Leaf trait variation captures climate differences but differs with species irrespective of functional group

Aims To clarify whether variation in leaf traits with climate differs with scale, i.e. across species and within a species, and to detect whether plant functional group affects species-specific response.Methods Leaf dry matter content (LDMC), specific leaf area (SLA), mass- and area-based leaf N (N mass, N area) and leaf P concentrations (P mass, P area) and leaf chlorophyll concentration (SPAD) were measured for 92 woody plant species in two botanical gardens in China. The two gardens share plant species in common but differ in climate. Leaf trait variation between the two gardens was examined via mean comparison at three scales: all species together, species grouped into plant functional groups and within a species. A meta-analysis was performed to summarize the species-specific responses.Important findings At the scale of all species together, LDMC, SLA, P mass and N mass were significantly lower in the dry-cold habitat than in the wet-warm one, whereas N area and SPAD showed an inverse pattern, indicating a significant environmental effect. The meta-analysis showed that the above-mentioned patterns persisted for SLA, N area and SPAD but not for the other variables at the species-specific scale, indicating that intraspecific variation affects the overall pattern of LDMC, P mass and N mass and P area. In terms of species-specific response, positive, negative or nonsignificant patterns were observed among the 92 species. Contrary to our prediction, species-specific responses within a functional group were not statistically more similar than those among functional groups. Our results indicated that leaf trait variation captured climatic difference yet species-specific responses were quite diverse irrespective of plant functional group, providing new insights for interpreting trait variability with climate.     

干热河谷植物叶片,树高和种子功能性状比较

植物功能性状 (plant functional trait)是近年来生态学研究的热点。以云南怒江和澜沧江干热河谷36种木本植物为研究对象,选取比叶面积 (SLA)、植株高 (H) 和种子干重 (SM) 3个功能性状,研究它们的相互关系,比较其在河谷间、河谷内的差异。结果表明:1)两个河谷内36种木本植物的以上3种功能性状间没有显著的相关性 (P值分别为0.8739,0.5763,0.5517);2)河谷间的比叶面积存在显著差异 (P=0.02944),植株高和种子干重无显著差异 (P分别为0.4070, 0.8867);3)两个河谷内木本植物功能性状中,种子干重差异最大,植株高次之,比叶面积最小。     

Relationships among ecologically important dimensions of plant trait variation in seven neotropical forests

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: When ecologically important plant traits are correlated they may be said to constitute an ecological 'strategy' dimension. Through identifying these dimensions and understanding their inter-relationships we gain insight into why particular trait combinations are favoured over others and into the implications of trait differences among species. Here we investigated relationships among several traits, and thus the strategy dimensions they represented, across 2134 woody species from seven Neotropical forests. METHODS: Six traits were studied: specific leaf area (SLA), the average size of leaves, seed and fruit, typical maximum plant height, and wood density (WD). Trait relationships were quantified across species at each individual forest as well as across the dataset as a whole. 'Phylogenetic' analyses were used to test for correlations among evolutionary trait-divergences and to ascertain whether interspecific relationships were biased by strong taxonomic patterning in the traits. KEY RESULTS: The interspecific and phylogenetic analyses yielded congruent results. Seed and fruit size were expected, and confirmed, to be tightly related. As expected, plant height was correlated with each of seed and fruit size, albeit weakly. Weak support was found for an expected positive relationship between leaf and fruit size. The prediction that SLA and WD would be negatively correlated was not supported. Otherwise the traits were predicted to be largely unrelated, being representatives of putatively independent strategy dimensions. This was indeed the case, although WD was consistently, negatively related to leaf size. CONCLUSIONS: The dimensions represented by SLA, seed/fruit size and leaf size were essentially independent and thus conveyed largely independent information about plant strategies. To a lesser extent the same was true for plant height and WD. Our tentative explanation for negative WD-leaf size relationships, now also known from other habitats, is that the traits are indirectly linked via plant hydraulics.     

