scholarly journals Relationships between leaf life span, leaf mass per area, and leaf nitrogen cause different altitudinal changes in leaf δ13C between deciduous and evergreen species

Botany ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 86 (11) ◽  
pp. 1233-1241 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Takahashi ◽  
Y. Miyajima
Keyword(s):  
Life Span ◽  
Carbon Balance ◽  
Stable Carbon Isotope ◽  
Leaf Nitrogen ◽  
Leaf Mass Per Area ◽  
Leaf Life Span ◽  
Deciduous Species ◽  
Evergreen Species ◽  
Leaf Mass ◽  
Assimilation Capacity

We examined the variability in stable carbon isotope ratio (δ13C) in leaves of two deciduous broad-leaved species and two evergreen conifer species along an altitudinal gradient in central Japan. The δ13C of the two deciduous species decreased with altitude, except near the upper distribution limit. The two evergreen species, however, showed no clear altitudinal trends for δ13C. The δ13C of the two deciduous species was positively correlated with leaf mass per area (LMA), indicating that the altitudinal variation in δ13C was controlled by LMA. Leaf nitrogen per mass (as a proxy of assimilation capacity, Nmass) was negatively correlated with LMA for the two deciduous species, while it was not correlated with LMA for the two evergreen species. Leaf life span of the two deciduous species decreased with altitude, whereas that of the two evergreen species increased. Thus, the two deciduous species had shorter-lived thinner leaves with higher Nmass at higher altitudes, and the two evergreen species had longer-lived leaves. These changes contribute to the positive carbon balance at higher altitudes. Therefore, the different changes in δ13C with altitude between the deciduous and evergreen species are ascribed to the different altitudinal changes in the leaf traits for carbon balance.

scholarly journals A weak relationship between crown architectural and leaf traits in saplings of eight tropical rain-forest species in Indonesia

2008 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 425-432 ◽  
Author(s):  
Koichi Takahashi ◽  
Yumi Mikami
Keyword(s):  
Life Span ◽  
Rain Forest ◽  
Tropical Rain Forest ◽  
Leaf Size ◽  
Leaf Traits ◽  
Height Growth ◽  
Leaf Life Span ◽  
Degree Of Branching ◽  
Leaf Mass ◽  
Assimilation Capacity

AbstractThere are two trade-offs at the levels of leaves and crowns, i.e. assimilation capacity per leaf mass is greater for shorter-lived leaves, and unbranched species grow faster in height by allocating carbon more to trunk than to leaves and branches compared with highly branched species. The hypotheses were tested that the degree of branching (LTB) correlates with leaf traits and that height growth rate is negatively correlated with the degree of branching and leaf life span (LLS) by examining saplings of five canopy and subcanopy species, two shrub species and one invasive subshrub species (Clidemia hirta) in a tropical rain forest, West Java, Indonesia. Of the eight species, the most and least branched species wereCastanopsis acuminatissimaandMacaranga semiglobosa, respectively. Leaf traits examined were leaf size, LLS, leaf mass per area (LMA), leaf nitrogen concentration per mass (Nmass) and per area. LLS tended to be positively correlated with LMA, and negatively correlated withNmass. Leaf size was negatively correlated withLTB, but the other leaf traits were not correlated withLTB. The height growth of the eight species was low, irrespective ofLTBand LLS, for understorey individuals. The height growth of gap individuals was negatively correlated with LLS for the eight species, and also negatively withLTBfor the seven species other than one subshrub species. Thus, the degree of branching was correlated with leaf size only among the five leaf traits, and both leaf life span and the degree of branching affected the height growth of gap individuals, except for the subshrub species.

scholarly journals Nitrogen availability, leaf life span and nitrogen conservation mechanisms in leaves of tropical trees

2009 ◽  
Vol 66 (6) ◽  
pp. 812-818 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guilherme Nascimento Corte ◽  
Patrícia Macchiaverni ◽  
Inácio Maria Dal Fabbro ◽  
Claudia Regina Baptista Haddad
Keyword(s):  
Life Span ◽  
Nitrogen Availability ◽  
Leaf Mass Per Area ◽  
Leaf Life Span ◽  
Evergreen Species ◽  
Resorption Proficiency ◽  
Nitrogen Resorption ◽  
Nitrogen Conservation ◽  
Use Efficiency ◽  
Efficient Mechanisms

