Leaf functional traits vary with the adult height of plant species in forest communities  

作　　者：Dongmei Jin Xuecui Cao Keping Ma 

机构地区：[1]State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change,Institute of Botany,Chinese Academy of Sciences,20 Nanxincun,Xiangshan,Beijing 100093,China [2]Graduate School of Chinese Academy of Sciences,19 Yuquan Road,Beijing 100049,China

出　　处：《Journal of Plant Ecology》2014年第1期68-76,共9页植物生态学报（英文版）

基　　金：China National Natural Science Foundation(30710103907)for the China-Germany Cooperation Project.

摘　　要：Aims Within-community variation accounts for a remarkable proportion of the variation in leaf functional traits.Plant height may be used to explain within-community variances of leaf traits because different microenvironments,especially light intensity,may occur at different heights.This study determines whether or not leaf nitrogen(N)and phosphorus(P)contents as well as leaf mass per area(LMA)are interspecifically correlated with the adult height of forest woody species.We also discuss these relationships with respect to community structure and functions of the ecosystem.Methods A total of 136 dicotyledonous woody species from 6 natural forests(3 evergreen and 3 deciduous ones)in East China(18°44′–45°25′N,108°50′–128°05′E)were investigated.For each of the 157 species–site combinations,6 traits were measured:plant adult height relative to the forest canopy(H_(R)),leaf N and P contents per unit area(N_(area) and P_(area)),N and P contents per unit dry mass(N_(mass) and P_(mass))and LMA.The total variances of each leaf trait across sites were partitioned in a hierarchical manner.The relationships between leaf traits and H_(R) within forest communities were then analyzed using both standardized major axis regression and Felsenstein’s phylogenetic independent contrasts.Relationships between evergreen and deciduous forests were compared by linear mixed models.Important Findings H_(R) is a robust predictor of leaf N_(area),P_(area) and LMA,explaining 36.7%,39.4%and 12.0%of their total variations across forests,respectively.Leaf N_(area),P_(area) and LMA increased with H_(R) in all of the studied forests,with slopes that were steeper in evergreen forests than in deciduous ones.Leaf N_(mass) and P_(mass) showed no significant relationship with H_(R) generally.The increase in leaf N_(area),P_(area) and LMA with H_(R) across species is assumed to maximize community photosynthesis and may favor species with larger H_(R).

关 键 词：leaf traits nitrogen phosphorus HEIGHT INTERSPECIFIC PHYLOGENY 

分 类 号：S71[农业科学—林学]