Seasonal variation of leaf thickness: An overlooked component of functional trait variability
HÉRAULT, B.
Forêts et Sociétés [UPR Forêts et Sociétés]
Département Environnements et Sociétés [Cirad-ES]
Institut National Polytechnique Félix Houphouët-Boigny [Yamoussoukro] [INP-HB]
Université de Montpellier [UM]
Forêts et Sociétés [UPR Forêts et Sociétés]
Département Environnements et Sociétés [Cirad-ES]
Institut National Polytechnique Félix Houphouët-Boigny [Yamoussoukro] [INP-HB]
Université de Montpellier [UM]
DERROIRE, Géraldine
Ecologie des forêts de Guyane [UMR ECOFOG]
Département Environnements et Sociétés [Cirad-ES]
< Reduce
Ecologie des forêts de Guyane [UMR ECOFOG]
Département Environnements et Sociétés [Cirad-ES]
Language
en
Article de revue
This item was published in
Plant Biology. 2022-04, vol. 24, n° 3, p. 458-463
Wiley
English Abstract
The dry and wet seasons in the Neotropics have strong effects on soil water and nutrient availability, as well as on forest dynamics. Despite these major effects on forest ecology, little is known on how leaf traits vary ...Read more >
The dry and wet seasons in the Neotropics have strong effects on soil water and nutrient availability, as well as on forest dynamics. Despite these major effects on forest ecology, little is known on how leaf traits vary throughout the seasons in tropical rainforest trees. • Here, we investigated the influence of seasonal variations in climate and soil characteristics on leaf trait variation in two tropical tree species. We measured two leaf traits, thickness and water mass per area, in 401 individuals of two species of Symphonia (Clusiaceae) in the Paracou research station in French Guiana tropical lowland rainforest. • We found a significant effect of seasonal variation on these two leaf traits. Soil relative extractable water was a strong environmental predictor of leaf trait variation in response to seasonal variation. Reduced soil water availability during the dry season was associated with increased leaf thickness and water mass per area, possibly as a result of stomatal closure. • Our findings advocate the need to account for environmental seasonality when studying leaf traits in seasonal ecosystems such as tropical forests.Read less <
English Keywords
Dry season
leaf thickness
leaf traits
seasonal variation
trait variability
tropical forests
ANR Project
CEnter of the study of Biodiversity in Amazonia - ANR-10-LABX-0025
Origin
Hal imported