Biogeographic variation in evergreen conifer needle longevity and impacts on boreal forest carbon cycle projections.

ABSTRACT: Leaf life span is an important plant trait associated with interspecific variation in leaf, organismal, and ecosystem processes. We hypothesized that intraspecific variation in gymnosperm needle traits with latitude reflects both selection and acclimation for traits adaptive to the associated temperature and moisture gradient. This hypothesis was supported, because across 127 sites along a 2,160-km gradient in North America individuals of Picea glauca, Picea mariana, Pinus banksiana, and Abies balsamea had longer needle life span and lower tissue nitrogen concentration with decreasing mean annual temperature. Similar patterns were noted for Pinus sylvestris across a north-south gradient in Europe. These differences highlight needle longevity as an adaptive feature important to ecological s

SUBMITTER: Reich PB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4183309 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature