Feasibility in Estimating the Dry Leaf Mass and Specific Leaf Area of 50 Bamboo Species Based on Nondestructive Measurements

Specific leaf area (SLA) is a good predictor of aboveground net primary productivity. However, the SLA of bamboo species is generally estimated on the basis of destructive measurements rather than the cost-effective and recyclable nondestructive measurements using easily accessible leaf traits such as leaf length (L) and width (W). Considering the strong empirical relationships between leaf area (LA) and leaf structural parameters of bamboo species that were developed by previous studies, this study explores the feasibility of estimating the leaf dry mass (LDM) and SLA of 50 bamboo species using L and W. The results show that the Montgomery equation and its similar forms precisely estimated LA of the 50 bamboo species at both leaf scale (R2 > 0.96 and MAE% < 4.67%) and the canopy scale (R2 > 0.99 and RMSE < 0.09); the LDM of the 50 bamboo species could also be estimated using L and W at both leaf scale (R2 > 0.52 and MAE% < 26.35%) and the canopy scale (R2 > 0.99 and RMSE < 0.003), and the estimated mean SLA of each of the 50 bamboo species had good agreement with the measured values (R2 > 0.99 and RMSE < 1.88) because of the precisely estimated mean LA and mean LDM at the canopy scale, indicating the feasibility of estimating SLA of the 50 bamboo species at the canopy scale based on nondestructive measurements. However, the empirical relationships used for mean SLA estimations are not suitable for SLA estimations at the leaf scale because of the uncertainties in the estimated LDM at the leaf scale.

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Morphology of young sugarcane stalks produced at different stages of crop development

Australian Journal of Agricultural Research ◽

10.1071/ar07049 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 59 (2) ◽

pp. 149 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

B. Salter ◽

G. D. Bonnett ◽

R. J. Lawn

Keyword(s):

Leaf Area ◽

Specific Leaf Area ◽

Leaf Length ◽

Light Environment ◽

Sucrose Content ◽

Leaf Lamina ◽

Crop Development ◽

Breadth Ratio ◽

Morphological Differences ◽

Plant Crop

Sugarcane suckers are tillers that appear late in crop development. They dilute the sucrose content of the harvested cane at the mill, reducing grower profitability. Suckers appear to have different morphology from other sugarcane stalks. Experiments were established to quantify some of these morphological differences, to determine whether these differences were conserved across a vegetatively propagated generation, and to investigate the influence of the mature stalk to which the sucker is attached on sucker morphology. Experiments were established in northern Queensland, Australia, using cvv. Q117, Q138, and Q152 to compare suckers with young primary stalks in a plant crop and/or young ratoon stalks. Leaf lamina length, breadth, area, height to last fully expanded leaf, internode diameter, and growth measurements were taken. Suckers had broader leaves, resulting in a smaller leaf length/breadth ratio, longer leaf sheaths, and lower specific leaf area at least for the first 3 leaves. Sucker stalks were thicker than normal stalks. Sucker growth was highly variable, but some were able to outgrow young primary stalks in a plant crop. When mature stalks, to which suckers were attached, were removed, the leaves produced by suckers were more similar to leaves on normal stalks with larger length/breadth ratio. The morphological differences were not carried over into plants arising from the buds on suckers. Although the reasons for these morphological differences are unknown, it is likely that the transfer of some factor(s) from the stalks to which suckers are attached, and/or an altered light environment within the canopy, may contribute to the morphology of sucker shoots.

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Photosynthetic Photon Flux, Photoperiod, and CO2 Concentration Affect Growth and Morphology of Lettuce Plug Transplants

HortScience ◽

10.21273/hortsci.33.6.988 ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 33 (6) ◽

pp. 988-991 ◽

Cited By ~ 38

Author(s):

Yoshiaki Kitaya ◽

Genhua Niu ◽

Toyoki Kozai ◽

Maki Ohashi

Keyword(s):

Leaf Area ◽

Specific Leaf Area ◽

Dry Mass ◽

Leaf Length ◽

Leaf Number ◽

Photon Flux ◽

Photosynthetic Photon Flux ◽

Hypocotyl Length ◽

R Ratio ◽

Four Levels

Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L. cv. Summer-green) plug transplants were grown for 3 weeks under 16 combinations of four levels (100, 150, 200, and 300 μmol·m-2·s-1) of photosynthetic photon flux (PPF), two photoperiods (16 and 24 h), and two levels of CO2 (400 and 800 μmol·mol-1) in growth chambers maintained at an air temperature of 20 ±2 °C. As PPF increased, dry mass (DM), percent DM, and leaf number increased, while ratio of shoot to root dry mass (S/R), ratio of leaf length to leaf width (LL/LW), specific leaf area, and hypocotyl length decreased. At the same PPF, DM was increased by 25% to 100% and 10% to 100% with extended photoperiod and elevated CO2 concentration, respectively. Dry mass, percent DM, and leaf number increased linearly with daily light integral (DLI, the product of PPF and photoperiod), while S/R, specific leaf area, LL/LW and hypocotyl length decreased as DLI increased under each CO2 concentration. Hypocotyl length was influenced by PPF and photoperiod, but not by CO2 concentration. Leaf morphology, which can be reflected by LL/LW, was substantially influenced by PPF at 100 to 200 μmol·m-2·s-1, but not at 200 to 300 μmol·m-2·s-1. At the same DLI, the longer photoperiod promoted growth under the low CO2 concentration, but not under the high CO2 concentration. Longer photoperiod and/or higher CO2 concentration compensated for a low PPF.

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Aboveground biomass and seasonal patterns of aboveground net primary productivity in five bamboo species in northern Laos

Journal of Plant Ecology ◽

10.1093/jpe/rtz056 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 13 (2) ◽

pp. 150-156

Author(s):

Singkone Xayalath ◽

Isao Hirota ◽

Shinsuke Tomita ◽

Michiko Nakagawa

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Primary Productivity ◽

Aboveground Biomass ◽

Net Primary Productivity ◽

Seasonal Patterns ◽

Bamboo Species ◽

Aboveground Net Primary Productivity ◽

Sympatric Distribution ◽

Carbon Sequestration Potential ◽

Sequestration Potential

Abstract Aims Accurate estimates of bamboo biomass and net primary productivity (NPP) are required to evaluate the carbon sequestration potential of bamboo forests. However, relevant data that are important for climate change mitigation, have rarely been collected in regions outside of East Asia and India. Information on seasonal patterns of NPP and its components will enable the quantification of factors that influence the carbon balance in bamboo forests. In this study, we quantified the aboveground biomass (AGB) and aboveground NPP of five major bamboo species in northern Laos using monthly data collected over a 12-month period. Methods All live culms in 10, 2 m × 2 m plots (for one monopodial bamboo species: Indosasa sinica) and 30 clumps per species (for four sympodial bamboo species: Bambusa tulda, Cephalostachyum virgatum, Dendrocalamus membranaceus and Gigantochloa sp.) were numbered and measured at breast height. We set 10 or 20 litter traps per species to collect litterfall. Censuses of dead and recruited culms and litterfall collection were performed once per month for 12 months. Important Findings The AGB was highest in I. sinica (59.87 Mg ha−1) and lowest in C. virgatum (11.54 Mg ha−1), and was mostly below the plausible global range for bamboos (32–256 Mg ha−1). The sympatric distribution of multiple bamboo species at the study sites may have suppressed the AGB in four of the five studied species. The aboveground NPP estimates were between 3.43 and 14.25 Mg ha−1 yr−1; those for D. membranaceus (8.20 Mg ha−1 yr−1) and I. sinica (14.25 Mg ha−1 yr−1) were comparable to mean global estimates for temperate evergreen forests (8.78 Mg ha−1 yr−1) and tropical moist forests (10.56 Mg ha−1 yr−1). High culm recruitment rates (15.20–23.39% yr−1) were major contributors to aboveground NPP estimates. Seasonal patterns of aboveground NPP were largely influenced by the phenology of the new culms. In the four sympodial bamboo species, new culms began to emerge following the onset of persistent rainfall, mainly in July and August. However, the sprouting of new culms in the monopodial species I. sinica followed a trend of increasing temperatures, mainly in March and April. Thus, our results indicate that bamboos have considerable potential for sequestering carbon in northern Laos, but that this potential may be affected by climate change.

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Analysis of Cultivar-Specific Variability in Size-Related Leaf Traits and Modeling of Single Leaf Area in Three Medicinal and Aromatic Plants: Ocimum basilicum L., Mentha Spp., and Salvia Spp.

Plants ◽

10.3390/plants9010013 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

pp. 13

Author(s):

Maurizio Teobaldelli ◽

Boris Basile ◽

Francesco Giuffrida ◽

Daniela Romano ◽

Stefania Toscano ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Leaf Area ◽

Leaf Size ◽

Leaf Traits ◽

Ocimum Basilicum ◽

Leaf Length ◽

Measured Parameter ◽

Aromatic Plants ◽

Medicinal And Aromatic Plants ◽

Single Leaf ◽

Best Fitting

In this study, five allometric models were used to estimate the single leaf area of three well-known medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs) species, namely basil (Ocimum basilicum L.), mint (Mentha spp.), and sage (Salvia spp.). MAPs world production is expected to rise up to 5 trillion US$ by 2050 and, therefore, there is a high interest in developing research related to this horticultural sector. Calibration of the models was obtained separately for three selected species by analyzing (a) the cultivar variability—i.e., 5 cultivars of basil (1094 leaves), 4 of mint (901 leaves), and 5 of sage (1103 leaves)—in the main two traits related to leaf size (leaf length, L, and leaf width, W) and (b) the relationship between these traits and single leaf area (LA). Validation of the chosen models was obtained for each species using an independent dataset, i.e., 487, 441, and 418 leaves, respectively, for basil (cv. ‘Lettuce Leaf’), mint (cv. ‘Comune’), and sage (cv. ‘Comune’). Model calibration based on fast-track methodologies, such as those using one measured parameter (one-regressor models: L, W, L2, and W2) or on more accurate two-regressors models (L × W), allowed to achieve different levels of accuracy. This approach highlighted the importance of considering intra-specific variability before applying any models to a certain cultivar to predict single LA. Eventually, during the validation phase, although modeling of single LA based on W2 showed a good fitting (R2basil = 0.948; R2mint = 0.963; R2sage = 0.925), the distribution of the residuals was always unsatisfactory. On the other hand, two-regressor models (based on the product L × W) provided the best fitting and accuracy for basil (R2 = 0.992; RMSE = 0.327 cm2), mint (R2 = 0.998; RMSE = 0.222 cm2), and sage (R2 = 0.998; RMSE = 0.426 cm2).

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Nutritional status and specific leaf area of mahogany and tonka bean under two light environments

Acta Amazonica ◽

10.1590/s0044-59672005000100004 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 35 (1) ◽

pp. 23-27 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

José Francisco de C. Gonçalves ◽

Gil Vieira ◽

Ricardo A. Marenco ◽

João Baptista S. Ferraz ◽

Ulysses Moreira dos Santos Junior ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Nutritional Status ◽

Leaf Area ◽

Specific Leaf Area ◽

Leaf Growth ◽

Leaf Traits ◽

Swietenia Macrophylla ◽

Nutrient Contents ◽

Full Sunlight ◽

Successional Species ◽

Sun Leaves

Studies on nutritional status and leaf traits were carried out in two tropical tree species Swietenia macrophylla King (mahogany) and Dipetryx odorata Aubl. Willd. (tonka bean) planted under contrasting light environments in Presidente Figueiredo-AM, Brazil. Leaves of S. macrophylla and D. odorata were collected in three year-old trees grown under full sunlight (about 2000 µmol m-2 s-1) and natural shade under a closed canopy of Balsa-wood plantation (Ochroma pyramidale Cav. Ex. Lam.Urb) about 260 µmol m-2 s-1. The parameters analysed were leaf area (LA), leaf dry mass (LDM), specific leaf area (SLA) and leaf nutrient contents. It was observed that, S. macrophylla leaves grown under full sunlight showed LA 35% lower than those grown under shade. In D. odorata leaves these differences in LA were not observed. In addition, it was observed that S. macrophylla shade leaves, for LDM, were 50% smaller than sun leaves, while in D. odorata, there differences were not observed. SLA in S. macrophylla presented that sun leaves were three times smaller than those grown under shade. In D. odorata, no differences were observed. Nutrient contents in S. macrophylla, regardless of their light environments, showed higher contents for P and Ca than those found in D. odorata. The N, K, Fe and Mn contents in S. macrophylla leaves decreased under shade. Finally, we suggest that the decreasing in leaf nutrient contents may have a negative influence on leaf growth. The results demonstrated that the tested hypothesis is true for leaf traits, which D. odorata, late-successional species, showed lower plasticity for leaf traits than Swietenia macrophylla, mid-successional species.

