Tradeoff between Stem Hydraulic Efficiency and Mechanical Strength Affects Leaf-Stem Allometry in 28 Ficus Tree Species.

ABSTRACT: Leaf-stem allometry is an important spectrum that linked to biomass allocation and life history strategy in plants, although the determinants and evolutionary significance of leaf-stem allometry remain poorly understood. Leaf and stem architectures - including stem area/mass, petiole area/mass, lamina area/mass, leaf number, specific leaf area (LA), and mass-based leafing intensity (LI) - were measured on the current-year branches for 28 Ficus species growing in a common garden in SW China. The leaf anatomical traits, stem wood density (WD), and stem anatomical and mechanical properties of these species were also measured. We analyzed leaf-stem allometric relationships and their associations with stem hydraulic ad mechanical properties using species-level data and phylogenetically i

SUBMITTER: Fan ZX 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5611361 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature