Grier, Charles C.; Running, Steven W. 1977. Leaf area of mature northwestern coniferous forests: relation to site water balance. Ecology. 58: 893-899.
Leaf area of mature coniferous forest communities of western Oregon appears to berelated primarily to site H.0 balance rather than characteristics of tree species composing the commu-nity.
Leaf areas were determined for stands in communities ranked along measured gradients of precipi-tation and evaporative potential. Nine coniferous and 1 deciduous tree species were found in thevarious stands along these gradients. Leaf areas of these stands were linearly correlated with a simplesite H2O balance index computed from measurements of growing season precipitation, open panevaporation, and estimates of soil H2O storage. Species composition had no apparent influence on therelation between community leaf area and site H2O balance.
Key words: Coniferous forests; forest structure; leaf area; moisture gradients; Oregon; site waterbalance.