Co-ordinated performance of leaf hydraulics and economics in 10 Chinese temperate tree species
Ying Jin A , Chuankuan Wang A B , Zhenghu Zhou A and Zhimin Li A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Center for Ecological Research, Northeast Forestry University, 26 Hexing Road, Harbin 150040, China.
B Corresponding author. Email: wangck-cf@nefu.edu.cn
Functional Plant Biology 43(11) 1082-1090 https://doi.org/10.1071/FP16097
Submitted: 14 March 2016 Accepted: 21 June 2016 Published: 3 August 2016
Abstract
Exploring relationships between leaf hydraulics and economic traits is important in understanding the carbon–water coupling and in extending the leaf economics spectrum. In this study, leaf hydraulics, photosynthesis, structural and nutrient traits and photosynthetic resource use efficiency were measured for 10 temperate tree species in the north-eastern China. Leaf hydraulic conductance was positively correlated with photosynthetic traits, specific leaf area, leaf nitrogen concentration, photosynthetic water and nitrogen use efficiencies, suggesting co-ordination between leaf hydraulics and economic traits. Principal component analysis revealed that significant correlations existed among leaf hydraulic, photosynthetic and resource use traits (axis 1), and axis 2 was strongly associated with leaf structural and nutrient traits. The 10 species were distributed along the diagonal line between axis 1 and axis 2. Species displaying the ‘fast’ strategy tended to have higher photosynthetic rates, leaf hydraulic conductance and photosynthetic water and nutrient use efficiencies; however, they also had lower carbon investment and faced a greater risk of embolism. These findings indicate that leaf hydraulics, economics and resource uses together play an important role in determining species ecological strategies, and provide supports for the ‘fast–slow’ leaf economics spectrum.
Additional keywords: leaf economics, leaf hydraulic conductance, nutrient use efficiency, photosynthesis, water use efficiency.
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