Browsing by Author "Poorter, Hendrik"

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    The global spectrum of plant form and function
    (2016) Díaz, Sandra; Kattge, Jens; Cornelissen, Johannes H C; Wright, Ian J; Lavorel, Sandra; Dray, Stéphane; Reu, Björn; Kleyer, Michael; Wirth, Christian; Prentice, I. Colin; Garnier, Eric; Bönisch, Gerhard; Westoby, Mark; Poorter, Hendrik; Reich, Peter B; Moles, Angela T; Dickie, John; Gillison, Andrew N; Zanne, Amy E; Chave, Jérôme; Wright, S. Joseph; Sheremet’ev, Serge N; Jactel, Hervé; Baraloto, Christopher; Cerabolini, Bruno; Pierce, Simon; Shipley, Bill; Kirkup, Donald; Casanoves, Fernando; Joswig, Julia S; Günther, Angela; Falczuk, Valeria; Rüger, Nadja; Mahecha, Miguel D; Gorné, Lucas D
    Earth is home to a remarkable diversity of plant forms and life histories, yet comparatively few essential trait combinations have proved evolutionarily viable in today’s terrestrial biosphere. By analysing worldwide variation in six major traits critical to growth, survival and reproduction within the largest sample of vascular plant species ever compiled, we found that occupancy of six-dimensional trait space is strongly concentrated, indicating coordination and trade-offs. Three-quarters of trait variation is captured in a two-dimensional global spectrum of plant form and function. One major dimension within this plane reflects the size of whole plants and their parts; the other represents the leaf economics spectrum, which balances leaf construction costs against growth potential. The global plant trait spectrum provides a backdrop for elucidating constraints on evolution, for functionally qualifying species and ecosystems, and for improving models that predict future vegetation based on continuous variation in plant form and function.
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    How does biomass distribution change with size and differ among species? An analysis for 1200 plant species from five continents
    (Elsevier, 2015) Poorter, Hendrik; Jagodzinski, Andrzej M; Oleksyn, Jacek; Ruiz-Peinado, Ricardo; Kuyah, Shem; Luo, Yunjian; Reich, Peter B; Usoltsev, Vladimir A; Buckley, Thomas N; Sack, Lawren
    We compiled a global database for leaf, stem and root biomass representing c. 11 000 records for c. 1200 herbaceous and woody species grown under either controlled or field conditions. We used this data set to analyse allometric relationships and fractional biomass distribution to leaves, stems and roots. We tested whether allometric scaling exponents are generally constant across plant sizes as predicted by metabolic scaling theory, or whether instead they change dynamically with plant size. We also quantified interspecific variation in biomass distribution among plant families and functional groups. Across all species combined, leaf vs stem and leaf vs root scaling exponents decreased from c. 1.00 for small plants to c. 0.60 for the largest trees considered. Evergreens had substantially higher leaf mass fractions (LMFs) than deciduous species, whereas graminoids maintained higher root mass fractions (RMFs) than eudicotyledonous herbs. These patterns do not support the hypothesis of fixed allometric exponents. Rather, continuous shifts in allometric exponents with plant size during ontogeny and evolution are the norm. Across seed plants, variation in biomass distribution among species is related more to function than phylogeny. We propose that the higher LMF of evergreens at least partly compensates for their relatively low leaf area : leaf mass ratio.
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    The worldwide leaf economics spectrum
    (Nature Publishing Group, 2004) Wright, Ian J; Reich, Peter B; Westoby, Mark; Ackerly, David D; Baruch, Zdravko; Bongers, Frans; Cavender-Bares, Jeannine; Chapin, Terry; Cornelissen, Johannes H C; Diemer, Matthias; Flexas, Jaume; Garnier, Eric; Groom, Philip K; Gulias, Javier; Hikosaka, Kouki; Lamont, Byron B; Lee, Tali; Lee, William; Lusk, Christopher; Midgley, Jeremy J; Navas, Marie-Laure; Niinemets, Ülo; Oleksyn, Jacek; Osada, Noriyuki; Poorter, Hendrik; Poot, Pieter; Prior, Lynda; Pyankov, Vladimir I; Roumet, Catherine; Thomas, Sean C; Tjoelker, Mark G; Veneklaas, Erik J; Villar, Rafael
    Bringing together leaf trait data spanning 2,548 species and 175 sites we describe, for the first time at global scale, a universal spectrum of leaf economics consisting of key chemical, structural and physiological properties. The spectrum runs from quick to slow return on investments of nutrients and dry mass in leaves, and operates largely independently of growth form, plant functional type or biome. Categories along the spectrum would, in general, describe leaf economic variation at the global scale better than plant functional types, because functional types overlap substantially in their leaf traits. Overall, modulation of leaf traits and trait relationships by climate is surprisingly modest, although some striking and significant patterns can be seen. Reliable quantification of the leaf economics spectrum and its interaction with climate will prove valuable for modelling nutrient fluxes and vegetation boundaries under changing land-use and climate.