Divergent drivers of leaf trait variation within species, among species, and among functional groups.

ABSTRACT: Understanding variation in leaf functional traits-including rates of photosynthesis and respiration and concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus-is a fundamental challenge in plant ecophysiology. When expressed per unit leaf area, these traits typically increase with leaf mass per area (LMA) within species but are roughly independent of LMA across the global flora. LMA is determined by mass components with different biological functions, including photosynthetic mass that largely determines metabolic rates and contains most nitrogen and phosphorus, and structural mass that affects toughness and leaf lifespan (LL). A possible explanation for the contrasting trait relationships is that most LMA variation within species is associated with variation in photosynthetic mass, whereas most LMA va

SUBMITTER: Osnas JLD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6003520 | biostudies-literature | 2018 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature