Evidence map›Paper›PMID 27107412›Full record

ArticleAnnals of botany2016

Linking ice accretion and crown structure: towards a model of the effect of freezing rain on tree canopies.

Charles A Nock, Bastien Lecigne, Olivier Taugourdeau, David F Greene, Jean Dauzat, Sylvain Delagrange, Christian Messier

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Annals of botany, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Plants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025
    Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Charles A NockUniversity of Freiburg, Faculty of Biology, Geobotany, Schaenzlestr. 1, D-79104 Freiburg, Germany charles.nock@biologie.uni-freiburg.de.
Bastien LecigneDepartment des Sciences Biologique, Université du Québec à Montréal, Centre-Ville Station, PO Box 8888, Montreal, Qc H3C 3P8, Canada.
Olivier TaugourdeauDepartment des Sciences Biologique, Université du Québec à Montréal, Centre-Ville Station, PO Box 8888, Montreal, Qc H3C 3P8, Canada.
David F GreeneDepartment of Forestry and Wildland Resources, Humbolt State University, 1 Harpst Street, Arcata, CA 95521-8299, USA.
Jean DauzatCIRAD, UMR AMAP, 34000 Montpellier, France.
Sylvain DelagrangeInstitute of Temperate Forest Sciences, Université du Québec en Outaouais, 58 Rue Principale, Ripon, Qc J0V1V0, Canada.
Christian MessierDepartment des Sciences Biologique, Université du Québec à Montréal, Centre-Ville Station, PO Box 8888, Montreal, Qc H3C 3P8, Canada Institute of Temperate Forest Sciences, Université du Québec en Outaouais, 58 Rue Principale, Ripon, Qc J0V1V0, Canada.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND

aimsDespite a longstanding interest in variation in tree species vulnerability to ice storm damage, quantitative analyses of the influence of crown structure on within-crown variation in ice accretion are rare. In particular, the effect of prior interception by higher branches on lower branch accumulation remains unstudied. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that intra-crown ice accretion can be predicted by a measure of the degree of sheltering by neighbouring branches.

methodsFreezing rain was artificially applied to Acer platanoides L., and in situ branch-ice thickness was measured directly and from LiDAR point clouds. Two models of freezing rain interception were developed: 'IceCube', which uses point clouds to relate ice accretion to a voxel-based index (sheltering factor; SF) of the sheltering effect of branch elements above a measurement point; and 'IceTree', a simulation model for in silico evaluation of the interception pattern of freezing rain in virtual tree crowns. KEY

resultsIntra-crown radial ice accretion varied strongly, declining from the tips to the bases of branches and from the top to the base of the crown. SF for branches varied strongly within the crown, and differences among branches were consistent for a range of model parameters. Intra-crown variation in ice accretion on branches was related to SF (R(2) = 0·46), with in silico results from IceTree supporting empirical relationships from IceCube.

conclusionsEmpirical results and simulations confirmed a key role for crown architecture in determining intra-crown patterns of ice accretion. As suspected, the concentration of freezing rain droplets is attenuated by passage through the upper crown, and thus higher branches accumulate more ice than lower branches. This is the first step in developing a model that can provide a quantitative basis for investigating intra-crown and inter-specific variation in freezing rain damage.

Indexed as

IceModels, BiologicalAcerComputer SimulationFreezingPlant Components, AerialQuebecRainTreesIceAcer platanoides L.branch breakageeastern North Americafreezing rainice accretionice stormLiDARmodellingtemperate forestterrestrial laser scanningvoxels

Identifiers

PMID27107412
PMCPMC4904176

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.