Environmental variation and the relationship among correlated quantitative traits in jack pine

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Abstract
The magnitude of direct influences of five quantitative traits and their relative changes in three open-pollinated families planted at a high density in four substrates was studied using path analysis. The relationships between diameter and total weight as well as crown length and total height were relatively consistent over environments, families, and size hierarchies but were inconsistent among other combinations of quantitative traits. Genetic, developmental, and environmental factors show both independent and cumulative effects on self-thinning. During self-thinning, the development, growth, and death process of individuals might depend upon the size and shape constraints of the phenotype and its components. A knowledge of relative flexibility of characters and their geometrical relationships may be useful in understanding the plant's channeling of environmental resources.