The Leaf Size–Twig Size Spectrum of Temperate Woody Species Along an Altitudinal Gradient: An Invariant Allometric Scaling Relationship

Abstract

This study demonstrated that plants respond to the environmental gradient by changing the y-intercepts of the relationship between leaf size-twig size, while keeping the exponent value of the allometric relationship as an invariant constant. The allometric growth in the twig size-leaf size spectrum is related to many other components of plant life history strategy, including the well established life history trade-off between efficiency and safety in the hydraulic transport of water.

Testing the generality of the ‘leafing intensity premium’ hypothesis in temperate broad-leaved forests: a survey of variation in leaf size within and between habitats

“…On the Mt. Changbai, leaf size declines with increasing altitude from temperate deciduous broadleaved forest to subalpine tundra (Sun et al 2006). The second slope is on Mt.…”

“…Changbai in Changbaishan Natural Reserve in Jilin Province, northeastern China (41°42 0 N-42°10 0 N, 127°38 0 E-128°10 0 E). The climate and vegetation distribution are described by Sun et al (2006). On the Mt.…”

“…However, for interspecific variation within habitats with similar macroclimatic conditions, leaf size has been assumed to be a neutral trait confounded by community phylogenetic composition, or simply an allometric consequence of plant size, anatomy, or architecture. For example, leaf size has been found to be significantly correlated with plant height (Ackerly and Donoghue 1998;Cornelissen 1999), subtending twig size (Brouat et al 1998;Westoby and Wright 2003;Sun et al 2006), within-leaf biomass allocation and physiology (Niinemets et al 2006(Niinemets et al , 2007aNiklas et al 2007;Li et al 2008), and seed or fruit size (Ackerly and Donoghue 1998;Cornelissen 1999;Westoby and Wright 2003).…”

Nearly 200 years of sustained selection have not overcome the leaf area–stem size relationship in the poinsettia

“…The leaf area–stem size relation is nearly pervasive, being found across virtually all species that have been studied (Ackerly, 1996; Ackerly & Donoghue, 1998; Leslie et al., 2014; Sun et al., 2006; Westoby et al., 2002; White, 1983a,b; Wright et al., 2006). The only exceptions seem to be certain plants in warm drylands, which have greatly reduced leaf area for a given stem size (Eggli, 2002).…”

“…This pattern, known as Corner's rules, is pervasive, having been documented across virtually all flowering plant lineages, on multiple continents, in vastly differing vegetation types and climates (Ackerly, 1996; Ackerly & Donoghue, 1998; White, 1983a). Corner's rules state that plants with large leaves have thick twigs and branch sparingly; plants with small leaves have thin twigs that branch intricately (Leslie, Beaulieu, Crane, & Donoghue, 2014; Sun, Jin, & Shi, 2006; Westoby, Falster, Moles, Vesk, & Wright, 2002; White, 1983b; Wright, Falster, Pickup, & Westoby, 2006). What causes Corner's rules is actively being elucidated (Smith, Sperry, & Adler, 2017), and documenting how plants fill leaf area–stem size space is essential in this effort.…”