Leaf life span and the leaf economic spectrum in the context of whole plant architecture

Abstract

Summary1. The leaf economics spectrum (LES) has been an organizing framework of plant functional ecology for the past decade. The LES describes a set of trade-offs among traits related to plant carbon balance. Species with a long leaf life span (LLS) invest additional material for leaf protection and structural support and consequently tend to have a lower leaf photosynthetic rate per unit mass than species with a shorter LLS. 2. While the LES is most apparent in comparing species with extreme differences in their traits, it has nonetheless been adopted as a general explanation of leaf trait variation at all scales and in all plants. It highlights the 'trait-based' approach to plant ecology, which has generally used a small set of traits to predict whole organism and even whole ecosystem attributes. Few studies have investigated the relationships between LES traits and organismal attributes not directly related to carbon economy. 3. We explored the LES in 32 deciduous woody species of Viburnum (Adoxaceae). We found no evidence for any mass-based LES trade-offs. Rather, on an area basis, photosynthetic rates were positively correlated with leaf mass per area (LMA); higher LMA was associated with greater investment in photosynthetic tissue, with most of the variation due to changes in the thickness of photosynthetic mesophyll. 4. Species' mean LLS varied between 19 and 26 weeks and was not correlated with other LES traits. Instead, LLS was strongly associated with the diverse set of whole-plant branching patterns in Viburnum. In the most common growth pattern, LLS was significantly correlated with flowering time, because branches end in terminal inflorescences, and all leaves and inflorescences are preformed in overwintering buds. 5. Synthesis. Plants may recover the cost of their leaves early in the growing season, allowing LLS to vary independently of the plant carbon budget. In deciduous species, LLS may be strongly influenced by whole plant architecture, which, in Viburnum, is evolutionarily conserved. In general, positive area-based LES trait relationships will limit the relevance of LLS to this spectrum and allow LLS to vary for reasons that are not directly related to carbon economy.

Predicting trait‐environment relationships for venation networks along an Andes‐Amazon elevation gradient

“…, Edwards et al. ). Similarly, neither temperature nor precipitation could explain more than 29% of the variance in 21 different traits (Moles et al.…”

Interspecific integration of trait dimensions at local scales: the plant phenotype as an integrated network

“…Edwards et al . (), Muir et al . () and Mason & Donovan () also failed to find a number of LES trait relationships among species within the Viburnum , Solanum and Helianthus genera, respectively.…”

The demographic effects of functional traits: an integral projection model approach reveals population‐level consequences of reproduction‐defence trade‐offs

“…For example photosynthetic capacity of leaves globally correlates positively with N and P and negatively with LMA (Wright et al ). Other studies that compare across a smaller subset of species often find a positive relationship between area‐based N measures and LMA (Edwards et al ). Our results within milkweed ramets support the global patterns with negative correlations found between mass‐based N measures and LMA.…”