Evergreen species of temperate regions are dominant in low-nutrient soils. This feature is attributed to more efficient mechanisms of nutrient economy. Nevertheless, the cashew (Anacardium occidentale- Anacardiaceae), a deciduous species, is native to regions in Brazil with sandy soil, whilst the annatto (Bixa orellana- Bixaceae), classified as an evergreen species native to tropical America, grows spontaneously in regions with more humid soils. Evergreens contain robust leaves that can resist adverse conditions for longer. The physical aspects of the leaves and mechanisms of nutrient economy between the two species were compared, in order to verify whether the deciduous species had more efficient mechanisms that might explain its occurrence in regions of low soil fertility. The mechanisms of nitrogen economy were also compared for the two species at available concentrations of this nutrient. The following were analysed: (i) leaf life span, (ii) physical leaf characteristics (leaf mass per area, and rupture strain), (iii) nitrogenous compounds (nitrogen, chlorophyll, and protein), (iv) nitrogen conservation mechanisms (nitrogen resorption efficiency, resorption proficiency, and use efficiency), and (v) nitrogen conservation mechanisms under different availability of this mineral. The higher values of leaf mass per area and leaf rupture strain found in A. occidentale were related to its longer leaf life span. A. occidentale showed lower concentrations of nitrogen and protein in the leaves than B. orellana. Under lower nitrogen availability, A. occidentale had higher nitrogen resorption proficiency, nitrogen use efficiency and leaf life span than B. orellana. These characteristics may contribute to the adaptation of this species to sandy soils with low nitrogen content.

Leaf nitrogen dynamics with particular reference to retranslocation in evergreen and deciduous tree species of Kumaun Himalaya

1993 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 349-357 ◽  
Author(s):  
G.C.S. Negi ◽  
S.P. Singh
Keyword(s):  
Leaf Growth ◽  
Leaf Nitrogen ◽  
Deciduous Tree ◽  
Leaf Life Span ◽  
Deciduous Species ◽  
Evergreen Species ◽  
Mature Leaves ◽  
N Concentration ◽  
Leaf Formation ◽  
N Status

The concentration and mass of nitrogen (N) were followed seasonally in leaves of 26 trees species of Central Himalaya: 11 evergreen species with about 1-year leaf life-span and 15 deciduous species. Like the deciduous species, the leaves of these evergreen species start senescing and losing mass in the year of formation. Species with higher N status retranslocated a larger proportion of leaf N prior to leaf abscission than the species with less favourable N status. The percentage of N mass in the leaf that was retranslocated during senescence ranged from 32.7 to 75.3%, but none of the species with N concentration less than 2.5% in mature leaves retranslocated more than 60% of N. Compared with evergreen species, on average the deciduous species showed higher N concentration in mature leaves (3.2 vs. 2.5%), higher proportion of leaf mass loss during senescence (31.6 vs. 26.2%), and greater proportion of retranslocated N mass from leaves (57.1 vs. 51.8%). With regard to the N-use efficiency the two groups of species were not clearly different. The dependence of deciduous species on retranslocated N mass for leaf growth during the dry period of the premonsoon season was greater than that of the evergreen species, which showed partial dependence on the soil N pool for new leaf formation.

Effect of snow-free duration on leaf life-span of four alpine plant species

1992 ◽  
Vol 70 (8) ◽  
pp. 1684-1688 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gaku Kudo
Keyword(s):  
Life Span ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Carbon Balance ◽  
Leaf Age ◽  
Dry Weight ◽  
Leaf Life Span ◽  
Unit Leaf ◽  
Deciduous Shrubs ◽  
Rhododendron Aureum ◽  
Key Words Alpine

Leaf life-spans and specific leaf weights of four plant species, Phyllodoce aleutica, Rhododendron aureum, Sieversia pentapetala, and Potentilla matsumurae were compared along a gradient of decreasing snow-free duration in alpine snow beds. Life-span was obtained by observation from emergence to senescence for deciduous plants and was estimated from leaf age distributions for evergreen plants. Along the gradient, the evergreen shrubs Ph. aleutica and R. aureum had extended leaf life-spans, whereas the deciduous shrubs S. pentapetala and the deciduous herb Po. matsumurae had reduced leaf life-spans. Specific leaf weights, obtained by dry weight per unit leaf area, increased in Ph. aleutica but decreased in S. pentapetala and Po. matsumurae along the gradient. These phenomena are considered adaptive adjustments for maintaining a positive carbon balance under the conditions of limited photosynthetic season. Key words: alpine snow bed, carbon balance, deciduous plants, evergreen plants, leaf life-span, specific leaf weight.

Global quantification of contrasting leaf life span strategies for deciduous and evergreen species in response to environmental conditions

2011 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 224-235 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. E. E. van Ommen Kloeke ◽  
J. C. Douma ◽  
J. C. Ordoñez ◽  
P. B. Reich ◽  
P. M. van Bodegom
Keyword(s):  
Life Span ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Leaf Life Span ◽  
Evergreen Species
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