scholarly journals Leaf Traits of Trees in Tropical Dry Evergreen Forests of Peninsular India

Ecologies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 268-284
Author(s):  
Muthulingam Udayakumar ◽  
Thangavel Sekar
Keyword(s):  
Negative Relationship ◽  
Leaf Traits ◽  
Functional Trait ◽  
Matter Content ◽  
Evergreen Forest ◽  
Leaf Life Span ◽  
Dry Matter Content ◽  
Evergreen Species ◽  
Peninsular India ◽  
Plant Functional Trait

A plant functional trait study was conducted to know the existing relationship between important leaf traits namely, specific leaf area (SLA), leaf dry matter content (LDMC), and leaf life span (LL) in tropical dry evergreen forest (TDEFs) of Peninsular India. Widely accepted methodologies were employed to record functional traits. The relationships between SLA and LDMC, LDMC and LL, and SLA and LL were measured. Pearson’s coefficient of correlation showed a significant negative relationship between SLA and LDMC, and SLA and LL, whereas a significant positive relationship was prevailed between LDMC and LL. The mean trait values (SLA, LDMC, and LL) of evergreens varied significantly from deciduous species. SLA had a closer relationship with LDMC than LL. Similarly, LL had a closer relationship with SLA than LDMC. Species with evergreen leaf habits dominated forest sites under study. Evergreen species dominate the study area with a high evergreen-deciduous ratio of 5.34:1. The S strategy score of trees indicated a relatively higher biomass allocation to persistent tissues. TDEFs occur in low elevation, semiarid environment, but with the combination of oligotrophic habitat, high temperature and longer dry season these forests were flourishing as a unique evergreen ecosystem in the drier environment. The relationships found between leaf traits were in concurrence with earlier findings. Trees of TDEFs survive on the poor-nutrient habitat with a low SLA, high LDMC, and LL. This study adds baseline data on key leaf traits to plant functional trait database of India.

Morphological and physicochemical traits of leaves of different life-forms of various broadleaf woody plants in interior Alaska

2016 ◽  
Vol 46 (12) ◽  
pp. 1475-1482 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tanaka Kenzo ◽  
Ayumi Tanaka-Oda ◽  
Yojiro Mastuura ◽  
Larry D. Hinzman
Keyword(s):  
Woody Plants ◽  
Leaf Traits ◽  
Life Forms ◽  
Leaf Life Span ◽  
Maximum Height ◽  
Evergreen Species ◽  
Interior Alaska ◽  
Temperate Deciduous ◽  
Temperate Deciduous Forests ◽  
Root Symbionts

The morphological and physicochemical traits of leaves are important in terms of plant adaptation to various growth environments, because such traits play central roles in various functions including photosynthesis. We measured the toughness, mass per unit area (LMA), nitrogen content, and δ15N levels of the leaves of different life-forms of 39 broadleaf woody plants in interior Alaska. The plants were divided into three life-forms based on the maximum height of adult plants: understory (<1 m), small (≥1 m to <5 m), and canopy (≥5 m). Evergreen species accounted for a large proportion of understory woody plants (44%), whereas most small (87%) and canopy (100%) trees were deciduous. Higher LMA, increased toughness, and higher C-to-N ratios prolonged leaf life-span in evergreen species. We also evaluated the presence or absence of bundle-sheath extensions (BSEs), which contribute to the mechanical support of leaves and enhance photosynthetic ability by improving hydraulic properties. In total, 11 species (28%) had homobaric leaves (BSEs were absent) and 28 species (72%) had heterobaric leaves; these proportions are similar to those of woody plants of other temperate deciduous forests. The δ15N values reflected the presence of root symbionts such as ericoid mycorrhiza or Frankia sp. Our results suggest that leaf traits may affect both the life-form of the host plants and leaf longevity in both evergreen and deciduous species.

Reliability of leaf functional traits after delayed measurements

2020 ◽  
Vol 68 (2) ◽  
pp. 100
Author(s):  
Dinesh Thakur ◽  
Lakhbeer Singh ◽  
Amit Chawla
Keyword(s):  
Leaf Area ◽  
Leaf Traits ◽  
Western Himalaya ◽  
Matter Content ◽  
Dry Matter Content ◽  
Leaf Dry Matter Content ◽  
Leaf Functional Traits ◽  
Temporary Storage ◽  
Delayed Measurements ◽  
Stable Leaf

In this study, the effect of temporary storage (at 4°C) on measurement of leaf traits was tested. We collected leaf samples from 25 species, which represented different functional types in the high altitude vegetation of western Himalaya, to measure leaf area (LA), leaf rehydration, specific leaf area (SLA) and leaf dry matter content (LDMC). Repeated trait measurements were performed for up to 7 days. We found that in all the species, LA increased in initial 24 h of rehydration and thereafter remained stable. Leaf rehydration was found to be sensitive to delayed measurements and changed significantly for up to 7 days. For SLA and LDMC, the effect of storage time was significant only for a few species. On the basis of our findings, we recommend that, for samples stored in dark at 4°C, LA, SLA and LDMC can reliably be estimated after a delay of up to 7 days. Further, these key leaf traits should be estimated only after 24 h of rehydration. Also, trait measurements after prolonged rehydration of leaves should be avoided. Outcomes of this study will be beneficial when a large number of samples are collected from locations far away from laboratory and temporary storage is necessitated before trait measurements.

