Forest Ecosystem Monitoring Cooperative(802) 656-0683femc@uvm.eduwww.uvm.edu/femc705 Spear StreetSouth BurlingtonVermont05403United States of AmericaThe Ecological Significance of Sun/Shade Plasticity in Balsam Fir, Red Spruce, and Paper Birch along Elevational Gradients in the Northeastern United StatesTo better understand the relationship between plants and their abiotic environment, by using the response of three different tree species growing at different elevations, to light.The Ecological Significance of Sun/Shade Plasticity in Balsam Fir, Red Spruce, and Paper Birch along Elevational Gradients in the Northeastern United StatesRichardsonAndrewelevationlightred sprucebalsam firwhite birchNeedle Morphology2000-06-012002-09-30Measurements of elevation, crown position, width, cross section etc.To better understand the relationship between plants and their abiotic environment, by using the response of three different tree species growing at different elevations, to light.Z0128_SpruceNeedleMorphVMC.128.172mySQLAndrew Richardson. 2002. Needle Morphology. FEMC. Can be found at: https://www.uvm.edu/femc/data/archive/project/the-ecological-significance-sunshade-plasticity-balsam/dataset/needle-morphology/overviewhttps://vmc.w3.uvm.edu/vmcdevel/CI4/data/archive/project/the-ecological-significance-sunshade-plasticity-balsam/dataset/needle-morphologyObservationObservationObservation identification numberintSpeciesSpecies of TreeSpecies of tree sampledtextElevationElevation of ObservationElevation where tree is located (low, mid and high elevations) textCrown positionCrown PositionWhat part of the crown the sample is from (either sun or shade)textTreeTree IDTree ID numbertextTransectTransectTransecttextMountainMountain SiteThe mountain where the sample was takentextSample codeSample CodeSample codetextNeedle widthWidth of NeedleWidth of needledecimalcentimeter1integerNeedle thicknessThickness of NeedleThickness of needledecimalcentimeter0.01realEpidermis thicknessThickness of EpidermisThickness of leaf epidermis (layered group of cells that protects leaves from external environment)decimalmicrometer0.01realVascular cylinder cross-sectional areaVascular Cylinder Cross-Sectional AreaCross-sectional area of the vascular cylinder. Measured in micrometers squared time 10^3decimalcustomSquareMicrometers0.01realCuticle thicknessThickness of CuticleThickness of leaf cuticle (hydrophobic, waxy covering produced by epidermal cells)decimalmicrometer0.001realTransverse cross-sectional area of needleNeedle Transverse AreaTransverse cross-sectional area of a needle. Measured in micrometers squared time 10^3decimalcustomSquareMicrometers1integerCross-sectional area inside epidermisArea Inside EpidermisCross-sectional area inside epidermis. Measured in micrometers squared time 10^3decimalcustomSquareMicrometers1integerMesophyll cross-sectional areaMesophyll Cross-Sectional Area Mesophyll cross sectional area (interior of the leaf between the upper and lower layers od epidermis). Measured in micrometers squared time 10^3decimalcustomSquareMicrometers0.01realWidth/thickness ratioWidth/Thickness RatioRatio of the leafs width to its thicknessdecimalnumber0.000001realVascular cylinder ratioVascular Cylinder RatioVascular cylinder ratiodecimalnumber0.00001realMesophyll ratioMesophyll RatioMesophyll ratio of leafdecimalnumber0.000001realNeedle massNeedle MassMass of needledecimalmilligram0.1realProjected needle area (one-sided)Projected Needle AreaProjected area of one side of a needledecimalsquareCentimeters0.001realNeedle lengthNeedle LengthLength of needledecimalcentimeter0.00001realAverage needle thicknessAverage Needle ThicknessAverage thickness of neeledecimalcentimeter0.0001realTissue densityTissue DensityDensity of tissuedecimalcustomGramsPerCubicMillimeter0.00001realNeedle mass to area ratioNeedle Mass/Area RatioRatio of the needles mass to areadecimalnumber0.001real