Gap size determines whether lateral branch growth or sapling height growth closes it

Evidence

Gaps close both by the branch extension growth of trees surrounding the gap and by the height growth of saplings in the gap. For these small gaps, both processes are important in gap closure. Small gaps close primarily by lateral extension growth, except where large, previously suppressed saplings are present. Large gaps close primarily by sapling height growth. — S. T. A. Pickett and P. S. White, eds., The Ecology of Natural Disturbance and…, 231

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Microclimate inside a forest gap depends on gap diameter relative to tree height. — S. T. A. Pickett and P. S. White, eds., The Ecology of Natural Disturbance and…, 164; Three Sisters plants partition water by rooting at different depths — Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom,…, 463