Faculty Opinions recommendation of Specific leaf area and hydraulic traits explain niche segregation along an aridity gradient in Mediterranean woody species.

Partitioning of water resources amongst plant species within a single climate envelope is possible if the species differ in key hydraulic traits. We examined 11 bivariate trait relationships across nine woody species found in the Ti-Tree basin of central Australia. We found that species with limited access to soil moisture, evidenced by low pre-dawn leaf water potential, displayed anisohydric behaviour (e.g. large seasonal fluctuations in minimum leaf water potential), had greater sapwood density and lower osmotic potential at full turgor. Osmotic potential at full turgor was positively correlated with the leaf water potential at turgor loss, which was, in turn, positively correlated with the water potential at incipient stomatal closure. We also observed divergent behaviour in two species of Mulga, a complex of closely related Acacia species which range from tall shrubs to low trees and dominate large areas of arid and semiarid Australia. These Mulga species had much lower minimum leaf water potentials and lower specific leaf area compared with the other seven species. Finally, one species, Hakea macrocarpa A.Cunn ex.R.Br., had traits that may allow it to tolerate seasonal dryness (through possession of small specific leaf area and cavitation resistant xylem) despite exhibiting cellular water relations that were similar to groundwater-dependent species. We conclude that traits related to water transport and leaf water status differ across species that experience differences in soil water availability and that this enables a diversity of species to exist in this low rainfall environment.

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Influence of long-term nutrient manipulation on specific leaf area and leaf nutrient concentrations in savanna woody species of contrasting leaf phenologies

Plant and Soil ◽

10.1007/s11104-017-3437-0 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 421 (1-2) ◽

pp. 233-244 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Marina Corrêa Scalon ◽

Mundayatan Haridasan ◽

Augusto Cesar Franco

Keyword(s):

Leaf Area ◽

Specific Leaf Area ◽

Woody Species ◽

Nutrient Concentrations ◽

Leaf Nutrient Concentrations ◽

Nutrient Manipulation

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Species differences in carbon isotope ratios, specific leaf area and nitrogen concentrations in leaves of Eucalyptus growing in a common garden compared with along an aridity gradient

Physiologia Plantarum ◽

10.1111/j.1399-3054.2006.00682.x ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 127 (3) ◽

pp. 434-444 ◽

Cited By ~ 24

Author(s):

Ernst-Detlef Schulze ◽

Neil C. Turner ◽

Dean Nicolle ◽

Jens Schumacher

Keyword(s):

Leaf Area ◽

Carbon Isotope ◽

Specific Leaf Area ◽

Species Differences ◽

Common Garden ◽

Isotope Ratios ◽

Carbon Isotope Ratios ◽

Aridity Gradient ◽

Nitrogen Concentrations

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Plant size effects on the relationships among specific leaf area, leaf nutrient content, and photosynthetic capacity in tropical woody species

Acta Oecologica ◽

10.1016/j.actao.2009.11.004 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 36 (2) ◽

pp. 149-159 ◽

Cited By ~ 27

Author(s):

Fude Liu ◽

Wenjie Yang ◽

Zhongsheng Wang ◽

Zhen Xu ◽

Hong Liu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Leaf Area ◽

Specific Leaf Area ◽

Size Effects ◽

Photosynthetic Capacity ◽

Woody Species ◽

Nutrient Content ◽

Plant Size

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Can antiherbivory resistance explain the abundance of woody species in a Neotropical savanna?

Botany ◽

10.1139/b11-087 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 90 (2) ◽

pp. 93-99 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Vinícius de Lima Dantas ◽

Marco Antônio Batalha

Keyword(s):

Leaf Area ◽

Specific Leaf Area ◽

Species Abundance ◽

Basal Area ◽

Woody Species ◽

Neotropical Savanna ◽

Resistant Species ◽

Resistance Model ◽

Species Abundances ◽

Poor Communities

The disturbance resistance model states that, in nutrient-poor communities, species more resistant to herbivory should dominate over the more palatable ones. Here we postulated that the disturbance resistance model should explain the species abundances in a nutrient-poor Neotropical savanna community. If so, the highly resistant species should be the commonest, whereas the poorly resistant ones should be rare. In an area of 2500 m2of woodland cerrado, a type of savanna, we measured the abundance of all 61 species as the total basal area and 9 antiherbivore defence traits from 10 individuals of each species. We used multiple and simple linear regressions to test the relationships between abundance and each trait or total investment in defence. Abundance was negatively related to specific leaf area (R2 = 0.18, b = –0.87, P < 0.001), but not with the other traits nor with total defence. The relationship between specific leaf area and abundance showed that plant functional traits may influence species abundance and supported the idea that nonrandom and resource-mediated processes should prevail at a fine scale. Nevertheless, we did not find strong evidence that antiherbivory resistance can explain species abundance in resource-poor communities, in contrast to the prediction of the disturbance resistance model.

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El Niño-Southern Oscillation affects the water relations of tree species in the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-89835-8 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Jorge Palomo-Kumul ◽

Mirna Valdez-Hernández ◽

Gerald A. Islebe ◽

Manuel J. Cach-Pérez ◽

José Luis Andrade

Keyword(s):

Water Potential ◽

Leaf Area ◽

Tropical Forests ◽

Specific Leaf Area ◽

Tree Species ◽

Deciduous Species ◽

Mature Trees ◽

Seasonally Dry ◽

Seasonally Dry Tropical Forests ◽

Dry Tropical Forests

AbstractWe evaluated the effect of ENSO 2015/16 on the water relations of eight tree species in seasonally dry tropical forests of the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. The functional traits: wood density, relative water content in wood, xylem water potential and specific leaf area were recorded during the rainy season and compared in three consecutive years: 2015 (pre-ENSO conditions), 2016 (ENSO conditions) and 2017 (post-ENSO conditions). We analyzed tree size on the capacity to respond to water deficit, considering young and mature trees, and if this response is distinctive in species with different leaf patterns in seasonally dry tropical forests distributed along a precipitation gradient (700–1200 mm year−1). These traits showed a strong decrease in all species in response to water stress in 2016, mainly in the driest site. Deciduous species had lower wood density, higher predawn water potential and higher specific leaf area than evergreen species. In all cases, mature trees were more tolerant to drought. In the driest site, there was a significant reduction in water status, regardless of their leaf phenology, indicating that seasonally dry tropical forests are highly vulnerable to ENSO. Vulnerability of deciduous species is intensified in the driest areas and in the youngest trees.

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