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

• Published in: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS Vol. 115; no. 21; pp. 5480 - 5485
• Main Authors: Osnas, Jeanne L. D., Katabuchi, Masatoshi, Kitajima, Kaoru, Wright, S. Joseph, Reich, Peter B., Van Bael, Sunshine A., Kraft, Nathan J. B., Samaniego, Mirna J., Pacala, Stephen W., Lichstein, Jeremy W.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States National Academy of Sciences 22.05.2018
• Subjects: Banach spaces; Biological Sciences; Chloroplasts; Ecophysiology; Flora; Flowers & plants; Forests; Functional groups; Gas exchange; Interspecific; Leaf area; Leaves; Life span; Mathematical functions; Nitrogen; Nutrient concentrations; Phosphorus; Photosynthesis; Plant Leaves - chemistry; Plant Leaves - genetics; Plant Leaves - metabolism; Plants - chemistry; Plants - classification; Plants - genetics; Plants - metabolism; Quantitative Trait Loci; Species; Species Specificity; Tropical forests; Variation; plant functional types; leaf mass per area; functional traits; leaf longevity; tropical forests

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...