Centro de Investigación en Ecosistemas de la Patagonia (CIEP), camino Baguales s/n, Coyhaique 5951601, Chile.
Canadian Forest Service, 506 Burnside Road W, Victoria, BC V8Z 1M5, Canada.
Trends Ecol Evol. 2019 Mar;34(3):193-199. doi: 10.1016/j.tree.2018.10.011. Epub 2018 Nov 15.
With their imposing grandeur, the small number of very tall tree species attract a disproportionate amount of scientific study. We right this bias by focusing here on the shorter trees, which often grow in the shade of the giants and many other places besides. That tall trees are so restricted in distribution indicates that there are far more habitats available for small trees. We discuss some leading candidates for the mechanisms that limit maximum plant height in any given habitat, as well as why every habitat has a range of plant sizes. At least two attributes - greater adaptation capacity and higher drought resistance - suggest that the forests of the future belong to short trees.
具有雄伟外观的少数几个非常高的树种吸引了不成比例的大量科学研究。我们通过关注这里的矮树来纠正这种偏见，这些矮树通常生长在巨树和其他许多地方的阴影下。高树的分布如此受限，表明有更多的栖息地可供小树生长。我们讨论了限制特定栖息地中植物最大高度的一些主要机制的候选因素，以及为什么每个栖息地都有一系列植物大小。至少有两个属性——更强的适应能力和更高的抗旱性——表明未来的森林属于矮树。
