The worldwide leaf economics spectrum

Bringing together leaf trait data spanning 2,548 species and 175 sites we describe, for the first time at global scale, a universal spectrum of leaf economics consisting of key chemical, structural and physiological properties. The spectrum runs from quick to slow return on investments of nutrients...

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Main Authors: Wright I.J., Reich, P.B., Westoby, M., Ackerly, D.D., Baruch, Z., Bongers, F., Cavender-Bares, J., Chapin, T., Cornelissen, J.H.C., Diemer, M., Flexas, J., Garnier, E., Groom, Philip, Gulias, J., Hikosaka, K., Lamont, Byron, Lee, T., Lee, W., Lusk, C., Midgley, J.J., Navas, M.-L., Niinemets, Ü., Olėksyn, J., Osada, N., Poorter, H., Poot, P., Prior, L., Pyankov, V.I., Roumet, C., Thomas, S.C., Tjoelker, M.G., Veneklaas, E.J., Villar, R.
Format: Journal Article
Published: 2004
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/44522
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author Wright I.J.
Reich, P.B.
Westoby, M.
Ackerly, D.D.
Baruch, Z.
Bongers, F.
Cavender-Bares, J.
Chapin, T.
Cornelissen, J.H.C.
Diemer, M.
Flexas, J.
Garnier, E.
Groom, Philip
Gulias, J.
Hikosaka, K.
Lamont, Byron
Lee, T.
Lee, W.
Lusk, C.
Midgley, J.J.
Navas, M.-L.
Niinemets, Ü.
Olėksyn, J.
Osada, N.
Poorter, H.
Poot, P.
Prior, L.
Pyankov, V.I.
Roumet, C.
Thomas, S.C.
Tjoelker, M.G.
Veneklaas, E.J.
Villar, R.
author_facet Wright I.J.
Reich, P.B.
Westoby, M.
Ackerly, D.D.
Baruch, Z.
Bongers, F.
Cavender-Bares, J.
Chapin, T.
Cornelissen, J.H.C.
Diemer, M.
Flexas, J.
Garnier, E.
Groom, Philip
Gulias, J.
Hikosaka, K.
Lamont, Byron
Lee, T.
Lee, W.
Lusk, C.
Midgley, J.J.
Navas, M.-L.
Niinemets, Ü.
Olėksyn, J.
Osada, N.
Poorter, H.
Poot, P.
Prior, L.
Pyankov, V.I.
Roumet, C.
Thomas, S.C.
Tjoelker, M.G.
Veneklaas, E.J.
Villar, R.
author_sort Wright I.J.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Bringing together leaf trait data spanning 2,548 species and 175 sites we describe, for the first time at global scale, a universal spectrum of leaf economics consisting of key chemical, structural and physiological properties. The spectrum runs from quick to slow return on investments of nutrients and dry mass in leaves, and operates largely independently of growth form, plant functional type or biome. Categories along the spectrum would, in general, describe leaf economic variation at the global scale better than plant functional types, because functional types overlap substantially in their leaf traits. Overall, modulation of leaf traits and trait relationships by climate is surprisingly modest, although some striking and significant patterns can be seen. Reliable quantification of the leaf economics spectrum and its interaction with climate will prove valuable for modelling nutrient fluxes and vegetation boundaries under changing land-use and climate.
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format Journal Article
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institution Curtin University Malaysia
institution_category Local University
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publishDate 2004
recordtype eprints
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-445222017-09-13T15:58:41Z The worldwide leaf economics spectrum Wright I.J. Reich, P.B. Westoby, M. Ackerly, D.D. Baruch, Z. Bongers, F. Cavender-Bares, J. Chapin, T. Cornelissen, J.H.C. Diemer, M. Flexas, J. Garnier, E. Groom, Philip Gulias, J. Hikosaka, K. Lamont, Byron Lee, T. Lee, W. Lusk, C. Midgley, J.J. Navas, M.-L. Niinemets, Ü. Olėksyn, J. Osada, N. Poorter, H. Poot, P. Prior, L. Pyankov, V.I. Roumet, C. Thomas, S.C. Tjoelker, M.G. Veneklaas, E.J. Villar, R. Bringing together leaf trait data spanning 2,548 species and 175 sites we describe, for the first time at global scale, a universal spectrum of leaf economics consisting of key chemical, structural and physiological properties. The spectrum runs from quick to slow return on investments of nutrients and dry mass in leaves, and operates largely independently of growth form, plant functional type or biome. Categories along the spectrum would, in general, describe leaf economic variation at the global scale better than plant functional types, because functional types overlap substantially in their leaf traits. Overall, modulation of leaf traits and trait relationships by climate is surprisingly modest, although some striking and significant patterns can be seen. Reliable quantification of the leaf economics spectrum and its interaction with climate will prove valuable for modelling nutrient fluxes and vegetation boundaries under changing land-use and climate. 2004 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/44522 10.1038/nature02403 restricted
spellingShingle Wright I.J.
Reich, P.B.
Westoby, M.
Ackerly, D.D.
Baruch, Z.
Bongers, F.
Cavender-Bares, J.
Chapin, T.
Cornelissen, J.H.C.
Diemer, M.
Flexas, J.
Garnier, E.
Groom, Philip
Gulias, J.
Hikosaka, K.
Lamont, Byron
Lee, T.
Lee, W.
Lusk, C.
Midgley, J.J.
Navas, M.-L.
Niinemets, Ü.
Olėksyn, J.
Osada, N.
Poorter, H.
Poot, P.
Prior, L.
Pyankov, V.I.
Roumet, C.
Thomas, S.C.
Tjoelker, M.G.
Veneklaas, E.J.
Villar, R.
The worldwide leaf economics spectrum
title The worldwide leaf economics spectrum
title_full The worldwide leaf economics spectrum
title_fullStr The worldwide leaf economics spectrum
title_full_unstemmed The worldwide leaf economics spectrum
title_short The worldwide leaf economics spectrum
title_sort worldwide leaf economics spectrum
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/44522