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The effect of elevational gradient on alpine gingers (Roscoea alpina and R. purpurea) in the Himalayas

PeerJ ◽

10.7717/peerj.7503 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 7 ◽

pp. e7503 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Babu Ram Paudel ◽

Adrian G. Dyer ◽

Jair E. Garcia ◽

Mani Shrestha

Keyword(s):

Leaf Area ◽

Plant Height ◽

Specific Leaf Area ◽

Physiological Responses ◽

Elevational Gradient ◽

Leaf Length ◽

Herbaceous Plants ◽

Closely Related Species ◽

Stomata Density ◽

Vertical Transect

There is currently enormous interest in how morphological and physiological responses of herbaceous plants may be affected by changing elevational gradient. Mountain regions provide an excellent opportunity to understand how closely related species may adapt to the conditions that rapidly change with elevation. We investigated the morphological and physiological responses of two Himalayan alpine gingers (Roscoea alpina and R. purpurea) along two different vertical transects of 400 m, R. purpurea between 2,174–2,574 m a.s.l and R. alpina between 2,675–3,079 m a.s.l. We measured the variables of plant height, leaf length, leaf area, specific leaf area, and stomata density at five plots, along the vertical transect at an elevational gap of ca. 100 m. Results revealed that with increased elevation plant height, and leaf area decreased while stomata density increased, whereas changes in specific leaf area, were not correlated with the elevation. Our results reveal that these alpine gingers undergo local adaptation by modifying their plant height, leaf area and stomata density in response to the varying selection pressure associated with the elevational gradient. Thus, the findings of this research provide valuable information on how a narrow range of elevational gradient affects the herbaceous plants at the alpine habitat of the Himalayas.

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Effect of Gap Sizes on Specific Leaf Area and Chlorophyll Contents at the Castanopsis kawakamii Natural Reserve Forest, China

Forests ◽

10.3390/f9110682 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 9 (11) ◽

pp. 682 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Supaporn Buajan ◽

Jinfu Liu ◽

Zhongsheng He ◽

Xueping Feng

Keyword(s):

Leaf Area ◽

Specific Leaf Area ◽

Winter Season ◽

Leaf Traits ◽

Dry Mass ◽

Summer Season ◽

Gap Size ◽

Chl A ◽

Chlorophyll Contents ◽

Selected Traits

The two hemispherical photographs (THP) method was used to calculate gap area. The areas of nine forest gaps were measured. Meanwhile, non-gap areas were selected as control groups with areas of 225 m2. Plots with areas of 25 m2 in five different directions within gap and non-gap areas were conducted for collecting leaf samples. To determine the effect of gap size on leaf traits the selected traits were leaf area (LA), leaf dry mass (LDM), specific leaf area (SLA), Chlorophyll a (Chl a), chlorophyll b (Chl b), total chlorophyll (TChl), and carotenoid (CAR). Leaves were collected from the regeneration layer (<2 cm DBH, height 2–5 m) to measure the leaf traits in winter and summer seasons. Results confirmed significant positive correlations between LA and LDM in the small, medium, large gap sizes, and non-gap areas (r2 = 0.913, 0.827, 0.897, and 0.939, p < 0.01, respectively). On the contrary, relationships between LDM and SLA in the small, medium, large gap sizes, and non-gap areas have significant negative correlations (r2 = −0.269, −0.259, −0.417, and −0.505, p < 0.05, respectively). The effect of gap size on the average Chl a, Chl b, TChl, and CAR varies by the season. During the summer season, the highest chlorophyll contents were recorded in the small gap size and the lowest in the non-gap area, while during the winter season, the highest values of these chlorophyll contents appeared in the medium gap size. Moreover, the directions within the gap in the medium gap size of the summer season had an effect on the Chl a and TChl.

