1. Tree differences in primary and secondary growth drive convergent scaling in leaf area to sapwood area across Europe
- Author
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Mikko Peltoniemi, Angela Luisa Prendin, Josef Urban, Silvia Lechthaler, Jožica Gričar, Giai Petit, Elisabeth M. R. Robert, Maria C. Caldeira, Hervé Cochard, Natasa Kiorapostolou, Martin Šenfeldr, Alan Crivellaro, Leila Grönholm, Frank J. Sterck, Tuula Jyske, Georg von Arx, Janne Van Camp, Kathy Steppe, Martina Lavrič, Anna Lintunen, Silvia Roig Juan, Roman Gebauer, Paul Copini, Tommaso Anfodillo, Sylvain Delzon, Richard L. Peters, Teemu Hölttä, Raquel Lobo-do-Vale, Universita di Padova, Snow and Landscape Research, Université de Genève (UNIGE), Department of Environmental Sciences, Wageningen University and Research [Wageningen] (WUR), Universidade de Lisboa (ULISBOA), Laboratoire de Physique et Physiologie Intégratives de l’Arbre en environnement Fluctuant (PIAF), Université Clermont Auvergne [2017-2020] (UCA [2017-2020])-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Wageningen University and Research Centre (WUR), Biodiversité, Gènes & Communautés (BioGeCo), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Université de Bordeaux (UB), Mendel University in Brno (MENDELU), Slovenian Forestry Institute, Department of Forest Sciences, University of Alaska [Fairbanks] (UAF), Natural Resources Institute Finland (LUKE), Centre for Ecological Research and Forestry Applications (CREAF), Universiteit Gent = Ghent University [Belgium] (UGENT), Siberian Federal University (SibFU), Università degli Studi di Padova = University of Padua (Unipd), Université de Genève = University of Geneva (UNIGE), Universidade de Lisboa = University of Lisbon (ULISBOA), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Université Clermont Auvergne [2017-2020] (UCA [2017-2020]), and Universiteit Gent = Ghent University (UGENT)
- Subjects
0106 biological sciences ,0301 basic medicine ,leaf area ,Physiology ,[SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio] ,Bos- en Landschapsecologie ,Plant Science ,xylem ,01 natural sciences ,Trees ,Leaf area ,allocation ,Climate change ,Functional balance ,Sapwood ,Forest and Landscape Ecology ,Transpiration ,Biomass (ecology) ,Geography ,Plant architecture ,functional balance ,structural balance ,PE&RC ,Wood ,Europe ,Horticulture ,climate change ,[SDE]Environmental Sciences ,Vegetatie, Bos- en Landschapsecologie ,sapwood ,plant architecture ,Allocation ,Structural balance ,Biology ,03 medical and health sciences ,Species Specificity ,Xylem ,Bosecologie en Bosbeheer ,Vegetatie ,Models, Statistical ,Water transport ,Vegetation ,Scots pine ,Picea abies ,15. Life on land ,biology.organism_classification ,Forest Ecology and Forest Management ,Plant Leaves ,030104 developmental biology ,Betula pendula ,Vegetation, Forest and Landscape Ecology ,Allometry ,010606 plant biology & botany - Abstract
Trees scale leaf (A(L)) and xylem (A(X)) areas to couple leaf transpiration and carbon gain with xylem water transport. Some species are known to acclimate in A(L) : A(X) balance in response to climate conditions, but whether trees of different species acclimate in A(L) : A(X) in similar ways over their entire (continental) distributions is unknown. We analyzed the species and climate effects on the scaling of A(L) vs A(X) in branches of conifers (Pinus sylvestris, Picea abies) and broadleaved (Betula pendula, Populus tremula) sampled across a continental wide transect in Europe. Along the branch axis, A(L) and A(X) change in equal proportion (isometric scaling: b similar to 1) as for trees. Branches of similar length converged in the scaling of A(L) vs A(X) with an exponent of b = 0.58 across European climates irrespective of species. Branches of slow- growing trees from Northern and Southern regions preferentially allocated into new leaf rather than xylem area, with older xylem rings contributing to maintaining total xylem conductivity. In conclusion, trees in contrasting climates adjust their functional balance between water transport and leaf transpiration by maintaining biomass allocation to leaves, and adjusting their growth rate and xylem production to maintain xylem conductance.
- Published
- 2018
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