Comparative seedling ecology of eight North American spruce (Picea) species in relation to their geographic ranges

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Allowing for dispersal limitation, a species' geographic distribution should reflect its environmental requirements. Comparisons among closely related species should reveal adaptive differentiation in species characteristics that are consistent with their differences in geographic distribution. This expectation was tested by comparing characteristics of seedlings of spruce species in relation to environmental factors representative of their current natural ranges. METHODS: Seedlings were grown from a total of 34 populations representing eight North American spruce (Picea) species in a controlled environment chamber for 140 d. Traits related to the potential of seedling establishment, including tolerance to stress events (high temperature, desiccation) were evaluated. Correlations were sought between these characteristics and modal values of latitude, aridity and continentality in the geographic range of each species. KEY RESULTS: Many seedling traits changed significantly in response to stress events, but only the response of chlorophyll concentration differed significantly among species. Components of seedling growth were good correlates of species distribution. Seedling relative growth rate (RGR) and specific leaf area (SLA) were positively correlated with latitude, and leaf weight ratio (LWR) negatively correlated with aridity. Seed mass was negatively correlated with latitude. CONCLUSIONS: Relationships found between seedling traits and geographical variation in environmental conditions suggest that factors such as temperature regime, water availability and perhaps litter depth affect species range in North American spruces. Seedling characteristics appear to be elements in a reasonably distinct environmental niche for each spruce species at the continental scale.     

海南岛热带低地雨林老龄林木本植物幼苗的功能性状分析

运用功能性状的研究方法能有效地利用植物的生理、形态和生活史等特征, 揭示性状对物种共存的影响。以往有关热带林的群落生态学分析中, 基本上都是以胸径(DBH) ≥ 1 cm 以上的个体为对象, 而对 DBH < 1 cm的幼苗很少关注。该文以海南岛典型的热带低地雨林老龄林内幼苗多度最大的16个物种的幼苗为研究对象, 详细测定了4种功能性状: 比叶面积( SLA)、叶干物质比例(LMF)、比茎密度(SSD)和茎干物质比例(SMF), 分析了这些性状之间及其与幼苗高度的关系。结果表明: SLA和LMF随幼苗高度增加而显著减小, SSD和SMF随幼苗高度增加而显著增加; 幼苗功能性状在不同的生长阶段均达到显著差异; 乔木和灌木幼苗的各功能性状均无显著差异, 藤本植物幼苗的各功能性状与前两种生长型植物有显著差异; 乔木、灌木通过低的SLA、LMF和高的SMF来适应热带低地老龄林的林下低光环境, 藤本植物则通过相反的策略实现在老龄林中的共存; 幼苗通过调节各功能性状之间的权衡来适应环境。     

Leaf trait associations with environmental variation in the wide‐ranging shrub Dodonaea viscosa subsp. angustissima (Sapindaceae)

Intra‐species variation in specific leaf area (SLA) and leaf area (LA) provides mechanistic insight into the persistence and function of plants, including their likely success under climate change and their suitability for revegetation. We measured SLA and LA in 101 Australian populations of the perennial shrub Dodonaea viscosa (L.) Jacq. subsp. angustissima (narrow‐leaf hop‐bush) (Sapindaceae). Populations were located across about a 1000 km north–south gradient, with climate grading from arid desert to mesic Mediterranean. We also measured leaves from 11 populations across an elevational gradient (300–800 m asl), where aridity and temperature decrease with elevation. We used regression and principal component analyses to relate leaf traits to the abiotic environment. SLA displayed clinal variation, increasing from north to south and correlated with latitude and the first principal component of joint environmental variables. Both SLA and LA correlated positively with most climatic and edaphic variables. Across latitude, LA showed more variability than SLA. Changes in leaf density and thickness may have caused the relative stability of SLA. Only LA decreased with elevation. The absence of a SLA response to elevation could be a consequence of abiotic conditions that favour low SLA at both ends of the elevational gradient. We demonstrated that the widely distributed narrow‐leaf hop‐bush shows considerable variability in LA and SLA, which allows it to persist in a broad environmental envelope. As this shrub is widely used for revegetation in Australia, South America and the Asia‐Pacific region, our results are consistent with the notion that seed used to revegetate mesic environments could be sourced from more arid areas to increase seed suitability to future climate change.     

