Morphological and physicochemical traits of leaves of different life-forms of various broadleaf woody plants in interior Alaska

The morphological and physicochemical traits of leaves are important in terms of plant adaptation to various growth environments, because such traits play central roles in various functions including photosynthesis. We measured the toughness, mass per unit area (LMA), nitrogen content, and S15N levels of the leaves of different life-forms of 39 broadleaf woody plants in interior Alaska. The plants were divided into three life-forms based on the maximum height of adult plants: understory ( Key words: δ[sup.15]N, heterobaric leaf, LMA, nitrogen, leaf toughness. Les traits morphologiques et physicochimiques des feuilles sont importants pour l'adaptation des plantes a divers environnements de croissance parce qu'ils jouent un role central dans diverses fonctions, incluant la photosynthese. Nous avons mesure la coriacite, la masse par unite de surface (MFS), la teneur en azote et le niveau de δ[sup.15]N des feuilles de differents types biologiques de 39 plantes ligneuses feuillues du centre de l'Alaska. Les plantes ont ete divisees en trois types biologiques en fonction de la hauteur maximale des plantes adultes : sous- etage ( Mots-cles: δ[sup.15]N, feuille heterobarique, masse foliaire par unite de surface foliaire, azote, coriacite.
Introduction The morphological and physicochemical traits of leaves are important in terms of plant adaptation to growth environments, because such traits play central roles in various functions including photosynthesis and [...]