Effects of Geographical and Climatic Factors on the Intrinsic Water Use Efficiency of Tropical Plants: Evidence from Leaf 13C

Abstract

Understanding the water use efficiency (WUE) and adaptation strategies of plants in high-temperature and rainy areas is essential under global climate change. The leaf carbon content (LCC) and intrinsic WUE of 424 plant samples (from 312 plant species) on Hainan Island were measured to examine their relationship with geographical and climatic factors in herbs, trees, vines and ferns. The LCC ranged from 306.30 to 559.20 mg g−1, with an average of 418.85 mg g−1, and decreased with increasing mean annual temperature (MAT). The range of intrinsic WUE was 8.61 to 123.39 μmol mol−1 with an average value of 60.66 μmol mol−1. The intrinsic WUE decreased with increasing altitude and relative humidity (RH) and wind speed (WS), but increased with increasing latitude, MAT and rainy season temperature (RST), indicating that geographical and climatic factors affect the intrinsic WUE. Stepwise regression suggested that in tropical regions with high temperature and humidity, the change in plant intrinsic WUE was mainly driven by WS. In addition, the main factors affecting the intrinsic WUE of different plant functional types of plants are unique, implying that plants of different plant functional types have distinctive adaptive strategies to environmental change. The present study may provide an insight in water management in tropical rainforest.

Leaf stoichiometry of potassium, calcium, and magnesium in tropical plants: Responses to climatic and geographical variations—A case study from Hainan Island

“…Global climate change is a complex phenomenon that exerts direct and indirect influences on the physical, biological, and chemical processes within ecosystems (Fahad et al, 2021; Hong et al, 2022). Such changes have the potential to modulate nutrient availability, alter plant physiological functions, and subsequently impact plant stoichiometry (Rosenblatt & Schmitz, 2016; Lin et al, 2023; Wang et al, 2023a). Therefore, it is necessary to conduct a multifaceted and comprehensive analysis of the factors controlling the leaf K, Ca, and Mg contents in plants.…”

“…Such changes have the potential to modulate nutrient availability, alter plant physiological functions, and subsequently impact plant stoichiometry (Rosenblatt & Schmitz, 2016;Lin et al, 2023;Wang et al, 2023a). Therefore, it is necessary to conduct a multifaceted and comprehensive analysis of the factors controlling the leaf K, Ca, and Mg contents in plants.…”