Light capture efficiency decreases with increasing tree age and size in the southern hemisphere gymnosperm Agathis australis

We investigated leaf and shoot architecture in relation to growth irradiance (Qint) in young and mature trees of a New Zealand native gymnosperm Agathis australis (D. Don) Lindl. to determine tree size-dependent and age-dependent controls on light interception efficiency. A binomial 3-D turbid medium model was constructed to distinguish between differences in shoot light interception efficiency due to variations in leaf area density, angular distribution and leaf aggregation. Because of the positive effect of light on leaf dry mass per area (MA), nitrogen content per area (NA) increased with increasing irradiance in both young and mature trees. At a common irradiance, NA, MA and the components of MA, density and thickness, were larger in mature trees, indicating a greater accumulation of photosynthetic biomass per unit area, but also a larger fraction of support biomass in older trees. In both young and mature trees, shoot inclination angle relative to orizontal, and leaf number per unit stem length decreased, and silhouette to total leaf area ratio (SS) increased with decreasing irradiance, demonstrating more efficient light harvesting in low light. The shoots of young trees were more horizontal and less densely leafed with a larger SS than those of mature trees, signifying greater light interception efficiency in young plants. Superior light harvesting in young trees resulted from more planar leaf arrangement and less clumped foliage. These results suggest that the age-dependent and/or size-dependent decreases in stand productivity may partly result from reduced light interception efficiency in larger mature relative to smaller and younger plants.