Species-mixing effects on crown dimensions and canopy packing in a young pine–birch plantation are modulated by stand density and irrigation

International audienceMixed-species plantation forests are of high interest both because of their potentially superior productivity and multi-functionality benefits over monocultures. However, how trees of different species interact at the canopy level in mixed forests remains unclear, even at young growth stages. We tested whether crown shape and size and stand-level canopy packing were affected by stand composition and how mixture effects varied with stand density and irrigation. We measured crown attributes in pure and mixed plots of two light-demanding species, silver birch (Betula pendula Roth) and maritime pine (Pinus pinaster Ait.), in a 10-year-old tree diversity experiment (ORPHEE). This allowed us to estimate tree-level crown volumes and stand-level canopy packing. We found that (i) at the tree level, stand composition influenced crown-stem allometric relationships in pine but not in birch, (ii) mixture led to greater crown and tree dimensions in pine, but to the opposite for birch, (iii) the changes in crown volume resulted in a higher canopy packing in mixed stands, only at high density and with no irrigation, i.e., under highest constraints for light availability but also soil water availability, contrary to initial expectations. This study sheds light on the effects of water constraints on the aboveground mechanistic processes that explain greater productivity in young mixed plantations, and improves our understanding of canopy packing in mixed stands