Novel evidence for within-species leaf economics spectrum at multiple spatial scales

Hu, Yukun; Pan, Xu; Liu, Guofang; Li, Wenbing; Dai, Wen-Hong; Tang, Shuang-Li; Zhang, Yalin; Xiao, Tao; Chen, Lingyun; Xiong, Wei; Zhou, Mengyao; Song, Yue; Dong, Ming

doi:10.3389/fpls.2015.00901

Cited by 34 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…Nonetheless, a large amount of variation in leaf and root traits has been observed in various ecosystems at the local scale (Hu et al, 2015;Liu et al, 2010;Messier, McGill, & Lechowicz, 2010;Wright et al, 2004). The drivers of trait variation are often different across spatial scales; for example, both climatic and soil conditions were important determinants at global and regional scales, while soil water and nutrient availability were the main factors at local scales (Messier et al, 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Is there coordination of leaf and fine root traits at local scales? A test in temperate forest swamps

Pan

Yang

et al. 2019

Ecology and Evolution

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Examining the coordination of leaf and fine root traits not only aids a better understanding of plant ecological strategies from a whole‐plant perspective, but also helps improve the prediction of belowground properties from aboveground traits. The relationships between leaf and fine root traits have been extensively explored at global and regional scales, but remain unclear at local scales. Here, we measured six pairs of analogous leaf and fine root traits related to resource economy and organ size for coexisting dominant and subordinate vascular plants at three successional stages of temperate forest swamps in Lingfeng National Nature Reserve in the Greater Hinggan Mountains, NE China. Leaf and fine root traits related to resource acquisition (e.g., specific leaf area [SLA], leaf N, leaf P, root water content, and root P) decreased with succession. Overall, we found strong linear relationships between leaf dry matter content (LDMC) and root water content, and between leaf and root C, N, and P concentrations, but only weak correlations were observed between leaf area and root diameter, and between SLA and specific root length (SRL). The strong relationships between LDMC and root water content and between leaf and root C, N, and P held at the early and late stages, but disappeared at the middle stage. Besides, C and P of leaves were significantly correlated with those of roots for woody plants, while strong linkages existed between LDMC and root water content and between leaf N and root N for herbaceous species. These results provided evidence for the existence of strong coordination between leaf and root traits at the local scale. Meanwhile, the leaf–root trait relationships could be modulated by successional stage and growth form, indicating the complexity of coordination of aboveground and belowground traits at the local scale.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Is there coordination of leaf and fine root traits at local scales? A test in temperate forest swamps

Pan

Yang

et al. 2019

Ecology and Evolution

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“…Although the LES was originally formulated at broad phylogenetic scales, coordination between leaf structure and photosynthetic function is also predicted to be a fundamental constraint within species (Martin et al, 2007;Vasseur et al, 2012;Aspinwall et al, 2013;Blonder et al, 2013Blonder et al, , 2015Grady et al, 2013;Brouillette et al, 2014;Hu et al, 2015;Niinemets, 2015) and genera (Givnish et al, 2004;Dunbar-Co et al, 2009;Santiago & Kim, 2009;Edwards et al, 2014;Mason & Donovan, 2015). If there is a hard trade-off between LMA and mesophyll CO 2 diffusion and strong selection for coordination between CO 2 diffusion and biochemical capacity, the axes of trait variation within and between species will be largely concordant.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Weak coordination between leaf structure and function among closely related tomato species