The effect of drought on functional traits and diversity in Douglas Fir: snapshots before, during, and after the summer 2018 European drought event

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosaleen March ◽  
Marjolein Paardekooper ◽  
Joris Timmermans ◽  
Celine Huisman ◽  
Manouk van der Aa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Functional Traits ◽  
Plant Stress ◽  
Douglas Fir ◽  
Matter Content ◽  
Evergreen Forest ◽  
Severe Drought ◽  
Drought Event ◽  
Dry Matter Content ◽  
Carotenoid Concentration ◽  
Temporal Study

&lt;p&gt;The summer of 2018 brought a record-breaking heat wave and record low rainfall, resulting in a severe drought in much of northern and central Europe. In the following year, precipitation increased but in many locations remained below average. A temporal study that began in 2017 in a temperate evergreen forest in the Netherlands allowed the opportunity examine the effects of this drought on functional traits before, during, and after the event. This gave us new trait-based insight into the resistance, resilience, and recovery abilities of the Douglas Fir to drought. During the growing season of 2017-2019, leaves were collected every 2-4 weeks. Functional traits were derived, including total chlorophyll, carotenoids, specific leaf area, and leaf dry matter content. Functional diversity metrics were also derived to examine response to drought. Using ANOVA to compare trait values during the same parts of the season, we found all traits showed significant changes at some point, but chlorophyll and carotenoids had the largest responses to the drought. Chlorophyll concentrations showed a continued decrease into 2019. Carotenoid concentration increased across the years, which has been shown to be an indication of plant stress. Though Douglas Fir has been considered drought resistant, this study reveals that the intensity of the 2018 drought had an impact on its traits and its resilience without sufficient soil moisture relief in the following year. Much attention has been paid to extreme events with climate change; however, it is these events paired with a lack of adequate recovery conditions that can push ecosystems past their tipping point.&lt;/p&gt;

scholarly journals Leaf functional trait variation in a humid temperate forest, and relationships with juvenile tree light requirements

PeerJ ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. e6855 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher H. Lusk
Keyword(s):  
Temperate Forest ◽  
Dry Matter ◽  
Leaf Traits ◽  
Interspecific Variation ◽  
Matter Content ◽  
Canopy Openness ◽  
Dry Matter Content ◽  
Leaf Lifespan ◽  
Light Requirements ◽  
Shade Leaves

The species-rich arborescent assemblages of humid tropical forests encompass much of the known range of the leaf economics spectrum, often including >20-fold variation in leaf lifespan. This suite of traits underpins a life-history continuum from fast-growing pioneers to slow-growing shade-tolerant species. Less is known about the range of leaf traits in humid temperate forests, and there are conflicting reports about relationships of these traits with the light requirements of temperate evergreen angiosperms. Here I quantify the range of leaf functional traits in a New Zealand temperate evergreen forest, and relationships of these traits with light requirements of juvenile trees and shrubs. Foliage turnover of saplings of 19 evergreen angiosperms growing beneath gaps (12–29% canopy openness) and in understories (1.2–2.9%) was measured over 12 months. Dry mass per area (LMA), dry matter content, thickness, density and nitrogen content (N) of leaves were also measured. Species minimum light requirements were indexed as the 10th percentile of the distribution of saplings in relation to canopy openness. Interspecific variation of leaf lifespan was ∼6-fold in gaps (0.6 to 3.8 yrs), and ∼11-fold in the understorey (0.7 to 7.7 yrs). Six small tree and shrub species are effectively leaf-exchangers, with leaf lifespans of c.1 year in gaps—albeit usually longer in the shade. Interspecific variation in other leaf traits was 2.5 to 4-fold. Lifespans and LMA of both sun and shade leaves were negatively correlated with species light requirements i.e., positively correlated with shade tolerance. However, light environment (gap vs shade) explained about the same amount of variation in LMA as species’ identity did. Species light requirements were not significantly correlated with leaf N, dry matter content, density or thickness—except for a marginally significant correlation with dry matter content of shade leaves. Species light requirements were thus less consistently related to leaf structural traits than appears to be the case in humid tropical forests. Whereas the wide interspecific variation in leaf economic traits of tropical rainforest species outweighs plastic response to light availability, temperate evergreen woody angiosperms appear to occupy a narrower range of the leaf economic spectrum. Standardization of the light environments in which LMA is measured is vital in comparative studies of humid temperate forest evergreens, because of countergradient responses of this trait to light, and because of the relative magnitudes of plastic and interspecific variation in LMA in these forests.

scholarly journals Relationships among the leaf traits in temperate forest tree species in Uttarakhand, India

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 56-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monika Rawat ◽  
Kusum Arunachalam ◽  
Ayyandar Arunachalam
Keyword(s):  
Leaf Area ◽  
Specific Leaf Area ◽  
Forest Ecosystem ◽  
Temperate Forest ◽  
Dry Matter ◽  
Leaf Traits ◽  
Matter Content ◽  
Dry Matter Content ◽  
Leaf Dry Matter Content ◽  
Temperate Forest Ecosystem

Abstract 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.

scholarly journals Aridity drives coordinated trait shifts but not decreased trait variance across the geographic range of eight Australian trees

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leander DL Anderegg ◽  
Xingwen Loy ◽  
Ian P. Markham ◽  
Christina M Elmer ◽  
Mark J Hovenden ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Functional Trait ◽  
Matter Content ◽  
Complex Nature ◽  
Leaf Mass Per Area ◽  
Species Variation ◽  
Dry Matter Content ◽  
Trait Variation ◽  
Huber Value ◽  
Trait Variance ◽  
Species Trait

AbstractContextLarge intraspecific functional trait variation strongly impacts many aspects of natural communities and ecosystems, yet is inconsistent across traits and species.ApproachWe measured within-species variation in leaf mass per area (LMA), leaf dry matter content (LDMC), branch wood density (WD), and allocation to stem area vs. leaf area in branches (branch Huber value, HV) across the aridity range of seven Australian eucalypts and an Acacia species to explore how traits and their variances change with aridity.Results and ConclusionsWithin-species, we found consistent increases in LMA, LDMC and WD, and HV with increasing aridity, resulting in consistent trait coordination across tissues. However, this coordination only emerged across sites with large climate differences. Unlike trait means, patterns of trait variance with aridity were mixed across populations and species and showed limited support for constrained trait variation in dryer populations or more xeric species.SynthesisOur results highlight that climate can drive consistent within-species trait patterns, but that these patterns might often be obscured by the complex nature of morphological traits and sampling incomplete species ranges or sampling confounded stress gradients.

scholarly journals Angiosperms, tropical dry evergreen forests of southern Coromandel coast, India

Check List ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 368 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muthulingam Udayakumar ◽  
Narayanaswamy Parthasarathy
Keyword(s):  
Forest Type ◽  
Anthropogenic Impacts ◽  
Evergreen Forest ◽  
Evergreen Species ◽  
Peninsular India ◽  
Evergreen Forests ◽  
Dry Evergreen Forest ◽  
Forest Sites ◽  
Tropical Dry Evergreen Forest ◽  
Coromandel Coast

We provide a check list of angiosperm plant species with their bioresource potential as medicinal plants enumerated from a total of seventy-five tropical dry evergreen forest sites along the Coromandel coast of peninsular India. These are poorly known sites even within Indian sub-continent and form an under-studied forest type. Tropical dry evergreen forests harbour 312 species belonging to 251 genera and 80 families. The families with the greatest numbers of species were Euphorbiaceae (20 species), Apocynaceae (18 species), Rubiaceae (15), Fabaceae (12), Mimosaceae (11) and Capparaceae and Asteraceae (10 each). Physiognomically evergreen species dominated the forest. Plant specimens are identified and confirmed using regional floras. These forests are conserved by the local people on religious ground as sacred groves, although they are also subjected to various levels of anthropogenic impacts.

scholarly journals Life History Traits and Invasion Success of Parthenium hysterophorus L. in Kathmandu Valley, Nepal

2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seerjana Maharjan ◽  
Srijana Joshi ◽  
Bharat Babu Shrestha ◽  
Anjana Devkota ◽  
Pramod Kumar Jha
Keyword(s):  
Leaf Traits ◽  
Leaf Nitrogen ◽  
Reproductive Period ◽  
Matter Content ◽  
Invasion Success ◽  
Parthenium Hysterophorus ◽  
Kathmandu Valley ◽  
Leaf Nitrogen Content ◽  
Dry Matter Content ◽  
Invasive Weed