Differences in seedling growth behaviour among species: trait correlations across species, and trait shifts along nutrient compared to rainfall gradients

1 Species-pairs from woody dicot lineages were chosen as phylogenetically independent contrasts (PICs) to represent evolutionary divergences along gradients of rainfall and nutrient stress, and within particular habitat types, in New South Wales, Australia. Seedlings were grown under controlled, favourable conditions and measurements were made for various growth, morphological and allocation traits.
2 Trait correlations across all species were identified, particularly with respect to seedling relative growth rate (RGR) and specific leaf area (SLA), a fundamental measure of allocation strategy that reflects the light-capture area deployed per unit of photosynthate invested in leaves.
3 Across all species, SLA, specific root length (SRL) and seed reserve mass were the strongest predictors of seedling RGR. That is, a syndrome of leaf and root surface maximization and low seed mass was typical of high RGR plants. This may be a high-risk strategy for individual seedlings, but one presumably mitigated by a larger number of seedlings being produced, increasing the chance that at least one will find itself in a favourable situation.
4 Syndromes of repeated attribute divergence were identified in the two sets of gradient PICs. Species from lower resource habitats generally had lower SLA. Thus, in this important respect the two gradients appeared to be variants of a more general 'stress' gradient.
5 However, trends in biomass allocation, tissue density, root morphology and seed reserve mass differed between gradients. While SLA and RGR tended to shift together along gradients and in within-habitat PICs, no single attribute emerged as the common, primary factor driving RGR divergences within contrasts. Within-habitat attribute shifts were of similar magnitude to those along gradients.     

新疆准噶尔荒漠植物叶片功能性状的进化和环境驱动机制初探

植物功能性状是由遗传因素和环境条件共同决定的。剖析各因素对植物性状变异的相对影响,对揭示植物对环境变化的响应和适应规律至关重要。作者以干旱区植物为研究对象,定量化分析了植物叶片功能性状变异及其与环境梯度的关系。研究区域位于中国新疆准噶尔盆地及其周边区域。在30个样地中,观测了110种植物的叶比重、叶片单位质量氮含量和单位面积氮含量以及叶片干物质含量,通过插值法获得每个样地的生物气候数据。结果表明:物种水平上叶片性状(性状值为每个物种的实际观测值)的变异在很大程度上由植物进化背景所决定,气候因子和功能群的作用次之;在群落尺度上(性状值为每个样地的权重和),叶比重与气候干旱程度呈正相关,单位质量氮含量在水热组合最优的区域出现最大值,而叶片干物质含量和单位面积氮含量与气候因子的相关性较小。叶比重是群落尺度上探讨叶片功能性状与环境梯度关系的一个合适的指标。此外,在研究植物性状-环境关系过程中,尽可能观测多个植物功能性状是必要的。但是,只有排除植物系统背景的影响,关于植物性状-环境关系的研究结论才可能接近真实情况。将来应该加强同一种内不同种群间的叶片性状的采样和分析工作。     

Strong restrictions on the trait range of co-occurring species in the newly created riparian zone of the Three Gorges Reservoir Area,China

AimsCommunity assembly links plant traits to particular environmental conditions. Numerous studies have adopted a trait-based approach to understand both community assembly processes and changes in plant functional traits along environmental gradients. In most cases these are long-established, natural or semi-natural environments. However, increasingly human activity has created, and continues to create, a range of new environmental conditions, and understanding community assembly in these ‘novel environments’ will be increasingly important.     

植物导水系统对土壤质地与辐射强度的形态性适应研究

以棉花(Gossyp ium herbaceum L.)为实验材料,在全生长期为盆栽植株设置3个土壤质地梯度、3个蒸发力梯度.在播种后50 d和90 d,测定总根长与总叶面积;同时,在90 d时,使用热脉冲探头和HR-33T露点微伏计测定植株茎流和叶水势,并由此确定导水度,以期了解植物导水系统对土壤质地与大气蒸发力的长期适应.结果表明:在蒸发需求相同的条件下,生长在沙土中、单位根导水度低的植株,形成的吸收根要多于生长在粘土中、单位根导水度高的植株;单位叶片导水度在3种不同的土壤中没有显著差别.在土壤质地相同条件下,高蒸发力下生长的植株比低蒸发力下生长的植株产生更多的吸收根、形成更高的单位叶片导水度.最终证实:当土壤质地或大气蒸发力发生变化时,植物个体可以通过导水系统的形态性适应来调节根-叶比例,以达到协调其自身水分供需平衡.     

