Testing the correlations between leaf life span and leaf structural reinforcement in 13 species of European Mediterranean woody plants

• Published in: Functional ecology Vol. 22; no. 5; pp. 787 - 793
• Main Authors: Mediavilla, S, Garcia-Ciudad, A, Garcia-Criado, B, Escudero, A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Oxford, UK : Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.10.2008; British Ecological Society; Blackwell Publishing Ltd; Blackwell Science
• Subjects: Animal and plant ecology; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Autoecology; Biological and medical sciences; Biological taxonomies; deciduous; evergreen; fibre concentration; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General aspects; Human ecology; leaf mass per area; leaf thickness; Leaves; Life span; Lignin; Longevity; Plant ecology; Plant Physiological Ecology; Plants; Species; Structural reinforcement; Europe; leaf thickness; Mediterranean vegetation; Plant leaf; deciduous; Longevity; Woody plant; Leaf area; evergreen; Thickness; Mass; Concentration measurement; leaf mass per area; fibre concentration
• ISSN: 0269-8463; 1365-2435
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2435.2008.01453.x

1. It has been proposed that in longer-living leaves the allocation of biomass to structural components is greater than in shorter-living leaves, leading to a greater leaf mass per area (LMA) and to lower assimilation rates. However, direct evidence in support of this hypothesis is very scarce. 2. In the present work we investigated the relationships between leaf duration and LMA, leaf thickness and fibre concentrations (cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin) in five oak species, five pine species and three additional tree species, differing in leaf life spans. Correlations among leaf life span and the other leaf traits were obtained both across species (TIPs) and as phylogenetically independent contrasts (PICs). 3. Leaf thickness and LMA increased steadily with leaf longevity. No relationship was found between leaf longevity and the lignin concentration per unit leaf mass. Evergreen leaves were found to have higher mean concentrations of cellulose and hemicellulose than deciduous ones. However, no relationship was observed between leaf longevity and the concentration of structural carbohydrates across the set of evergreen species, although PIC correlations revealed increases in cellulose with leaf longevity within particular lineages. 4. Our findings reveal that leaf reinforcement by structural carbohydrates depends on leaf habit (deciduous vs. evergreen) and, within a given lineage, also on leaf longevity. However, among the evergreen species co-occurring in a particular environment, leaf duration may apparently be increased, with no need for increases in the concentration of structural components per unit leaf mass.