Tree foliar chemistry in an African savanna and its relation to life history strategies and environmental filters.

ABSTRACT: Understanding the relative importance of environment and life history strategies in determining leaf chemical traits remains a key objective of plant ecology. We assessed 20 foliar chemical properties among 12 African savanna woody plant species and their relation to environmental variables (hillslope position, precipitation, geology) and two functional traits (thorn type and seed dispersal mechanism). We found that combinations of six leaf chemical traits (lignin, hemi-cellulose, zinc, boron, magnesium, and manganese) predicted the species with 91% accuracy. Hillslope position, precipitation, and geology accounted for only 12% of the total variance in these six chemical traits. However, thorn type and seed dispersal mechanism accounted for 46% of variance in these chemical traits. The phy

SUBMITTER: Colgan MS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4438986 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature