| Title | Latitudinal pattern and the driving factors of leaf functional traits in 185 shrub species across eastern China |
| Authors | Luo, Yongkai Hu, Huifeng Zhao, Mengying Li, He Liu, Shangshi Fang, Jingyun |
| Affiliation | Chinese Acad Sci, Inst Bot, State Key Lab Vegetat & Environm Change, 20 Nanxincun, Beijing 100093, Peoples R China Univ Chinese Acad Sci, 19 A Yuquan Rd, Beijing 100049, Peoples R China Peking Univ, Minist Educ, Coll Urban & Environm Sci, 5 Yiheyuan Rd, Beijing 100871, Peoples R China Peking Univ, Minist Educ, Key Lab Earth Surface Proc, 5 Yiheyuan Rd, Beijing 100871, Peoples R China |
| Keywords | shrub species leaf functional traits latitude trend different life forms eastern China |
| Issue Date | 2019 |
| Publisher | JOURNAL OF PLANT ECOLOGY |
| Abstract | Aims To explore the pattern of the leaf functional traits of shrub species along a latitudinal gradient in eastern China and determine the driving factors of leaf trait variation at a large scale. Methods We investigated the leaf thickness (LT), leaf area (LA), specific leaf area (SLA) and leaf dry mass content (LDMC) of 185 shrub species from 13 sites across eastern China. The trends of these four-leaf traits were analyzed with respect to latitude, and the differences between different life forms (e.g., evergreen and deciduous) and habitats (e.g., understory and typical) were compared. We quantified the effects of the plant life forms and environmental factors on the leaf traits via mixed-model analyses. Important Findings The LT and LA decreased, whilst and the LDMC increased, as the latitude increased, and significant differences in these traits were observed between the different plant life forms. The LT and LA were smaller, whereas the SLA and LDMC were larger in deciduous shrubs than in evergreen shrubs. Among the different habitats, the LA and SLA were larger, while the LDMC was smaller in understory shrubs than in typical shrub species. These results indicate that typical shrub species are better adapted to drier environments, as indicated by a reduced LT and increased LDMC. Furthermore, general linear models showed that variations in the four-leaf traits with respect to latitude were mainly caused by a shift in plant life forms. |
| URI | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11897/550916 |
| ISSN | 1752-9921 |
| DOI | 10.1093/jpe/rtx065 |
| Indexed | SCI(E) |
| Appears in Collections: | 城市与环境学院 地表过程分析与模拟教育部重点实验室 |
