Negative trend between seed size and adult leaf size throughout the geographical range of Fagus crenata

Abstract:Geographic variation in seed size of Japanese beech (Fagus crenata Blume) was examined. Seed size was not significantly correlated with climatic factors, such as mean annual temperature, warmth index, annual rainfall, latitude, number of days with snow depth ≥ 50 cm per year, but showed a significant negative correlation with adult leaf size. It is suggested that the variation resulted from trade-off relationship between reproductive and vegetative organs or genetic constraints.