Leaf traits and water relations of 12 evergreen species in Costa Rican wet and dry forests: patterns of intra-specific variation across forests and seasons |
| |
Authors: | Sybil G Gotsch Jennifer S Powers Manuel T Lerdau |
| |
Institution: | (1) Department of Ecology and Evolution, State University of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, NY 11790, USA;(2) Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, and Plant Biology, University of Minnesota, 1987 Upper Buford Circle, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA;(3) Department of Environmental Sciences and Biology, University of Virginia, Clark Hall, 291 McCormick Rd, PO Box 400123, Charlottesville, VA 22904-4123, USA;(4) Present address: Department Natural Resource Ecology and Management, Iowa State University, 339 Science II, Ames, IA 50011-3221, USA |
| |
Abstract: | This study examined variation in leaf traits and water relations in 12 evergreen and semideciduous woody species that occur
in both seasonal wet and dry forests in Costa Rica and compared intra-specific leaf–trait correlations to those found in inter-specific
global studies. The following traits were measured in both forests across seasons for 2 years: leaf nitrogen (N), leaf carbon
(C), specific leaf area (SLA), toughness, cuticle thickness, leaf thickness, and leaf lifespan (LLS). Leaf water potential
(LWP) and water content (LWC) were measured as indices of plant available water. Canopy openness, soil moisture, and herbivory
were also measured to compare environmental variation across sites. Although species contributed the greatest amount to variation
in traits, season, forest, and their interaction had a large influence on patterns of intra-specific leaf–trait variation.
Leaf traits that contributed most to variation across sites were C, LWP, leaf thickness, and SLA. Traits that contributed
most to variation across seasons were leaf toughness, LWP, and LWC. Furthermore, leaf traits were more correlated (i.e., number
and strength of correlations) in the dry than in the wet forest. In contrast to results from global literature syntheses,
there was no correlation between LLS and N, or LLS and SLA. Both light and water availability vary seasonally and may be causing
variation in a number of leaf traits, specifically those that relate to water relations and leaf economics. Strong seasonality
may cause leaf–trait relationships at the local scale to differ from those documented in continental and global-scale studies. |
| |
Keywords: | |
本文献已被 SpringerLink 等数据库收录! |
|