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Scaling of petiole anatomies, mechanics and vasculatures with leaf size in the widespread Neotropical pioneer tree species Cecropia obtusa Trécul (Urticaceae)
- Source :
- Tree Physiology, Tree Physiology, 2020, 40 (2), pp.245-258. ⟨10.1093/treephys/tpz136⟩, Tree Physiology, Oxford University Press (OUP): Policy B-Oxford Open Option B, 2020, 40 (2), pp.245-258. ⟨10.1093/treephys/tpz136⟩
- Publication Year :
- 2020
- Publisher :
- Oxford University Press (OUP), 2020.
-
Abstract
- Although the leaf economic spectrum has deepened our understanding of leaf trait variability, little is known about how leaf traits scale with leaf area. This uncertainty has resulted in the assumption that leaf traits should vary by keeping the same pace of variation with increases in leaf area across the leaf size range. We evaluated the scaling of morphological, tissue-surface and vascular traits with overall leaf area, and the functional significance of such scaling. We examined 1,271 leaves for morphological traits, and 124 leaves for anatomical and hydraulic traits, from 38 trees of Cecropia obtusa Trécul (Urticaceae) in French Guiana. Cecropia is a Neotropical genus of pioneer trees that can exhibit large laminas (0.4 m2 for C. obtusa), with leaf size ranging by two orders of magnitude. We measured (i) tissue fractions within petioles and their second moment of area, (ii) theoretical xylem hydraulic efficiency of petioles and (iii) the extent of leaf vessel widening within the hydraulic path. We found that different scaling of morphological trait variability allows for optimisation of lamina display among larger leaves, especially the positive allometric relationship between lamina area and petiole cross-sectional area. Increasing the fraction of pith is a key factor that increases the geometrical effect of supportive tissues on mechanical rigidity and thereby increases carbon-use efficiency. We found that increasing xylem hydraulic efficiency with vessel size results in lower leaf lamina area: xylem ratios, which also results in potential carbon savings for large leaves. We found that the vessel widening is consistent with hydraulic optimisation models. Leaf size variability modifies scaling of leaf traits in this large-leaved species.
- Subjects :
- Pétiole
0106 biological sciences
Lamina
Physiology
F62 - Physiologie végétale - Croissance et développement
Plant Science
[SDV.BID.SPT]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Biodiversity/Systematics, Phylogenetics and taxonomy
F50 - Anatomie et morphologie des plantes
01 natural sciences
Relation plante eau
Trees
Allométrie
Urticaceae
Xylème
0303 health sciences
biology
U10 - Informatique, mathématiques et statistiques
Leaf size
food and beverages
Feuille
[SDV.BV.BOT]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Vegetal Biology/Botanics
Physiologie végétale
French Guiana
Anatomie végétale
Pith
Theoretical hydraulic Conductivity
Cecropia
010603 evolutionary biology
Scaling
Petiole (botany)
03 medical and health sciences
[SDV.EE.ECO]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment/Ecosystems
Xylem
Botany
Mesure
Petiole anatomy
Croissance
030304 developmental biology
Allometry
Analyse de données
fungi
Water
Utricaceae
15. Life on land
biology.organism_classification
Carbon
Plant Leaves
[SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology
Dimension
Vessel widening
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 17584469 and 0829318X
- Volume :
- 40
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Tree Physiology
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....dce2adafd1ab5034726cab0831dd6e78