Hu Yu-Kun, Pan Xu, Liu Guo-Fang, Li Wen-Bing, Dai Wen-Hong, Tang Shuang-Li, Zhang Ya-Lin, Xiao Tao, Chen Ling-Yun, Xiong Wei, Zhou Meng-Yao, Song Yao-Bin, Dong Ming
Key Laboratory of Hangzhou City for Ecosystem Protection and Restoration, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University Hangzhou, China ; State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing, China.
Key Laboratory of Hangzhou City for Ecosystem Protection and Restoration, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University Hangzhou, China ; Institute of Wetland Research, Chinese Academy of Forestry Beijing, China.
Front Plant Sci. 2015 Oct 26;6:901. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2015.00901. eCollection 2015.
Leaf economics spectrum (LES), characterizing covariation among a suite of leaf traits relevant to carbon and nutrient economics, has been examined largely among species but hardly within species. In addition, very little attempt has been made to examine whether the existence of LES depends on spatial scales. To address these questions, we quantified the variation and covariation of four leaf economic traits (specific leaf area, leaf dry matter content, leaf nitrogen and phosphorus contents) in a cosmopolitan wetland species (Phragmites australis) at three spatial (inter-regional, regional, and site) scales across most of the species range in China. The species expressed large intraspecific variation in the leaf economic traits at all of the three spatial scales. It also showed strong covariation among the four leaf economic traits across the species range. The coordination among leaf economic traits resulted in LES at all three scales and the environmental variables determining variation in leaf economic traits were different among the spatial scales. Our results provide novel evidence for within-species LES at multiple spatial scales, indicating that resource trade-off could also constrain intraspecific trait variation mainly driven by climatic and/or edaphic differences.
叶经济谱（LES）描述了一系列与碳和养分经济相关的叶性状之间的协变关系，目前主要是在物种间进行研究，而在物种内的研究很少。此外，很少有人尝试研究LES的存在是否取决于空间尺度。为了解决这些问题，我们在中国大部分芦苇（Phragmites australis）分布范围内的三个空间尺度（区域间、区域和地点）上，对一种广布的湿地物种芦苇的四个叶经济性状（比叶面积、叶干物质含量、叶氮和磷含量）的变异和协变进行了量化。该物种在所有三个空间尺度上的叶经济性状都表现出较大的种内变异。在整个物种分布范围内，四个叶经济性状之间也表现出很强的协变关系。叶经济性状之间的协调在所有三个尺度上都导致了叶经济谱的出现，并且决定叶经济性状变异的环境变量在不同空间尺度上有所不同。我们的研究结果为多空间尺度上的种内叶经济谱提供了新的证据，表明资源权衡也可能限制主要由气候和/或土壤差异驱动的种内性状变异。
