Effects of forest types on leaf functional traits and their interrelationships of Pinus massoniana coniferous and broad‐leaved mixed forests in the subtropical mountain, Southeastern China

Abstract

Leaf functional traits are widely used to detect and explain adaptations that enable plants to live under various environmental conditions. This study aims to determine the difference in leaf functional traits among four forest types of Pinus massoniana coniferous and broad‐leaved mixed forests by leaf morphological, nutrients, and stoichiometric traits in the subtropical mountain, Southeastern China. Our study indicated that the evergreen conifer species of P. massoniana had higher leaf dry matter content (LDMC), leaf C content, C/N and C/P ratios, while the three deciduous broad‐leaved species of L. formosana, Q. tissima, and P. strobilacea had higher specific leaf area (SLA), leaf N, leaf P nutrient contents, and N/P ratio in the three mixed forest types. The results showed that the species of P. massoniana has adapted to the nutrient‐poor environment by increasing their leaf dry matter for higher construction costs thereby reducing water loss and reflects a resource conservation strategy. In contrast, the three species of L. formosana, Q. tissima, and P. strobilacea exhibited an optimized resource acquisition strategy rather than resource conservation strategy in the subtropical mountain of southeastern China. Regarding the four forest types, the three mixed forest types displayed increased plant leaf nutrient contents when compared to the pure P. massoniana forest, especially the P. massoniana–L. formosana mixed forest type (PLM). Overall, variation in leaf functional traits among different forest types may play an adaptive role in the successful survival of plants under diverse environments because leaf functional traits can lead to significant effects on leaf function, especially for their acquisition of nutrients and use of light. The results of this study are beneficial to reveal the changes in plant leaf functional traits at the regional scale, which will provide a foundation for predicting changes in leaf traits and adaptation in the future environment.

How Plant Functional Traits of Dominant Species Respond to Fencing and Water-Nitrogen Addition in Horqin Grassland, China

“…In addition, different relationships between SLA and LDMC have been found in previous experiments [46,47], and the heterogeneity between different habitats is an important factor affecting the relationships [48,49]. Previous studies have reported that SLA was positively related to LNC [20,38,50], and the relationships in control treatment confirmed this finding in our study. LDMC negatively associated with LNC in N addition treatment, suggesting that N supply favors the increase of LNC and the improvement of photosynthesis, and plants accumulated low dry mater content in leaves.…”

“…SLA was strongly and positively associated with LDMC in control and N addition treatments, indicating that plants exhibited high SLA and high LDMC in Horqin sandy grassland. LDMC reflects the investment of plants in dry matter content in leaves, and plants tend to accumulate more dry matter in poor-nutrition environmental conditions [20,46]. The proportion of species with succulent leaves may also affect the relationships between SLA and LDMC [11], because these succulent species have low LDMC in control and N addition treatments compared to perennials.…”

“…The key plant functional traits such as plant height, specific leaf area (SLA), leaf dry matter content (LDMC) and leaf nitrogen content (LNC) not only strongly correlated with the relative growth rate and photosynthesis [18] but also linked to resource acquisition and environmental adaptation [19]. Moreover, plant height, SLA, LDMC and LNC are easy to be measured [15,19,20]. Here, these key functional traits were chosen in our study.…”

A meta-analysis of changes in soil organic carbon stocks after afforestation with deciduous broadleaved, sempervirent broadleaved, and conifer tree species

“…Our study suggests that sempervirent trees may lead to SOC loss, when planted on soils with high initial SOC. However, sempervirent conifer trees can adapt to the nutrientpoor environment (Qin and Shangguan 2019). Therefore, it would be better to plant deciduous broadleaved trees to reduce soil disturbance of nutrient-rich soils and obtain greater increase in SOC stock, whereas sempervirent conifer afforestation is more suitable for nutrient-poor soils.…”

Assessment of leaf morphological, physiological, chemical and stoichiometry functional traits for understanding the functioning of Himalayan temperate forest ecosystem

“…Leaf morphological traits, e.g., leaf area (LA) of a species determines canopy structure and surface availability for intercepting photosynthetically active radiation (PAR), and thus productivity in forest ecosystems 5 , 6 . Specific leaf area (SLA) determines the plant strategy of a species and provides information on photosynthetic capacity 7 , 8 . Leaf dry matter content (LDMC) explains plant growth rate and carbon assimilation 9 , while leaf nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations (LNC and LPC respectively) are good indicators of plant photosynthetic capacity and resource use strategy 1 , 10 .…”