Within-species correlations in leaf traits of three boreal plant species along a latitudinal gradient

Abstract

Evergreen boreal plant species express high variability in their leaf traits. It remains controversial whether this within-species variability is constrained to the same leaf trait relationships as has been observed across species. We sampled leaves of three boreal evergreen woody species along a latitudinal gradient (from 57856 0 N to 69855 0 N). Leaf longevity (LL) of Pinus sylvestris L. and Vaccinium vitis-idaea L. correlated negatively with mean annual air temperature (MAT), whereas the LL of Ledum palustre L. was not affected by MAT. V. vitisidaea and L. palustre had a negative relationship between leaf mass per area (LMA) and MAT. In P. sylvestris, the LMA-MAT relationship was positive. A negative correlation between LL and LMA was significant only for P. sylvestris. Leaf nitrogen concentration was positively related to leaf phosphorus concentration in all three species. Leaf potassium concentration was related to nitrogen concentration only in L. palustre, and to phosphorus concentration in P. sylvestris and L. palustre. Our results demonstrate that although within the studied species the variation in some of the leaf traits may have the same degree as interspecific variation, there is no such intercorrelation of leaf traits within the studied species as has been observed across species.

Cold adaptation drives variability in needle structure and anatomy in Pinus sylvestris L. along a 1,900 km temperate–boreal transect

“…The inverse correlation of LMA with temperature has been documented globally for evergreen plants (Wright et al., ). As among‐species LMA is also related to leaf longevity (Wright et al., ) and in P. sylvestris and other temperate/boreal conifers, needle longevity increases with decreasing temperatures (Pensa, Karu, Luud, & Kund, ; Reich et al., ), the present intraspecific correlation of LMA with longevity fits well with previously described multi‐species relationships. High‐LMA, long‐living needles from Northern Scandinavia and low‐LMA, short‐living needles from South Scandinavia and, to some degree, Central Europe thus represent two ends of the functional trait spectrum occurring on an intraspecific scale.…”

Leaf traits suggest different ecological strategies for twoQuercusspecies along an altitudinal gradient in the Qinling Mountains

“…In our study, the SLA of Qs decreased with altitude. This was consistent with the previous studies (Shipley and Meziane 1998;Pensa et al 2009). However, SLA in Qa increased with the altitude from low to medium and reached the maximum value at the medium elevation.…”

Does the leaf economic spectrum hold within local species pools across varying environmental conditions?

“…The traits measured on the species in our experiments cover the global ranges in traits for herbaceous species in a global plant trait database (GLOPNet) (Fig S1, Supporting information). A similar breakdown of LES relationships was observed by comparing leaf nitrogen to leaf life span within individuals of the same species grown across a latitudinal gradient (Pensa et al 2010). Relationships between SLA and leaf size have been shown to have different patterns within and between habitats (Ackerly & Reich 1999;Fonseca et al 2000).…”

“…A similar breakdown of LES relationships was observed by comparing leaf nitrogen to leaf life span within individuals of the same species grown across a latitudinal gradient (Pensa et al . ). Relationships between SLA and leaf size have been shown to have different patterns within and between habitats (Ackerly & Reich ; Fonseca et al .…”