Assessment of leaf morphological, physiological, chemical and stoichiometry functional traits for understanding the functioning of Himalayan temperate forest ecosystem

Abstract

Leaf functional traits support plant survival and growth in different stress and disturbed conditions and respond according to leaf habit. The present study examined 13 leaf traits (3 morphological, 3 chemical, 5 physiological, and 2 stoichiometry) of nine dominant forest tree species (3 coniferous, 3 deciduous broad-leaved, 3 evergreen broad-leafed) to understand the varied response of leaf habits. The hypothesis was to test if functional traits of the conifers, deciduous and evergreen differ significantly in the temperate forest and to determine the applicability of leaf economic theory i.e., conservative vs. acquisitive resource investment, in the temperate Himalayan region. The attributes of the functional traits i.e., leaf area (LA), specific leaf area (SLA), leaf dry matter content (LDMC), leaf water content (LWC), stomatal conductance (Gs), and transpiration (E) followed the order deciduous > evergreen > coniferous. Leaf carbon and leaf C/N ratio showed the opposite pattern, coniferous > evergreen > deciduous. Chlorophyll (Chl) and photosynthetic rate (A) were highest for evergreen species, followed by deciduous and coniferous species. Also, structural equation modelling determined that morphological factors were negatively related to physiological and positively with chemical factors. Nevertheless, physiological and chemical factors were positively related to each other. The physiological traits were mainly regulated by stomatal conductance (Gs) however the morphological traits were determined by LDMC. Stoichiometry traits, such as leaf C/N, were found to be positively related to leaf carbon, and leaf N/P was found to be positively related to leaf nitrogen. The result of the leaf functional traits relationship would lead to precise prediction for the functionality of the temperate forest ecosystem at the regional scale.

Leaf traits divergence and correlations of woody plants among the three plant functional types on the eastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, China

“…Meanwhile, the leaf with higher LDMC had smaller intercellular space and the more gas diffusion resistance from mesophyll cells, these led to lower photosynthetic carbon assimilation capacity ( Hamdani et al., 2019 ; Maccagni and Willi, 2022 ). Furthermore, according to the leaf economic theory, higher LMA indicated that NE plants adopted more conservative survival strategy, while BD plants adopted acquired survival strategy ( Maracahipes et al., 2018 ; Fyllas et al., 2020 ; Rawat et al., 2021 ; Liu et al., 2022a ). This was also confirmed in a study of woody plants from the temperate forest in the Himalayan region of India, where plants adopted conservation or acquisition strategies to adapt to environmental change ( Rawat et al., 2021 ).…”

“…Furthermore, according to the leaf economic theory, higher LMA indicated that NE plants adopted more conservative survival strategy, while BD plants adopted acquired survival strategy ( Maracahipes et al., 2018 ; Fyllas et al., 2020 ; Rawat et al., 2021 ; Liu et al., 2022a ). This was also confirmed in a study of woody plants from the temperate forest in the Himalayan region of India, where plants adopted conservation or acquisition strategies to adapt to environmental change ( Rawat et al., 2021 ). The C/N and N area of NE plants and BE plants were significantly higher than BD plants, while N mass was lower ( Table 1 ).…”

“…The study measured six leaf traits, including leaf thickness (LT, mm), leaf dry matter content (LDMC, mg/g), leaf dry mass per area (LMA, mg/cm 2 ), nitrogen content per unit area (N area , mg/cm 2 ), nitrogen content per unit mass (N mass , mg/g), and carbon:nitrogen ratio (C/N) ( Rawat et al., 2021 ). LT was measured using a vernier caliper with an accuracy of 0.01 mm, and the leaf fresh weight (LFW) was weighed using an electronic balance with an accuracy of 0.001 g. The leaf area (LA) was calculated using image analysis software (image J v.1.8.0) after scanning the leaves using a scanner (Seiko Epson Co., Nagano, Japan).…”

Unveiling terahertz wave stress effects and mechanisms in Pinellia ternata: Challenges, insights, and future directions

“…Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to distinguish between different physiological and transcriptional responses, providing potential markers for salt stress tolerance studies in grapes (Jogaiah et al, 2013). Dandelion was found to exhibit higher total chlorophyll content, specific leaf area (SLA) (Rawat et al, 2021), nitrogen, and phosphorus content in leaves, as well as higher water use efficiency and nitrogen uptake following P fertiliser application (Haider et al, 2018). For shortleaf poplar, P fertiliser treatments reduced specific root length (SRL) and ectomycorrhizal infestation, as well as specific root tip density, but had no significant effect on mean root diameter (Zhu et al, 2023).…”

Trait‐based approaches as ecological time machines: Developing tools for reconstructing long‐term variation in ecosystems

“…Given that leaves are primary sites of photosynthesis and play a central role in plant growth and survival, leaf fossils represent a potentially rich record of FTs through time. Leaf traits include morphological characteristics like shape and area (Hang et al, 2021), specific leaf area (Liu et al, 2019) and its inverse, leaf mass per area (LMA; Wright et al, 2004), chemical characteristics such as leaf nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations (Rawat et al, 2021), and physiological characteristics like vein (Blonder et al, 2014) and stomata (McElwain & Steinthorsdottir, 2017) density. Leaf traits have been widely studied in modern ecosystems and it has been shown that variation in some of these traits can reflect ecological trade‐offs and environmental factors (Blonder et al, 2014; Poorter et al, 2009; Wright et al, 2004).…”