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Leaf economics and plant hydraulics drive leaf/wood area ratios

Mencuccini, Maurizio; Rosas, Teresa; Rowland, Lucy; Choat, Brendan; Cornelissen, Hans; Jansen, Steven; Kramer, Koen; Lapenis, Andrei; Manzoni, Stefano; Niinemets, �lo; Reich, Peter; Schrodt, Franziska; Soudzilovskaia, Nadia; Mart�nez-Vilalta, Jodi

Authors

Maurizio Mencuccini

Teresa Rosas

Lucy Rowland

Brendan Choat

Hans Cornelissen

Steven Jansen

Koen Kramer

Andrei Lapenis

Stefano Manzoni

�lo Niinemets

Peter Reich

Nadia Soudzilovskaia

Jodi Mart�nez-Vilalta



Abstract

Biomass and area ratios between leaves, stems and roots regulate many physiological and ecological processes. The Huber value Hv (sapwood area/leaf area ratio) is central to plant water balance and drought responses. However, its coordination with key plant functional traits is poorly understood, which prevents developing trait-based prediction models.

Based on theoretical arguments, we hypothesise that global patterns in Hv of terminal woody branches can be predicted from variables related to plant trait spectra, i.e., plant hydraulics and size and leaf economics. Using a global compilation of 1135 species-averaged Hv, we show that Hv varies over 3 orders of magnitude. Higher Hv are seen in short small-leaved low-SLA shrubs with low Ks in arid relative to tall large-leaved high-SLA trees with high Ks in moist environments. All traits depend on climate but climatic correlations are stronger for explanatory traits than Hv. Negative isometry is found between Hv and Ks, suggesting a compensation to maintain hydraulic supply to leaves across species.

This work identifies the major global drivers of branch sapwood/leaf area ratios. Our approach based on widely available traits facilitates the development of accurate models of aboveground biomass allocation and helps predict vegetation responses to drought.

Citation

Mencuccini, M., Rosas, T., Rowland, L., Choat, B., Cornelissen, H., Jansen, S., …Martínez-Vilalta, J. (2019). Leaf economics and plant hydraulics drive leaf/wood area ratios. New Phytologist, 224(4), 1544-1556. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.15998

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Jun 8, 2019
Online Publication Date Jun 19, 2019
Publication Date Dec 1, 2019
Deposit Date Jun 26, 2019
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal New Phytologist
Print ISSN 0028-646X
Electronic ISSN 1469-8137
Publisher Wiley
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 224
Issue 4
Pages 1544-1556
DOI https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.15998
Keywords Huber value; Xylem hydraulics; Leaf economics spectrum; Wood density; Leaf size; Corner's rules; Biomechanics; Trait tradeoff
Public URL https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/2232204
Publisher URL https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/nph.15998
Additional Information This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Mencuccini, M. , Rosas, T. , Rowland, L. , Choat, B. , Cornelissen, H. , Jansen, S. , Kramer, K. , Lapenis, A. , Manzoni, S. , Niinemets, Ü. , Reich, P. , Schrodt, F. , Soudzilovskaia, N. , Wright, I. H. and Martínez‐Vilalta, J. (2019), Leaf economics and plant hydraulics drive leaf : wood area ratios. New Phytol. Accepted Author Manuscript. doi:10.1111/nph.15998, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.15998
. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions.

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