Journal
FUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY
Volume 20, Issue 6, Pages 941-947Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2435.2006.01185.x
Keywords
drought; fire; leaf mass per area (LMA); leaf nitrogen; water-use efficiency (WUE)
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1. Resprouting is a primary persistence mechanism in fire- and drought-prone ecosystems. Plants with this mechanism (resprouters) tend to exhibit deeper root-system and higher stem and leaf water potential. We test the extent to which non-resprouters counteract their lower root allocation by means of leaf traits that confer higher drought resistance. 2. Leaf mass per area (LMA), leaf dry matter content (LDMC), area-based leaf nitrogen content (LNCa) and integrated water-use efficiency (Omega C-13) were measured for 33 woody species in the eastern Iberian Peninsula. Phylogeny and biogeographical history (Tertiary vs Quaternary) were considered in all comparisons. 3. Non-resprouters showed higher LMA, LNCa, and delta C-13 when considering either all species, or Quaternary species only. Tertiary and Quaternary resprouters differed exclusively in delta C-13, which was higher for Tertiary species. 4. These results suggest that, at leaf level, non-resprouters have higher potential for structural resistance to drought and higher water-use efficiency than resprouters. We propose that the existence of a physiological trade-off at leaf level between drought resistance and carbon gain should explain the leaf-trait values exhibited by resprouters.
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