Leaf Longevity as a Normalization Constant in Allometric Predictions of Plant Production |
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Authors: | Kihachiro Kikuzawa Kenji Seiwa Martin J Lechowicz |
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Institution: | 1. Laboratory of Plant Ecology, Ishikawa Prefectural University, Nonoichi, Japan.; 2. Laboratory of Forest Ecology, Tohoku University, Osaki, Japan.; 3. Department of Biology, McGill University, Montréal, Canada.; Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, France, |
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Abstract: | In metabolic scaling theory the size-dependence of plant processes is described by a power function of form Y=Y
o
M
θ where Y is a characteristic such as plant productivity that changes with plant size (M) raised to the θ
th power and Y
o is a normalization constant that adjusts the general relationship across environments and species. In essence, the theory considers that the value of θ arises in the size-dependent relationship between leaf area and vascular architecture that influences plant function and that Y
o modulates this general relationship to account for ecological and evolutionary effects on the exchange of resources between plant and environment. Enquist and colleagues have shown from first principles that Y
o is a function of carbon use efficiency, the carbon fraction of a plant, the area-specific carbon assimilation rate of a leaf, the laminar area of a leaf, and the mass of a leaf. We show that leaf longevity provides a functional integration of these traits that can serve as a simpler normalization in scaling plant productivity for individual species and potentially for mixed-species communities as well. |
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