Shade competition kills lower branches as crowded young trees grow

Evidence

As they grow higher, the competition between them and the increase of shade will cause the lower branches to die and fall off, leaving the lower parts of the trunks bare as the mature trees begin to reach their tops into a new forest canopy. — Vinson Brown, Reading the Woods, 418

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Tree species differ sharply in shade tolerance for seedling establishment — Vinson Brown, Reading the Woods: Seeing More in…, 129