ID:
publications-1800
Type:
Peer reviewed articles
Year:
2021
Authors:
Huiying Xu, Han Wang, I Colin Prentice, Sandy P Harrison, Genxu Wang, Xiangyang Sun
Title:
Predictability of leaf traits with climate and elevation: a case study in Gongga Mountain, China
Venue/Journal:
Tree Physiology
DOI:
10.1093/treephys/tpab003
Research type:
Simulation & Modeling
Water System:
River Basins
Technical Focus:
Abstract:
Abstract Leaf mass per area (Ma), nitrogen content per unit leaf area (Narea), maximum carboxylation capacity (Vcmax) and the ratio of leaf-internal to ambient CO2 partial pressure (χ) are important traits related to photosynthetic function, and they show systematic variation along climatic and elevational gradients. Separating the effects of air pressure and climate along elevational gradients is challenging due to the covariation of elevation, pressure and climate. However, recently developed models based on optimality theory offer an independent way to predict leaf traits and thus to separate the contributions of different controls. We apply optimality theory to predict variation in leaf traits across 18 sites in the Gongga Mountain region. We show that the models explain 59% of trait variability on average, without site- or region-specific calibration. Temperature, photosynthetically active radiation, vapor pressure deficit, soil moisture and growing season length are all necessary to explain the observed patterns. The direct effect of air pressure is shown to have a relatively minor impact. These findings contribute to a growing body of research indicating that leaf-level traits vary with the physical environment in predictable ways, suggesting a promising direction for the improvement of terrestrial ecosystem models.
Link with Projects:
787203
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