Relationships among the leaf traits in temperate forest tree species in Uttarakhand, India
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.2478/eje-2018-0007Keywords:
Functional traits, specific leaf area, leaf nitrogen, leaf carbon, leaf areaAbstract
Background: The primary function of the leaf is the production of the food and interchange the gases between the atmosphere and the plant surface. Establishing the relationship among the leaf traits is essential to understand the ecosystem functioning in the forest ecosystem. Here, the present study proposes a framework for species-level relationships between the traits in the temperate forest ecosystem. Methodology: Three morphological (leaf area, specific leaf area and leaf dry matter content), three chemical (leaf carbon, nitrogen and phosphorous content) and six physiological (chlorophyll, photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, intrinsic water use efficiency, transpiration rate, intercellular CO2 concentration) leaf traits were analysed in 10 woody tree species of temperate forest using linear mixed modelling. Results: Results showed that the leaf carbon was the only trait influencing the most to leaf area, specific leaf area and leaf dry matter content and leads to maximum variation in the functioning of the forest ecosystem. Conclusion: The results suggested that consideration of plant traits, and especially the leaf traits, increases the ability to describe variation in the functioning of the forest ecosystem. This study indicated that leaf carbon act as the significant predictor of leaf trait variation among the different species in the temperate forest ecosystem of the Indian Himalayan region.
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Singh P, Negi GCS. Seasonal Changes in Leaf Area and Leaf Mass of
Dominant Trees of Western Himalayan Forests. Indian Forester.
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Vile D, Garnier E, Shipley B, et al. Specific leaf area and dry matter
content estimate thickness in laminar leaves. Ann Bot. 2005;
96(6):1129-1136. doi:10.1093/aob/mci264
Violle C, Navas M-L, Vile D, et al. Let the concept of trait be functional
Oikos. 2007; 116:882-892. doi:10.1111/j.0030-
1299.2007.15559.x.
Walker AP, Beckerman AP, Gu L, et al. The relationship of leaf photosynthetic
traits - V cmax and J max - to leaf nitrogen, leaf phosphorus,
and specific leaf area: a meta-analysis and modeling study.
Ecol Evol. 2014; 4(16):3218-3235. doi:10.1002/ece3.1173
Wang G, Liu J, Meng T. Leaf trait variation captures climate differences
but differs with species irrespective of functional group. Journal
of Plant Ecology. 2015; 8:61-69. doi:10.1093/jpe/rtu009.
Weraduwage SM, Chen J, Anozie FC, Morales A, Weise SE, Sharkey TD.
The relationship between leaf area growth and biomass accumulation
in Arabidopsis thaliana. Front Plant Sci. 2015; 6:167.
doi:10.3389/fpls.2015.00167
Wilson PJ, Thompson K, Hodgson JG. Specific leaf area and leaf dry matter
content as alternative predictors of plant strategies. New
Phytologist. 1999; 143:155-162.
Winter B. 2013. Linear models and linear mixed effects models in R
with linguistic applications. arXiv:1308.5499 [cs].
Wright IJ, Reich PB, Westoby M, et al. The worldwide leaf economics
spectrum. Nature. 2004; 428(6985):821-827. doi:10.1038/nature02403
.
Wright JP, Sutton-Grier A. Does the leaf economic spectrum hold within
local species pools across varying environmental conditions?
Functional Ecology 2012; 26:1390-1398. doi:10.1111/1365-
2435.12001.
climatic and geophysical controls on the leaf economics spectrum.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2016; 113(28):E4043-E4051.
doi:10.1073/pnas.1604863113
Bakker MA, Carreño‐Rocabado G, Poorter L. Leaf economics traits predict
litter decomposition of tropical plants and differ among land
use types. Functional Ecology. 2010; 25:473-483. doi:10.1111/
j.1365-2435.2010.01802.x.
Berner LT, Law BE. Plant traits, productivity, biomass and soil properties
from forest sites in the Pacific Northwest, 1999-2014. Sci Data.
2016; 3:160002. doi:10.1038/sdata.2016.
Díaz S, Kattge J, Cornelissen JHC, et al. The global spectrum of plant form
and function. Nature. 2016; 529(7585):167-171. doi:10.1038/
nature16489
Domínguez MT, Aponte C, Pérez-Ramos IM, García LV, Villar R, Marañón
T. Relationships between leaf morphological traits, nutrient concentrations
and isotopic signatures for Mediterranean woody
plant species and communities. Plant Soil. 2012; 357:407-424.
doi:10.1007/s11104-012-1214-7.
Donovan LA, Maherali H, Caruso CM, Huber H, de Kroon H. The evolution
of the worldwide leaf economics spectrum. Trends Ecol
Evol. 2011; 26(2):88-95. doi:10.1016/j.tree.2010.11.011
Dubey P, Raghubanshi AS, Dwivedi AK. Relationship among specific leaf
area, leaf nitrogen, leaf phosphorus and photosynthetic rate in
herbaceous species of tropical dry deciduous in Vindhyan highlands.
Annals of Plant Sciences. 2017 Jan 31; 6 (02):1531-6.
Dwyer JM, Hobbs RJ, Mayfield MM. Specific leaf area responses to environmental
gradients through space and time. Ecology. 2014;
95(2):399-410. doi:10.1890/13-0412.1
Edwards EJ, Chatelet DS, Sack L, Donoghue MJ. Leaf life span and the
leaf economic spectrum in the context of whole plant architecture.
Journal of Ecology. 2014; 102:328-336. doi:10.1111/1365-
2745.12209.
Gulías J, Flexas J, Mus M, Cifre J, Lefi E, Medrano H. Relationship between
maximum leaf photosynthesis, nitrogen content and
specific leaf area in balearic endemic and non-endemic mediterranean
species. Ann Bot. 2003; 92(2):215-222. doi:10.1093/
aob/mcg123
Hodgson JG, Montserrat-Martí G, Charles M, et al. Is leaf dry matter
content a better predictor of soil fertility than specific leaf area?
Ann Bot. 2011; 108(7):1337-1345. doi:10.1093/aob/mcr225
Jagodziński AM, Dyderski MK, Rawlik K, Kątna B. Seasonal variability of
biomass, total leaf area and specific leaf area of forest understory
herbs reflects their life strategies. Forest Ecology Management.
2016; 374:71-81. doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2016.04.050.
Koyama K, Kikuzawa K. Is whole-plant photosynthetic rate proportional
to leaf area? A test of scalings and a logistic equation
by leaf demography census. Am Nat. 2009; 173(5):640-649.
doi:10.1086/597604
Liu J, Zhang D, Zhou G, Duan H. Changes in leaf nutrient traits and photosynthesis
of four tree species: effects of elevated [CO2], N fertilization
and canopy positions. Journal of Plant Ecology. 2012;
5:376-390. doi:10.1093/jpe/rts006.
Liu M, Wang Z, Li S, Lü X, Wang X, Han X. Changes in specific leaf area of
dominant plants in temperate grasslands along a 2500-km transect
in northern China. Sci Rep. 2017; 7(1):10780. doi:10.1038/
s41598-017-11133-z
Meziane D, Shipley B. Direct and Indirect Relationships Between Specific
Leaf Area, Leaf Nitrogen and Leaf Gas Exchange. Effects of
Irradiance and Nutrient Supply. Annals of Botany (Lond). 2001;
88:915-927. doi:10.1006/anbo.2001.1536.
Niinemets U, Portsmuth A, Truus L. Leaf structural and photosynthetic
characteristics, and biomass allocation to foliage in relation to
foliar nitrogen content and tree size in three Betula species. Ann
Bot. 2002; 89(2):191-204. doi:10.1093/aob/mcf025
Ordoñez JC, Bodegom PMV, Witte J-PM, Wright IJ, Reich PB, Aerts R.
A global study of relationships between leaf traits, climate and
soil measures of nutrient fertility. Global Ecology and Biogeography.
2009; 18:137-149. doi:10.1111/j.1466-8238.2008.00441.x.
Osnas JLD, Lichstein JW, Reich PB, Pacala SW. Global leaf trait relationships:
mass, area, and the leaf economics spectrum. Science.