The relative importance of genetic and nongenetic inheritance in relation to trait plasticity in Callosobruchus maculatus

A trait's response to natural selection will reflect the nature of the inheritance mechanisms that mediate the transmission of variation across generations. The relative importance of genetic and nongenetic mechanisms of inheritance is predicted to be related to the degree of trait plasticity, with nongenetic inheritance playing a greater role in the cross‐generational transmission of more plastic traits. However, this prediction has never been tested. We investigated the influence of genetic effects and nongenetic parental effects in two morphological traits differing in degree of plasticity by manipulating larval diet quality within a cross‐generational split‐brood experiment using the seed beetle Callososbuchus maculatus. In line with predictions, we found that the more plastic trait (elytron length) is strongly influenced by both maternal and paternal effects whereas genetic variance is undetectable. In contrast, the less plastic trait (first abdominal sternite length) is not influenced by parental effects but exhibits abundant genetic variance. Our findings support the hypothesis that environment‐dependent parental effects may play a particularly important role in highly plastic traits and thereby affect the evolutionary response of such traits.     

Vertical variation and economic strategy of leaf trait of major tree species in a typical mixed broadleaved-Korean pine forest

分析不同树种叶片性状的变化有助于了解植物群落结构。该文通过对典型阔叶红松(Pinus koraiensis)林15种阔叶树种的比叶质量、叶片厚度、叶干物质含量、叶绿素含量指数、叶片碳、氮、磷含量的测定, 分析了冠层高度对叶性状及叶性状间相关关系的影响。结果表明, 水曲柳(Fraxinus mandshurica)和大青杨(Populus ussuriensis)上层的比叶质量显著大于下层, 而其他树种冠层间的比叶质量无显著变化; 叶绿素含量指数在白桦(Betula platyphylla)和春榆(Ulmus japonica)冠层间的分布分别为上层显著大于下层和上层显著大于中层; 单位质量氮含量在水曲柳的中层显著大于上层。叶片性状间存在着广泛的相关性, 比叶质量与叶片厚度、干物质含量在三层间均呈显著正相关关系, 而有些性状, 只在一或二个冠层中存在一定的相关性。山杨(Populus davidiana)和大青杨的叶片倾向于选择光合能力较低、营养浓度较低、呼吸速率较慢的一端, 而黄檗(Phellodendron amurense)和山槐(Maackia amurensis)叶片更倾向于光合能力强、营养物质浓度高的一端。不同树种对光照响应的差异可能会改变不同冠层中叶片的形态和化学性状, 从而有助于群落构建和物种共存。     

The scaling of leaf area and mass: the cost of light interception increases with leaf size

For leaves, the light-capturing surface area per unit dry mass investment (specific leaf area, SLA) is a key trait from physiological, ecological and biophysical perspectives. To address whether SLA declines with leaf size, as hypothesized due to increasing costs of support in larger leaves, we compiled data on intraspecific variation in leaf dry mass (LM) and leaf surface area (LA) for 6334 leaves of 157 species. We used the power function LM=alpha LAbeta to test whether, within each species, large leaves deploy less surface area per unit dry mass than small leaves. Comparing scaling exponents (beta) showed that more species had a statistically significant decrease in SLA as leaf size increased (61) than the opposite (7) and the average beta was significantly greater than 1 (betamean=1.10, 95% CI 1.08-1.13). However, scaling exponents varied markedly from the few species that decreased to the many that increased SLA disproportionately fast as leaf size increased. This variation was unrelated to growth form, ecosystem of origin or climate. The average within-species tendency found here (allometric decrease of SLA with leaf size, averaging 13%) is in accord with concurrent findings on global-scale trends among species, although the substantial scatter around the central tendency suggests that the leaf size dependency does not obligately shape SLA. Nonetheless, the generally greater mass per unit leaf area of larger than smaller leaves directly translates into a greater cost to build and maintain a unit of leaf area, which, all else being equal, should constrain the maximum leaf size displayed.