Intraspecific Variation In Plant Economic Traits Predicts Trembling Aspen Resistance To A Generalist Insect Herbivore

Abstract Patterns of trait expression within some plant species have recently been shown to follow patterns described by the leaf economics spectrum paradigm. Resistance to herbivores is also expected to covary with leaf economics traits. We selected multiple mature Populus tremuloides genotypes from a common garden to assess whether aspen leaf economics patterns follow those observed among species globally. We also evaluated leaf economics strategies in the context of insect resistance by conducting bioassays to determine the effects of plant traits on preference and performance of Lymantria dispar. We found that: 1) intraspecific trait patterns of P. tremuloides parallel those exhibited by the interspecific leaf economics spectrum, 2) herbivores preferred leaves from genotypes with resource-acquisitive strategies, and 3) herbivores also performed best on genotypes with resource-acquisitive strategies. We conclude that a leaf economics spectrum that incorporates defense traits is a useful tool for explaining intraspecific patterns of variation in plant strategies, including resistance to herbivores.

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Co-ordinated performance of leaf hydraulics and economics in 10 Chinese temperate tree species

Functional Plant Biology ◽

10.1071/fp16097 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 43 (11) ◽

pp. 1082 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Ying Jin ◽

Chuankuan Wang ◽

Zhenghu Zhou ◽

Zhimin Li

Keyword(s):

Resource Use ◽

Tree Species ◽

Eastern China ◽

Hydraulic Conductance ◽

Economic Traits ◽

Leaf Economics Spectrum ◽

Leaf Hydraulic Conductance ◽

Leaf Hydraulics ◽

Leaf Economics ◽

Nutrient Traits

Exploring relationships between leaf hydraulics and economic traits is important in understanding the carbon–water coupling and in extending the leaf economics spectrum. In this study, leaf hydraulics, photosynthesis, structural and nutrient traits and photosynthetic resource use efficiency were measured for 10 temperate tree species in the north-eastern China. Leaf hydraulic conductance was positively correlated with photosynthetic traits, specific leaf area, leaf nitrogen concentration, photosynthetic water and nitrogen use efficiencies, suggesting co-ordination between leaf hydraulics and economic traits. Principal component analysis revealed that significant correlations existed among leaf hydraulic, photosynthetic and resource use traits (axis 1), and axis 2 was strongly associated with leaf structural and nutrient traits. The 10 species were distributed along the diagonal line between axis 1 and axis 2. Species displaying the ‘fast’ strategy tended to have higher photosynthetic rates, leaf hydraulic conductance and photosynthetic water and nutrient use efficiencies; however, they also had lower carbon investment and faced a greater risk of embolism. These findings indicate that leaf hydraulics, economics and resource uses together play an important role in determining species ecological strategies, and provide supports for the ‘fast–slow’ leaf economics spectrum.

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The leaf economics spectrum’s morning coffee: plant size-dependent changes in leaf traits and reproductive onset in a perennial tree crop

Annals of Botany ◽

10.1093/aob/mcaa199 ◽

2021 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Adam R Martin ◽

Marney E Isaac

Keyword(s):

Environmental Conditions ◽

Plant Traits ◽

Leaf Traits ◽

Plant Size ◽

Leaf Economics Spectrum ◽

Size Dependent ◽

Leaf Mass ◽

Trade Offs ◽

Reproductive Onset ◽

Leaf Economics

Abstract Background and Aims Size-dependent changes in plant traits are an important source of intraspecific trait variation. However, there are few studies that have tested if leaf trait co-variation and/or trade-offs follow a within-genotype leaf economics spectrum (LES) related to plant size and reproductive onset. To our knowledge, there are no studies on any plant species that have tested whether or not the shape of a within-genotype LES that describes how traits covary across whole plant sizes, is the same as the shape of a within-genotype LES that represents environmentally driven trait plasticity. Methods We quantified size-dependent variation in eight leaf traits in a single coffee genotype (Coffea arabica var. Caturra) in managed agroecosystems with different environmental conditions (light and fertilization treatments), and evaluated these patterns with respect to reproductive onset. We also evaluated if trait covariation along a within-genotype plant-size LES differed from a within-genotype environmental LES defined with trait data from coffee growing in different environmental conditions. Key Results Leaf economics traits related to resource acquisition – maximum photosynthetic rates (A) and mass-based leaf nitrogen (N) concentrations – declined linearly with plant size. Structural traits – leaf mass, leaf thickness, and leaf mass per unit area (LMA) – and leaf area increased with plant size beyond reproductive onset, then declined in larger plants. Three primary LES traits (mass-based A, leaf N and LMA) covaried across a within-genotype plant-size LES, with plants moving towards the ‘resource-conserving’ end of the LES as they grow larger; in coffee these patterns were nearly identical to a within-genotype environmental LES. Conclusions Our results demonstrate that a plant-size LES exists within a single genotype. Our findings indicate that in managed agroecosystems where resource availability is high the role of reproductive onset in driving within-genotype trait variability, and the strength of covariation and trade-offs among LES traits, are less pronounced compared with plants in natural systems. The consistency in trait covariation in coffee along both plant-size and environmental LES axes indicates strong constraints on leaf form and function that exist within plant genotypes.

