Analysis of leaf-architecture characteristics and ecological adaptability of tree species in the upper reaches of the Chishui River

Liu, Yifu; Xiang, Huiwen; Huang, Zongsheng; Xiang, Xingxin; Yu, Yanghua; Wang, Meiquan; Li, Zuguo

doi:10.1016/j.ecolind.2022.108563

Cited by 10 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…Moreover, the theoretical maximum of D ΣS of extreme narrow leaves and the Peano curve-shaped leaves with a high P/A ratio [47] consolidates S L . Since complex leaves (high P/A ratio) have more adaptive stability in changing environments [81,82], S L can be considered a derived plant trait to describe leaf complexity and adaptive stability.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Geometric Entropy of plant leaves: A measure of morphological complexity

Vishnu

Rajan

Jaishanker³

2023

Preprint

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Shape is an objective characteristic of an object. A boundary separates a physical object from its surroundings. It defines the shape and regulates energy flux into and from an object. Visual perception of a definite shape (geometry) of physical objects is an abstraction. While the perceived geometry at an object's sharp interface (macro) creates a Euclidian illusion of actual shape, the notion of diffuse interfaces (micro) allows an understanding of the realistic form of objects. Here we formulate a dimensionless geometric entropy of plant leaves (SL) by a 2-D description of a phase-field function. We applied this method to 109 tropical plant leaf images. SL was estimated from the leaf perimeter (P) and leaf area (A). It correlates positively with a fractal dimensional measure of leaf complexity, viz., segmental fractal complexity. Leaves with a higher P: A ratio has higher SL and possesses complex morphology. The univariate cluster analysis of SL reveals the taxonomic relationship among the leaf shapes at the generic level. An increase in SL of plant leaves could be an evolutionary strategy. The results of morphological complexity presented in this paper will trigger discussion on the causal links between leaf adaptive stability/efficiency and complexity. We present SL as a derived plant trait to describe plant leaf complexity and adaptive stability. Integrating SL into other leaf physiological measures will help understand energy dynamics and information flow in ecological systems.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Geometric Entropy of plant leaves: A measure of morphological complexity

Vishnu

Rajan

Jaishanker³

2023

Preprint

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“…Higher information content and area independent attribute of D ΣS renders it a more practical measure that circumvents objectivity constraint imposed by leaf plasticity (Hearn 2009, Anderegg et al 2018. Complex leaves have more adaptive stability in changing environments (Tian et al 2016, Liu et al 2022. We propose D ΣS as a morphological trait to describe the leaf shapes and their adaptive stability.…”

Section: Fractal Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Fractal-Thermodynamic system analogy and complexity of plant leaves

Vishnu

Jaishanker

2023

Environ. Res. Commun.

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More precise measurements of the complexity of leaf shapes can open new pathways to understanding plant adaptation and resilience in the face of global changes. We present a method to measure the complexity of plant leaf shapes by relating their fractal dimension to topological entropy. Our method relies on 'segmental fractal complexity' and stems from a fractal-thermodynamic system analogy. The complexity of plant leaf shapes is an algebraic combination of the fractal dimension of the components, leaf lamina, background, and leaf edge. We applied this method to leaf forms of 42 tropical plant species. Topological entropy is an improvement over the leaf dissection index because of its ability to capture the spatial positioning of a leaf's lamina, edge, and background. It is also an advancement over conventional geometric and fractal dimension-based measures of leaf complexity because it does not entail information loss due to the pre-processing and is perceptibly simple.

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“…For example, Rongjia river valley is rich in the plant of the genus Ribes wild fruit resources. The nutrient content of the wild fruits of the genus Ribes is characterized by low fat, high VC, VE and high potassium [43,44]. For example, the ripe fruit of R. sericea f. glandulosa and R. macrophylla var.…”

Section: Services Provided By Weps Collected By Localsmentioning

confidence: 99%

An ethnobotanical study of wild edible plants used by the Tibetan in the Rongjia river valley, Tibet, China

Wang,

Ding,

Guo

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Background Wild edible plants (It is abbreviated as WEPs below) play a crucial role in communities with limited communication with the outside world, where unstable factors like poor food supply and insufficient access to timely nutritional supplementation are common, such as the Himalaya region. To document the traditional WEPs knowledge and explore the significance of WEPs for communities with minimal global economic exchange, an ethnobotanical study was conducted in Rongjia Town which lies in a narrow valley near Mount Everest, Tibet, China. Methods This ethnobotanical study was conducted in three villages in Rongjia river valley between August 2021 to June 2023. Semi-structured interviews and participatory observations were used to collect the WEPs and related knowledge. The field works were performed with the assistance of local guides. We collected voucher specimens for each documented plant species for taxonomic identification. In this study, we use relative frequency of citation (RFC) to evaluate the comprehensive utilization value of WEPs. Results We interviewed 161 informants who provided us with 2499 use reports. In total, we collected 50 WEPs belonging to 28 families and 42 genera used by Tibetan people in Rongjia river valley. The WEPs are used as vegetable, fruit, seasoning, healthcare food, substitute grain and beverage. Among them, wild vegetable is the most commonly used categories, followed by wild fruit. And leaf is the most commonly consumed parts. The top three important WEPs are Rosa sericea f. glandulosa, Zanthoxylum bungeanum and Urtica hyperborea. Other than that, we also documented the current use situation of WEPs. The results shows that while some plants that were once important substitute grains are no longer used, these plants remain vivid in the memories of older people. Conclusions WEPs provided wild vegetable, fruit, seasoning, healthcare food, and ubstitute grain for Tibetan people in Rongjia river valley. And some WEPs become a important cultural carrier of older people, which can help to understand the relation of plant and local people in the past. In addition, WEPs can still increase resilience for local people lived in remote area when they face sudden destabilizing events in the future. Therefore, we suggest that future studies should focus more on WEPs in communities with limited communication with the world in order to improve their resilience.

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Analysis of leaf-architecture characteristics and ecological adaptability of tree species in the upper reaches of the Chishui River

Cited by 10 publications

References 12 publications

Geometric Entropy of plant leaves: A measure of morphological complexity

Geometric Entropy of plant leaves: A measure of morphological complexity

Fractal-Thermodynamic system analogy and complexity of plant leaves

An ethnobotanical study of wild edible plants used by the Tibetan in the Rongjia river valley, Tibet, China

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