Divergent drivers of leaf trait variation within species, among species, and among functional groups Article Swipe
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· 2018
· Open Access
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· DOI: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1803989115
· OA: W2799460946
Significance Leaf traits, such as photosynthetic capacity, nitrogen concentration, and leaf mass per area, strongly affect plant growth and nutrient cycles. Understanding relationships among leaf traits is, therefore, a fundamental challenge in plant biology, crop science, and ecology. Different groups of leaves exhibit distinct relationships among pairs of traits. For example, photosynthetic capacity per unit leaf area increases strongly with leaf mass per area from sun to shade within species, but these same traits are only weakly related across global species. Our analysis suggests that divergent trait relationships can be understood by partitioning leaf mass into photosynthetic and structural support components. Our paper clarifies the causes of relationships among traits and why those relationships differ among different groups of plants.
