Responses of Woody Plant Functional Traits to Nitrogen Addition: A Meta-Analysis of Leaf Economics, Gas Exchange, and Hydraulic Traits.

ABSTRACT: Atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition has been found to significantly affect plant growth and physiological performance in terrestrial ecosystems. Many individual studies have investigated how N addition influences plant functional traits, however these investigations have usually been limited to a single species, and thereby do not allow derivation of general patterns or underlying mechanisms. We synthesized data from 56 papers and conducted a meta-analysis to assess the general responses of 15 variables related to leaf economics, gas exchange, and hydraulic traits to N addition among 61 woody plant species, primarily from temperate and subtropical regions. Results showed that under N addition, leaf area index (+10.3%), foliar N content (+7.3%), intrinsic water-use efficiency (+3.1%) and ne

SUBMITTER: Zhang H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5974508 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature