Causes and consequences of variation in leaf mass per area (LMA): a meta-analysis.
TLDR
Responses constructed from experiments under controlled conditions showed that LMA varied strongly with light, temperature and submergence, moderately with CO2 concentration and nutrient and water stress, and marginally under most other conditions.Abstract:
Here, we analysed a wide range of literature data on the leaf dry mass per unit area (LMA). In nature, LMA varies more than 100-fold among species. Part of this variation (c. 35%) can be ascribed to differences between functional groups, with evergreen species having the highest LMA, but most of the variation is within groups or biomes. When grown in the same controlled environment, leaf succulents and woody evergreen, perennial or slow-growing species have inherently high LMA. Within most of the functional groups studied, high-LMA species show higher leaf tissue densities. However, differences between evergreen and deciduous species result from larger volumes per area (thickness). Response curves constructed from experiments under controlled conditions showed that LMA varied strongly with light, temperature and submergence, moderately with CO2 concentration and nutrient and water stress, and marginally under most other conditions. Functional groups differed in the plasticity of LMA to these gradients. The physiological regulation is still unclear, but the consequences of variation in LMA and the suite of traits interconnected with it are strong. This trait complex is an important factor determining the fitness of species in their environment and affects various ecosystem processes.read more
Citations
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New handbook for standardised measurement of plant functional traits worldwide
Natalia Pérez-Harguindeguy,Sandra Díaz,Eric Garnier,Sandra Lavorel,Hendrik Poorter,Pedro Jaureguiberry,M.S. Bret-Harte,William K. Cornwell,Joseph M. Craine,Diego E. Gurvich,Carlos Urcelay,Erik J. Veneklaas,Peter B. Reich,Lourens Poorter,Ian J. Wright,P. Ray,Lucas Enrico,Juli G. Pausas,A. C. de Vos,Nina Buchmann,Guillermo Funes,Fabien Quétier,Fabien Quétier,John G. Hodgson,Ken Thompson,H. D. Morgan,H. ter Steege,M.G.A. Van Der Heijden,Lawren Sack,Benjamin Blonder,Peter Poschlod,Maria Victoria Vaieretti,Georgina Conti,A. C. Staver,S. Aquino,Johannes H. C. Cornelissen +35 more
TL;DR: This new handbook has a better balance between whole-plant traits, leaf traits, root and stem traits and regenerative traits, and puts particular emphasis on traits important for predicting species’ effects on key ecosystem properties.
Journal ArticleDOI
TRY - a global database of plant traits
Jens Kattge,Sandra Díaz,Sandra Lavorel,Iain Colin Prentice,Paul Leadley,Gerhard Bönisch,Eric Garnier,Mark Westoby,Peter B. Reich,Peter B. Reich,Ian J. Wright,Johannes H. C. Cornelissen,Cyrille Violle,Sandy P. Harrison,P.M. van Bodegom,Markus Reichstein,Brian J. Enquist,Nadejda A. Soudzilovskaia,David D. Ackerly,Madhur Anand,Owen K. Atkin,Michael Bahn,Timothy R. Baker,Dennis D. Baldocchi,Renée M. Bekker,Carolina C. Blanco,Benjamin Blonder,William J. Bond,Ross A. Bradstock,Daniel E. Bunker,Fernando Casanoves,Jeannine Cavender-Bares,Jeffrey Q. Chambers,F. S. Chapin,Jérôme Chave,David A. Coomes,William K. Cornwell,Joseph M. Craine,B. H. Dobrin,Leandro da Silva Duarte,Walter Durka,James J. Elser,Gerd Esser,Marc Estiarte,William F. Fagan,Jingyun Fang,Fernando Fernández-Méndez,Alessandra Fidelis,Bryan Finegan,Olivier Flores,H. Ford,Dorothea Frank,Grégoire T. Freschet,Nikolaos M. Fyllas,Rachael V. Gallagher,Walton A. Green,Alvaro G. Gutiérrez,Thomas Hickler,Steven I. Higgins,John G. Hodgson,Adel Jalili,Steven Jansen,Carlos Alfredo Joly,Andrew J. Kerkhoff,Don Kirkup,Kaoru Kitajima,Michael Kleyer,Stefan Klotz,Johannes M. H. Knops,Koen Kramer,Ingolf Kühn,Hiroko Kurokawa,Daniel C. Laughlin,Tali D. Lee,Michelle R. Leishman,Frederic Lens,Tanja Lenz,Simon L. Lewis,Jon Lloyd,Jon Lloyd,Joan Llusià,Frédérique Louault,Siyan Ma,Miguel D. Mahecha,Peter Manning,Tara Joy Massad,Belinda E. Medlyn,Julie Messier,Angela T. Moles,Sandra Cristina Müller,Karin Nadrowski,Shahid Naeem,Ülo Niinemets,S. Nöllert,A. Nüske,Romà Ogaya,Jacek Oleksyn,Vladimir G. Onipchenko,Yusuke Onoda,Jenny C. Ordoñez,Gerhard E. Overbeck,Wim A. Ozinga,Sandra Patiño,Susana Paula,Juli G. Pausas,Josep Peñuelas,Oliver L. Phillips,Valério D. Pillar,Hendrik Poorter,Lourens Poorter,Peter Poschlod,Andreas Prinzing,Raphaël Proulx,Anja Rammig,Sabine Reinsch,Björn Reu,Lawren Sack,Beatriz Salgado-Negret,Jordi Sardans,Satomi Shiodera,Bill Shipley,Andrew Siefert,Enio E. Sosinski,Jean-François Soussana,Emily Swaine,Nathan G. Swenson,Ken Thompson,Peter E. Thornton,Matthew S. Waldram,Evan Weiher,Michael T. White,S. White,S. J. Wright,Benjamin Yguel,Sönke Zaehle,Amy E. Zanne,Christian Wirth +136 more
TL;DR: TRY as discussed by the authors is a global database of plant traits, including morphological, anatomical, physiological, biochemical and phenological characteristics of plants and their organs, which can be used for a wide range of research from evolutionary biology, community and functional ecology to biogeography.
Journal ArticleDOI
Biomass allocation to leaves, stems and roots: meta-analyses of interspecific variation and environmental control
Hendrik Poorter,Karl J. Niklas,Peter B. Reich,Peter B. Reich,Jacek Oleksyn,Jacek Oleksyn,Pieter Poot,Liesje Mommer,Liesje Mommer +8 more
TL;DR: In this article, the authors quantified the biomass allocation patterns to leaves, stems and roots in vegetative plants, and how this is influenced by the growth environment, plant size, evolutionary history and competition.
Journal ArticleDOI
The global spectrum of plant form and function
Sandra Díaz,Jens Kattge,Johannes H. C. Cornelissen,Ian J. Wright,Sandra Lavorel,Stéphane Dray,Björn Reu,Björn Reu,Michael Kleyer,Christian Wirth,I. Colin Prentice,I. Colin Prentice,Eric Garnier,Gerhard Bönisch,Mark Westoby,Hendrik Poorter,Peter B. Reich,Peter B. Reich,Angela T. Moles,John B. Dickie,Andrew N. Gillison,Amy E. Zanne,Amy E. Zanne,Jérôme Chave,S. Joseph Wright,Serge N. Sheremetev,Hervé Jactel,Hervé Jactel,Christopher Baraloto,Christopher Baraloto,Bruno Enrico Leone Cerabolini,Simon Pierce,Bill Shipley,Don Kirkup,Fernando Casanoves,Julia Joswig,Angela Günther,Valeria Falczuk,Nadja Rüger,Miguel D. Mahecha,Lucas D. Gorné +40 more
TL;DR: Analysis of worldwide variation in six major traits critical to growth, survival and reproduction within the largest sample of vascular plant species ever compiled found that occupancy of six-dimensional trait space is strongly concentrated, indicating coordination and trade-offs.
Journal ArticleDOI
Plant phenotypic plasticity in a changing climate
Adrienne B. Nicotra,Owen K. Atkin,Stephen P. Bonser,Amy Michelle Davidson,E.J. Finnegan,Ulrike Mathesius,Pieter Poot,Michael D. Purugganan,Christina L. Richards,Fernando Valladares,M. Van Kleunen +10 more
TL;DR: A toolbox with definitions of key theoretical elements and a synthesis of the current understanding of the molecular and genetic mechanisms underlying plasticity relevant to climate change is provided to provide clear directives for future research and stimulate cross-disciplinary dialogue on the relevance of phenotypic plasticity under climate change.
References
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Journal ArticleDOI
The worldwide leaf economics spectrum
Ian J. Wright,Peter B. Reich,Mark Westoby,David D. Ackerly,Zdravko Baruch,Frans Bongers,Jeannine Cavender-Bares,Terry Chapin,Johannes H. C. Cornelissen,M. Diemer,Jaume Flexas,Eric Garnier,Philip K. Groom,Javier Gulías,Kouki Hikosaka,Byron B. Lamont,Tali D. Lee,William G. Lee,Christopher H. Lusk,Jeremy J. Midgley,Marie-Laure Navas,Ülo Niinemets,Jacek Oleksyn,Jacek Oleksyn,Noriyuki Osada,Hendrik Poorter,Pieter Poot,Lynda D. Prior,Vladimir I. Pyankov,Catherine Roumet,Sean C. Thomas,Mark G. Tjoelker,Erik J. Veneklaas,Rafael Villar +33 more
TL;DR: Reliable quantification of the leaf economics spectrum and its interaction with climate will prove valuable for modelling nutrient fluxes and vegetation boundaries under changing land-use and climate.
Journal ArticleDOI
A handbook of protocols for standardised and easy measurement of plant functional traits worldwide
Johannes H. C. Cornelissen,Sandra Lavorel,Eric Garnier,Sandra Díaz,Nina Buchmann,Diego E. Gurvich,Peter B. Reich,H. ter Steege,H. D. Morgan,M. van der Heijden,Juli G. Pausas,Hendrik Poorter +11 more
TL;DR: This paper provides an international methodological protocol aimed at standardising this research effort, based on consensus among a broad group of scientists in this field, and features a practical handbook with step-by-step recipes, for 28 functional traits recognised as critical for tackling large-scale ecological questions.
Journal ArticleDOI
Understanding plant responses to drought — from genes to the whole plant
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Predicting changes in community composition and ecosystem functioning from plant traits: revisiting the Holy Grail
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TL;DR: A framework using concepts and results from community ecology, ecosystem ecology and evolutionary biology to provide a linkage between traits associated with the response of plants to environmental factors and traits that determine effects of plants on ecosystem functions is presented.
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