| Institution: | 1. Departamento de Sistemas Agrícolas, Forestales y Medio Ambiente, Centro de Investigación y Tecnología Agroalimentaria de Aragón (CITA), Zaragoza, Spain;2. Research Group on Plant Biology under Mediterranean Conditions, Institut d'Investigacions Agroambientals i d'Economia de l'Aigua (INAGEA) – Universitat de les Illes Balears (UIB), Palma, Spain;3. Research Group on Plant Biology under Mediterranean Conditions, Institut d'Investigacions Agroambientals i d'Economia de l'Aigua (INAGEA) – Universitat de les Illes Balears (UIB), Palma, Spain
Department of Botany, Ecology and Plant Physiology, Universidad de La Laguna (ULL), La Laguna, Spain;4. Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan |
| Abstract: | In recent years, attempts have been made in linking pressure–volume parameters and the leaf economics spectrum to expand our knowledge of the interrelationships among leaf traits. We provide theoretical and empirical evidence for the coordination of the turgor loss point and associated traits with net CO2 assimilation (An) and leaf mass per area (LMA). We measured gas exchange, pressure–volume curves and leaf structure in 45 ferns and angiosperms, and explored the anatomical and chemical basis of the key traits. We propose that the coordination observed between mass-based An, capacitance and the turgor loss point (πtlp) emerges from their shared link with leaf density (one of the components of LMA) and, specially, leaf saturated water content (LSWC), which in turn relates to cell size and nitrogen and carbon content. Thus, considering the components of LMA and LSWC in ecophysiological studies can provide a broader perspective on leaf structure and function. |
