Journal
ECOLOGY LETTERS
Volume 21, Issue 9, Pages 1372-1379Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1111/ele.13103
Keywords
Growth form; leaf capacitance; leaf structure; mesophyll conductance; modulus of elasticity; photosynthesis; photosynthesis limitations
Categories
Funding
- Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad (MINECO, Spain) - ESF [BES-2015-072578]
- Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad (MINECO, Spain) [CTM2014-53902-C2-1-P]
- ERDF (FEDER) [CTM2014-53902-C2-1-P]
- UIB Grant [15/2015]
Ask authors/readers for more resources
A compromise between carbon assimilation and structure investment at the leaf level is broadly accepted, yet the relationship between net assimilation per area (A(n)) and leaf mass per area has been elusive. We propose bulk modulus of elasticity (epsilon) as a suitable parameter to reflect both leaf structure and function, and an inverse relationship between epsilon and A(n) and mesophyll conductance (g(m)) is postulated. Using data for A(n), g(m) and epsilon from previous studies and new measurements on a set of 20 species covering all major growth forms, a negative relationship between A(n) or g(m) and epsilon was observed. High epsilon was also related to low leaf capacitance and higher diffusive limitations to photosynthesis. In conclusion, epsilon emerges as a key trait linked with photosynthetic capacity across vascular plants, and its relationship with g(m) suggests the existence of a common mechanistic basis, probably involving a key role of cell walls.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available