2013; 340(6133):741-744. doi:10.1126/science.1231574 .
Pérez-Harguindeguy N, Díaz S, Garnier E, et al. New handbook for standardised
measurement of plant functional traits worldwide.
Australian Journal of Botany. 2013; 61:167-234. doi:10.1071/
BT12225.
Raina AK, Gupta MK. Soil characteristics in relation to vegetation and
parent material under different forest covers in Kempty forest
range Uttarakhand. Indian Forester. 2009; 135:331-341.
Reich PB. The world-wide ‘fast–slow’ plant economics spectrum:
a traits manifesto. Journal of Ecology. 2014; 102:275-301.
doi:10.1111/1365-2745.12211.
Sharma CM, Gairola S, Baduni NP, Ghildiyal SK, Suyal S. Variation in
carbon stocks on different slope aspects in seven major forest
types of temperate region of Garhwal Himalaya, India. J Biosci.
2011; 36(4):701-708. doi:10.1007/s12038-011-9103-4 .
Shipley B, Vu T-T. Dry matter content as a measure of dry matter concentration
in plants and their parts. New Phytologist. 2002;
153:359-364. doi:10.1046/j.0028-646X.2001.00320.x.
Singh P, Negi GCS. Seasonal Changes in Leaf Area and Leaf Mass of
Dominant Trees of Western Himalayan Forests. Indian Forester.
2018; 144:182-190.
Smart, S.M., Glanville, H.C., Blanes, M. del C., Mercado, L.M., Emmett,
B.A., Jones, D.L., Cosby, B.J., Marrs, R.H., Butler, A., Marshall,
M.R., Reinsch, S., Herrero‐Jáuregui, C., Hodgson, J.G., n.d. Leaf
dry matter content is better at predicting above-ground net primary
production than specific leaf area. Functional Ecology 31,
1336–1344. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.12832
Vile D, Garnier E, Shipley B, et al. Specific leaf area and dry matter
content estimate thickness in laminar leaves. Ann Bot. 2005;
96(6):1129-1136. doi:10.1093/aob/mci264
Violle C, Navas M-L, Vile D, et al. Let the concept of trait be functional
Oikos. 2007; 116:882-892. doi:10.1111/j.0030-
1299.2007.15559.x.
Walker AP, Beckerman AP, Gu L, et al. The relationship of leaf photosynthetic
traits - V cmax and J max - to leaf nitrogen, leaf phosphorus,
and specific leaf area: a meta-analysis and modeling study.
Ecol Evol. 2014; 4(16):3218-3235. doi:10.1002/ece3.1173
Wang G, Liu J, Meng T. Leaf trait variation captures climate differences
but differs with species irrespective of functional group. Journal
of Plant Ecology. 2015; 8:61-69. doi:10.1093/jpe/rtu009.
Weraduwage SM, Chen J, Anozie FC, Morales A, Weise SE, Sharkey TD.
The relationship between leaf area growth and biomass accumulation
in Arabidopsis thaliana. Front Plant Sci. 2015; 6:167.
doi:10.3389/fpls.2015.00167
Wilson PJ, Thompson K, Hodgson JG. Specific leaf area and leaf dry matter
content as alternative predictors of plant strategies. New
Phytologist. 1999; 143:155-162.
Winter B. 2013. Linear models and linear mixed effects models in R
with linguistic applications. arXiv:1308.5499 [cs].
Wright IJ, Reich PB, Westoby M, et al. The worldwide leaf economics
spectrum. Nature. 2004; 428(6985):821-827. doi:10.1038/nature02403
.
Wright JP, Sutton-Grier A. Does the leaf economic spectrum hold within
local species pools across varying environmental conditions?
Functional Ecology 2012; 26:1390-1398. doi:10.1111/1365-
2435.12001.
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How to Cite
Rawat, M., Arunachalam, K., & Arunachalam, A. (2018). Relationships among the leaf traits in temperate forest tree species in Uttarakhand, India. European Journal of Ecology, 4(1), 56-63. https://doi.org/10.2478/eje-2018-0007