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Testing models for the leaf economics spectrum with leaf and whole-plant traits inArabidopsis thaliana

AoB Plants ◽

10.1093/aobpla/plv049 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 7 ◽

pp. plv049 ◽

Cited By ~ 28

Author(s):

Benjamin Blonder ◽

François Vasseur ◽

Cyrille Violle ◽

Bill Shipley ◽

Brian J. Enquist ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Plant Traits ◽

Leaf Economics Spectrum ◽

Whole Plant ◽

Leaf Economics

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Global patterns of the leaf economics spectrum in wetlands

Nature Communications ◽

10.1038/s41467-020-18354-3 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Yingji Pan ◽

Ellen Cieraad ◽

Jean Armstrong ◽

William Armstrong ◽

Beverley R. Clarkson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Leaf Traits ◽

Global Scale ◽

Wetland Plants ◽

Leaf Mass Per Area ◽

Leaf Life Span ◽

Wetland Ecology ◽

Plant Strategies ◽

Nitrogen And Phosphorus ◽

Leaf Economics Spectrum ◽

Leaf Economics

Abstract The leaf economics spectrum (LES) describes consistent correlations among a variety of leaf traits that reflect a gradient from conservative to acquisitive plant strategies. So far, whether the LES holds in wetland plants at a global scale has been unclear. Using data on 365 wetland species from 151 studies, we find that wetland plants in general show a shift within trait space along the same common slope as observed in non-wetland plants, with lower leaf mass per area, higher leaf nitrogen and phosphorus, faster photosynthetic rates, and shorter leaf life span compared to non-wetland plants. We conclude that wetland plants tend to cluster at the acquisitive end of the LES. The presented global quantifications of the LES in wetland plants enhance our understanding of wetland plant strategies in terms of resources acquisition and allocation, and provide a stepping-stone to developing trait-based approaches for wetland ecology.

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Highly Species-Specific Foliar Metabolomes of Diverse Woody Species and Relationships with the Leaf Economics Spectrum

Cells ◽

10.3390/cells10030644 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (3) ◽

pp. 644

Author(s):

Rabea Schweiger ◽

Eva Castells ◽

Luca Da Sois ◽

Jordi Martínez-Vilalta ◽

Caroline Müller

Keyword(s):

Woody Species ◽

Common Garden ◽

Leaf Traits ◽

Leaf Economics Spectrum ◽

Specialized Metabolites ◽

Carbon Nitrogen Ratio ◽

Nitrogen Ratio ◽

Positive Correlations ◽

Species Specific ◽

Leaf Economics

Plants show an extraordinary diversity in chemical composition and are characterized by different functional traits. However, relationships between the foliar primary and specialized metabolism in terms of metabolite numbers and composition as well as links with the leaf economics spectrum have rarely been explored. We investigated these relationships in leaves of 20 woody species from the Mediterranean region grown as saplings in a common garden, using a comparative ecometabolomics approach that included (semi-)polar primary and specialized metabolites. Our analyses revealed significant positive correlations between both the numbers and relative composition of primary and specialized metabolites. The leaf metabolomes were highly species-specific but in addition showed some phylogenetic imprints. Moreover, metabolomes of deciduous species were distinct from those of evergreens. Significant relationships were found between the primary metabolome and nitrogen content and carbon/nitrogen ratio, important traits of the leaf economics spectrum, ranging from acquisitive (mostly deciduous) to conservative (evergreen) leaves. A comprehensive understanding of various leaf traits and their coordination in different plant species may facilitate our understanding of plant functioning in ecosystems. Chemodiversity is thereby an important component of biodiversity.

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Large-scale climatic and geophysical controls on the leaf economics spectrum

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ◽

10.1073/pnas.1604863113 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 113 (28) ◽

pp. E4043-E4051 ◽

Cited By ~ 50

Author(s):

Gregory P. Asner ◽

David E. Knapp ◽

Christopher B. Anderson ◽

Roberta E. Martin ◽

Nicholas Vaughn

Keyword(s):

Large Scale ◽

Plant Traits ◽

Imaging Spectroscopy ◽

Leaf Mass Per Area ◽

Leaf Economics Spectrum ◽

Leaf Trait ◽

Trade Offs ◽

Airborne Imaging ◽

Spatially Explicit Data ◽

Leaf Economics

Leaf economics spectrum (LES) theory suggests a universal trade-off between resource acquisition and storage strategies in plants, expressed in relationships between foliar nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P), leaf mass per area (LMA), and photosynthesis. However, how environmental conditions mediate LES trait interrelationships, particularly at large biospheric scales, remains unknown because of a lack of spatially explicit data, which ultimately limits our understanding of ecosystem processes, such as primary productivity and biogeochemical cycles. We used airborne imaging spectroscopy and geospatial modeling to generate, to our knowledge, the first biospheric maps of LES traits, here centered on 76 million ha of Andean and Amazonian forest, to assess climatic and geophysical determinants of LES traits and their interrelationships. Elevation and substrate were codominant drivers of leaf trait distributions. Multiple additional climatic and geophysical factors were secondary determinants of plant traits. Anticorrelations between N and LMA followed general LES theory, but topo-edaphic conditions strongly mediated and, at times, eliminated this classic relationship. We found no evidence for simple P–LMA or N–P trade-offs in forest canopies; rather, we mapped a continuum of N–P–LMA interactions that are sensitive to elevation and temperature. Our results reveal nested climatic and geophysical filtering of LES traits and their interrelationships, with important implications for predictions of forest productivity and acclimation to rapid climate change.

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