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Canopy profiles of some Piedmont hardwood forests

Canadian Journal of Forest Research ◽

10.1139/x88-166 ◽

1988 ◽

Vol 18 (8) ◽

pp. 1090-1093 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Craig Wallace Hedman ◽

Dan Binkley

Keyword(s):

Leaf Area Index ◽

Leaf Area ◽

Net Primary Productivity ◽

Hardwood Forests ◽

Site Quality ◽

Aboveground Net Primary Productivity ◽

Total Leaf Area ◽

Area Index ◽

Total Leaf ◽

Site Fertility

Relationships between canopy profiles and site quality were examined in 11 old, uneven-aged (>180 years) hardwood forests in the Piedmont of eastern North Carolina. Site fertility was indexed by extractable soil calcium and phosphorus, by the content of calcium, phosphorus and nitrogen in litter fall, and by the aboveground net primary productivity of each stand. Canopy profiles were indexed by the leaf area index for each 3.3-m height interval. Total leaf area index correlated highly with most measures of site fertility, but we found no clear patterns between canopy profiles and any measure of site fertility. We conclude that site fertility is reflected in broad ecosystem-level variables such as total leaf area index and stand productivity, but that detailed patterns such as canopy profiles relate strongly to specific stand composition, age structure, and history.

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Foliar and Wood Traits Covary along a Vertical Gradient within the Crown of Long-Lived Light-Demanding Species of the Congo Basin Semi-Deciduous Forest

Forests ◽

10.3390/f11010035 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

pp. 35

Author(s):

Chadrack Kafuti ◽

Nils Bourland ◽

Tom De Mil ◽

Sofie Meeus ◽

Mélissa Rousseau ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Hydraulic Conductivity ◽

Leaf Area ◽

Specific Leaf Area ◽

Individual Variation ◽

Stomatal Density ◽

Negative Relationship ◽

Leaf Traits ◽

Congo Basin ◽

Functional Responses ◽

Wood Traits

Plant functional traits have shown to be relevant predictors of forest functional responses to climate change. However, the trait-based approach to study plant performances and ecological strategies has mostly been focused on trait comparisons at the interspecific and intraspecific levels. In this study, we analyzed traits variation and association at the individual level. We measured wood and leaf traits at different height locations within the crown of five individuals of Pericopsis elata (Harms) Meeuwen (Fabaceae) from the northern tropical forest of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. All traits varied between and within individuals. The between-individual variation was more important for leaf traits (23%–48%) than for wood traits (~10%) where the within-individual variation showed to be more important (33%–39%). The sample location height within the crown was found to be the driving factor of this within-individual variation. In a gradient from the base to the top of the crown, theoretical specific hydraulic conductivity and specific leaf area decreased while the stomatal density increased. We found significant relationships among traits and between wood and leaf traits. However, these relationships varied with the position within the crown. The relationship between vessel size and vessel density was negative at the bottom part of the crown but positive upward. Also, the negative relationship between stomatal density and stomatal size became stronger with increasing height within the crown. Finally, the positive relationship between specific leaf area and theoretical specific hydraulic conductivity became stronger in higher parts of the crown, suggesting that P. elata constantly adapts its water use with respect to its water supply, more strongly at the top of the crown where the environment is more extreme and less buffered against environmental fluctuations.

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Relationships between mycorrhizal type and leaf flammability in the Australian flora

10.32942/osf.io/u7bhv ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Jeff Powell ◽

Rohan Riley ◽

Will Cornwell

Keyword(s):

Moisture Content ◽

Leaf Area ◽

Specific Leaf Area ◽

Mycorrhizal Fungi ◽

Host Plants ◽

Leaf Traits ◽

Leaf Chemistry ◽

Natural Ecosystems ◽

Australian Flora ◽

Trees And Shrubs

Mycorrhizal fungi have been linked to fire processes in natural ecosystems via their effects on litter decomposability but, to our knowledge, relationships between mycorrhizal fungi and leaf traits directly associated with aspects of flammability have not been studied. Here, we assessed the relationships among leaf traits and host mycorrhizal type for 77 species of Australian trees and shrubs to determine whether mycorrhizal type can explain variation in three aspects of leaf flammability (ignitability, fire duration, and smoulder duration). Several associations were observed between mycorrhizal type and leaf traits directly linked to flammability measures, including specific leaf area, leaf mass, leaf moisture content, and leaf chemistry. The observed patterns suggest that interactions between mycorrhizal fungi and their host plants during the growth and senescence of leaves may have subsequent effects on fire processes. However, further work is necessary to evaluate the importance of these effects in real ecosystems, including whether plants or fungi are responsible for these patterns, and we propose four questions that will further progress in this area.

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