Aims To explore the pattern of the leaf functional traits of shrub species along a latitudinal gradient in eastern China and determine the driv-ing factors of leaf trait variation at a large scale.Methods We investiga...Aims To explore the pattern of the leaf functional traits of shrub species along a latitudinal gradient in eastern China and determine the driv-ing 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 ana-lyzed 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 decidu-ous shrubs than in evergreen shrubs.Among the different habitats,the LA and SLA were larger,while the LDMC was smaller in under-story 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.展开更多
基金Grants were received from the National Natural Science Foundation of China(31470498 and 31330012)the Chinese National Basic Research Program(2015CB954201 and 2014CB954303)the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences(XDA05050701).
文摘Aims To explore the pattern of the leaf functional traits of shrub species along a latitudinal gradient in eastern China and determine the driv-ing 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 ana-lyzed 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 decidu-ous shrubs than in evergreen shrubs.Among the different habitats,the LA and SLA were larger,while the LDMC was smaller in under-story 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.
