The leaf economics spectrum (LES) describes covariation in traits relevant to carbon and nutrient economics across plant species, but much less is known about the relationship between the LES and leaf water economy. We propose an approach combining the measurement of two leaf traits related to water‐use economy, leaf carbon (δ13C) and oxygen (δ18O) isotopic composition, and the measurement of leaf morphological and nutrient traits to investigate the link between leaf carbon and nutrient economics and water use. We tested the relationships between leaf traits linked to carbon and nutrient use within the LES and water‐use traits using leaf δ18O as a proxy of stomatal conductance (gs) and δ13C as a proxy of intrinsic water‐use efficiency (WUEi) across 15 Mediterranean rangeland species grown in an irrigated common garden and in a natural rangeland in Southern France. The target species spanned a wide range of variation in leaf morphological and nutrient trait values and a wide range of leaf δ18O and δ13C values. Principal component analysis revealed multiple associations among leaf morphology, nutrients and isotopic composition, with the first axis alone explaining 56.0% of the total variation across species. Leaf δ18O and δ13C covaried with leaf morphology and leaf nutrient concentrations along a single resource‐use axis. Species with high leaf δ18O and δ13C (low gs and high WUEi) exhibited a resource‐conservative strategy (high leaf dry matter content, low leaf N, P and K), whereas species with low leaf δ18O and δ13C (high gs and low WUEi) showed a more resource‐acquisitive strategy (high specific leaf area and leaf N, P and K). These leaf trait syndromes and resource‐use strategies were strongly conserved across sites with contrasting environmental conditions, indicating that foliar δ18O and δ13C can be included as an integral part of the LES for this set of rangeland species. Overall, the data suggest a tight coupling and coordination between water, carbon and nutrient‐use strategies across herbaceous plant species. A dual δ18O and δ13C isotope approach combined with LES trait measurements is a promising tool to more comprehensively assess the diversity of resource‐use strategies among coexisting plant species. A http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2435.13025/suppinfo is available for this article.
There is a latitudinal gradient of ecological strategies in A. thaliana as a result of within-species adaptation to climate. Our study also underlines the importance of growth conditions and of the methodology used for trait measurement, notably age versus stage measurement, to infer the strength and direction of trait-environment relationships. This highlights the potential and limitations of the CSR classification in explaining functional adaptation to the environment.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.