Jin Mingyue, Diao Yunfei, Wang Yunlong, Zhang Mingke, Wang Tianyi, Ren Yajun, Zhong Ming, Cheng Wanting, Wang Chengdong, Teng Honghui
Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Emerging Contaminants Identification and Control, Jilin Normal University, Siping, China.
Key Laboratory of Environmental Materials and Pollution Control, the Education Department of Jilin Province, Jilin Normal University, Siping, China.
Front Plant Sci. 2025 Jul 15;16:1626579. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2025.1626579. eCollection 2025.
Light and soil nutrients are strong drivers of leaf trait variation, but the relative importance in shaping intraspecific trait variation across leaf developmental gradients remains poorly assessed. Previous studies mostly focused on single traits, while fewer have employed multidimensional trait syndromes framework to explore how plants optimize resource use and maintain physiological homeostasis.
We measured leaf economic traits (e.g., specific leaf area, leaf nitrogen concentration) and stomatal traits (e.g., stomatal density, size) in leaflets at different phyllotactic positions of the compound-leaved species in temperate forests of Northeast China, while assessing the effects of phyllotaxy and environmental factors (light, soil nutrients) on these traits.
We found that (1) specific leaf area and leaf nitrogen concentration significantly increase along the phyllotaxy gradient (from phyllotaxy 1 to 6), while leaf dry matter content, leaf thickness, and stomatal density significantly decrease. No significant variation in the dimensions of economic and stomatal traits was observed across the phyllotaxy gradient; (2) phyllotaxy modulates trait coordination, with decoupled economic and stomatal traits at phyllotaxy 1 but coupled relationships at phyllotaxy 2-6; (3) environmental factors had a greater impact on economic trait dimensions variation, whereas phyllotaxy was more important for stomatal trait dimensions.
Our study highlights the significance of trait dimensions in understanding plant functional strategies. We emphasize that the influence of environmental factors or phyllotaxy on trait variation is trait-specific, indicating distinct mechanisms for resource acquisition and water use. We recommend considering phyllotaxy when predicting plant responses to environmental changes.
光照和土壤养分是叶片性状变异的重要驱动因素，但在整个叶片发育梯度上，它们在塑造种内性状变异方面的相对重要性仍未得到充分评估。以往研究大多聚焦于单一性状，而较少采用多维度性状综合征框架来探究植物如何优化资源利用并维持生理稳态。
我们测量了中国东北温带森林中复叶物种不同叶序位置小叶的叶片经济性状（如比叶面积、叶片氮浓度）和气孔性状（如气孔密度、大小），同时评估叶序和环境因素（光照、土壤养分）对这些性状的影响。
我们发现：（1）比叶面积和叶片氮浓度沿叶序梯度（从叶序1到6）显著增加，而叶片干物质含量、叶片厚度和气孔密度显著降低。在叶序梯度上，经济性状和气孔性状的维度未观察到显著变化；（2）叶序调节性状协调性，叶序1处经济性状和气孔性状解耦，而叶序2 - 6处存在耦合关系；（3）环境因素对经济性状维度变异的影响更大，而叶序对气孔性状维度更为重要。
我们的研究突出了性状维度在理解植物功能策略中的重要性。我们强调环境因素或叶序对性状变异的影响具有性状特异性，这表明资源获取和水分利用存在不同机制。我们建议在预测植物对环境变化的响应时考虑叶序。