et al. 2016

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Theory predicts that natural selection should favor coordination between leaf physiology, biochemistry and anatomical structure along a functional trait spectrum from fast, resource-acquisitive syndromes to slow, resource-conservative syndromes. However, the coordination hypothesis has rarely been tested at a phylogenetic scale most relevant for understanding rapid adaptation in the recent past or for the prediction of evolutionary trajectories in response to climate change. We used a common garden to examine genetically based coordination between leaf traits across 19 wild and cultivated tomato taxa. We found weak integration between leaf structure (e.g. leaf mass per area) and physiological function (photosynthetic rate, biochemical capacity and CO diffusion), even though all were arrayed in the predicted direction along a 'fast-slow' spectrum. This suggests considerable scope for unique trait combinations to evolve in response to new environments or in crop breeding. In particular, we found that partially independent variation in stomatal and mesophyll conductance may allow a plant to improve water-use efficiency without necessarily sacrificing maximum photosynthetic rates. Our study does not imply that functional trait spectra, such as the leaf economics spectrum, are unimportant, but that many important axes of variation within a taxonomic group may be unique and not generalizable to other taxa.

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“…The LES predicts that lower nitrogen concentration leaves (high C:N, low proportion N) are found in drier and in hotter areas, possibly in part because of investment in nonphotosynthetic leaf features, for example, veins (Blonder, Violle, Bentley, & Enquist, 2011;Easlon et al, 2014;Sack et al, 2012; see Table 1 for phenotype/environment hypotheses and how they relate to the fast/slow framework). Low N leaves are thicker (high mass to area) and provide protection against stress (drought) at the expense of N investment in photosynthesis, resulting in a slower life cycle (Evans, 1989;Stocking & Ongun, 1962 (Anderegg et al, 2018;Hu et al, 2015;Wright & Sutton-Grier, 2012). Nevertheless, Arabidopsis exhibits genetic variation in traits that generally corresponds to LES predictions (Easlon et al, 2014;Sartori et al, 2019;Vasseur, Violle, Enquist, Granier, & Vile, 2012); individuals with rapid life histories have physiological traits tied to fast growth and resource acquisition (e.g., high stomatal conductance, high specific leaf area; Lovell et al, 2013;McKay, Richards, & Mitchell-Olds, 2003;Sartori et al, 2019;Wolfe & Tonsor, 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of two centuries of global environmental variation on phenology and physiology of Arabidopsis thaliana

DeLeo

Menge

Hanks

et al. 2019

Global Change Biology

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Intraspecific trait variation is caused by genetic and plastic responses to environment. This intraspecific diversity is captured in immense natural history collections, giving us a window into trait variation across continents and through centuries of environmental shifts. Here we tested if hypotheses based on life history and the leaf economics spectrum explain intraspecific trait changes across global spatiotemporal environmental gradients. We measured phenotypes on a 216‐year time series of Arabidopsis thaliana accessions from across its native range and applied spatially varying coefficient models to quantify region‐specific trends in trait coordination and trait responses to climate gradients. All traits exhibited significant change across space or through time. For example, δ15N decreased over time across much of the range and leaf C:N increased, consistent with predictions based on anthropogenic changes in land use and atmosphere. Plants were collected later in the growing season in more recent years in many regions, possibly because populations shifted toward more spring germination and summer flowering as opposed to fall germination and spring flowering. When climate variables were considered, collection dates were earlier in warmer years, while summer rainfall had opposing associations with collection date depending on regions. There was only a modest correlation among traits, indicating a lack of a single life history/physiology axis. Nevertheless, leaf C:N was low for summer‐ versus spring‐collected plants, consistent with a life history–physiology axis from slow‐growing winter annuals to fast‐growing spring/summer annuals. Regional heterogeneity in phenotype trends indicates complex responses to spatiotemporal environmental gradients potentially due to geographic genetic variation and climate interactions with other aspects of environment. Our study demonstrates how natural history collections can be used to broadly characterize trait responses to environment, revealing heterogeneity in response to anthropogenic change.

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Novel evidence for within-species leaf economics spectrum at multiple spatial scales

Cited by 34 publications

References 44 publications

Is there coordination of leaf and fine root traits at local scales? A test in temperate forest swamps

Is there coordination of leaf and fine root traits at local scales? A test in temperate forest swamps

Weak coordination between leaf structure and function among closely related tomato species

Effects of two centuries of global environmental variation on phenology and physiology of Arabidopsis thaliana

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