NIKLAS, KARL J.1* and BRIAN J. ENQUIST2. 1Department of Plant Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca NY 14853; 2Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721. - Predicting reproductive biomass based on seed plant vegetative biomass partitioning patterns.
An allometric framework is used to predict seed plant annual
reproductive biomass based on standing leaf, stem, or root biomass.
The scaling relations predicted by the resulting model are governed by
manifold scaling exponents and taxon-specific constants reflecting the
allometry of vegetative biomass partitioning patterns. The model
accurately predicts all inter- and intraspecific reproductive biomass
trends observed for a synoptic data base representative of herbaceous
and arborescent dicot, monocot, and conifer species from diverse
habitats. It also identifies the minimum body size below which
reproduction is predicted to be energetically untenable. The limits
for reproductive biomass among seed plants are thus established,
providing a conceptual and quantitative basis for understanding the
scaling of sexual reproduction across and within ecologically and
evolutionarily diverse seed plants.
Key words: allometry, biomass, reproduction, seed plants