sprout stems. Mature individuals had a stool structure with planar expansion by stem layering, experienced stem breakage, and produced sprout stems due to snow pressure. These results suggest that P. rhoifolia occupying heavy snowfall regions can maintain their population by sprouting, which recovers the tree body from snow pressure damage.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Dr. Kosuke Homma for his useful comments on our study. We would also like to thank the staff members at Sado Station, Field Center for Sustainable Agriculture and Forestry, Faculty of Agriculture, Niigata University, for supporting in our fieldwork. We would like to extend our appreciation to the members of Sado Laboratory, Niigata University, and especially Mr. Mamoru Ohno, Mr. Kohki Shirai, Ms. Haruka Nakayama, Ms. Yuka Kawakami, Ms. Monami Takahashi, and Ms. Satoko Totsuka for their helpful suggestions and their support of our fieldwork.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate School of Science and Technology, Niigata University, 8050 Ikarashi 2 no-cho, Nishi-ku, Niigata City, Niigata, 950-2181, Japan

    Yosuke Nakano

  2. Tadami Beech Center, 2590 Machishita, Tadami, Tadami-machi, Minamiaizu-gun, Fukushima, 968-0421, Japan

    Yosuke Nakano

  3. Sado Station, Field Center for Sustainable Agriculture and Forestry, Faculty of Agriculture, Niigata University, 94-2 Koda, Sado, Niigata, 952-2206, Japan

    Hitoshi Sakio

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  1. Yosuke Nakano
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  2. Hitoshi Sakio
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Correspondence to Yosuke Nakano.

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Communicated by Paul M. Ramsay.

Appendix

Appendix

See Appendix Fig. 7.

Fig. 7
figure 7

Basal diameter class distributions of stems (including main stems and sprout stems) in each mature individual of P. rhoifolia

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Nakano, Y., Sakio, H. The regeneration mechanisms of a Pterocarya rhoifolia population in a heavy snowfall region of Japan. Plant Ecol 219, 1387–1398 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-018-0888-1

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