Growth and Temperature Response of Dipterocarps

Dipterocarps are important timber trees in Southeast Asia.Therefore, understanding the mechanism regulating the growth of the stems or internodes of dipterocarps is essential for their timber production.Recently, we have revealed that internode elongation of Rubroshorea leprosula, a dipterocarp species, occurred in proximity to young expanding leaves.Furthermore, the removal of these expanding young leaves led to a marked reduction in internode elongation.Therefore, the growth of young leaves promotes internode growth of R. leprosula.In another study, temperature was considered a key environmental factor affecting the timing of leaf flush, which refers to the timing of leaf growth, in dipterocarps grown in the aseasonal tropics, although temperature in this region does not exhibit significant seasonal variations.Our temperature experiment using a growth chamber showed a significant increase in the number of flushed leaves when the daily average temperature increased from 25.5C to 28.0C in Neobalanocarpus heimii, , another dipterocarp species.Thus, the growth of leaves and internodes, whose elongation was regulated by expanding leaves, may be impacted by global warming.In this short review, the growth and temperature response of dipterocarps were briefly discussed on the basis of our recent studies.