Parthenium (Parthenium hysterophorus L.) is an invasive alien species of global significance which is rapidly expanding in Nepal and other Asian countries with negative impacts on species diversity, health of human and livestock, and productivity of pasture and agriculture. To understand the invasive success of this weed, we analysed soil of its invaded sites, morphological traits, biomass allocation, leaf attributes, and phenology in the Kathmandu valley. The roadside soil, which is loamy sand in the valley is highly suitable for the growth and proliferation of the parthenium weed where its density has become double in less than a decade. An average size plant was 112 cm tall with 12 cm long tap root and produced 2637 achene per plant (max. 3865 per plant). A combination of different leaf traits enables the parthenium to grow under diverse habitats such as resources poor condition (due to low specific leaf area, SLA), disturbed habitats (due to low leaf dry matter content, LDMC) as well as productive sites (due to high leaf nitrogen content). During rainy season it completes lifecycle in 16-18 weeks. Relatively long (12-16 weeks) reproductive period with high output of small seeds and their capacity to germinate and flower anytime in the year make parthenium a successful invasive weed in the Kathmandu valley.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/njst.v15i1.12007  Nepal Journal of Science and TechnologyVol. 15, No.1 (2014) 31-38

scholarly journals Influence of shoot inclination on irradiance and morphophysiological leaf traits along shoots in cerrado trees with distinct leaf deciduousness

2009 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 281-289 ◽  
Author(s):  
João Paulo Souza ◽  
Carlos Henrique B. A. Prado ◽  
Maria A. Damascos ◽  
Ana Lúcia S. Albino
Keyword(s):  
Life Span ◽  
Leaf Area ◽  
Net Photosynthesis ◽  
Leaf Traits ◽  
The Other ◽  
Leaf Life Span ◽  
Evergreen Species ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Shoot Base

This study investigated the relationship among shoot inclination, irradiance and morphophysiological traits of basal (BL) and distal (DL) leaves in six cerrado trees with distinct leaf deciduousness. Deciduous species showed plagiotropic shoots (44º) and larger leaf area than semideciduous and evergreen species, which showed orthotropic shoots (56º and 63º, respectively). Despite larger leaf area, irradiance at shoot base in deciduous was around 85% in relation to full irradiance, while in semideciduous and evergreen only 23% of irradiance reached on BL. Likewise, maximum net photosynthesis (Pnmax) was similar between BL and DL in deciduous. Contrastingly, semideciduous and evergreen showed significant decreasing of Pnmax in BL. Plagiotropic shoots of deciduous allow similar irradiance along shoots, resulting in similar Pnmax along shoot. On the other hand, orthotropic shoots of semideciduous and evergreen resulted in shading and decreasing of Pnmax on BL. However, considering BL and DL together, there was not significant difference of leaf-life-span or Pnmax among deciduous, semideciduous and evergreen. Therefore, shoot inclination and shading among leaves on same shoot should be significant influencing leaf morphophysiological traits along shoots in cerrado trees. On the other hand, similar leaf-life-span among phenological groups resulted in absence of Pnmax differences when BL and DL were considered together.

scholarly journals Leaf reflectance can surrogate foliar economics better than physiological traits across macrophyte species

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paolo Villa ◽  
Rossano Bolpagni ◽  
Monica Pinardi ◽  
Viktor R. Tóth
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Plant Traits ◽  
Leaf Traits ◽  
Matter Content ◽  
Hyperspectral Data ◽  
Leaf Mass Per Area ◽  
Dry Matter Content ◽  
Leaf Reflectance ◽  
Macrophyte Species ◽  
Selected Traits

AbstractMacrophytes are key players in aquatic ecosystems diversity, but knowledge on variability of their functional traits, among and within species, is still limited. Remote sensing is a high-throughput, feasible option for characterizing plant traits at different scales, provided that reliable spectroscopy models are calibrated with congruous empirical data.We sampled leaves from six floating and emergent macrophyte species common in temperate areas, covering different phenological stages, seasons, and environmental conditions, and measured leaf reflectance (400-2500 nm) and leaf traits (dealing with photophysiology, pigments and structure). We explored optimal spectral bands combinations and established non-parametric reflectance-based models for selected traits, eventually showing how airborne hyperspectral data can capture spatial-temporal macrophyte variability.Our key finding is that structural - leaf dry matter content, leaf mass per area - and biochemical - chlorophyll-a content and chlorophylls to carotenoids ratio - traits can be surrogated by leaf reflectance with relative error under 20% across macrophyte species, while performance of reflectance-based models for photophysiological traits depends on species.This finding shows the link between leaf reflectance and leaf economics (structure and biochemistry) for aquatic plants, thus supporting the use of remote sensing for enhancing the level of detail of macrophyte functional diversity analysis, to intra-site and intra-species scales.

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