Morphological and moisture availability controls of the leaf area-to-sapwood area ratio: Analysis of measurements on Australian trees

Togashi, HF; Prentice, IC; Evans, BJ; Forrester, DI; Drake, P; Feikema, P; Brooksbank, K; Eamus, D; Taylor, D

Morphological and moisture availability controls of the leaf area-to-sapwood area ratio: Analysis of measurements on Australian trees

Togashi, HF Prentice, IC Evans, BJ Forrester, DI Drake, P Feikema, P Brooksbank, K Eamus, D

Taylor, D

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Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Ecology and Evolution, 2015, 5 (6), pp. 1263 - 1270
Issue Date:: 2015-01-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Togashi, HF	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Prentice, IC	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Evans, BJ	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Forrester, DI	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Drake, P	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Feikema, P	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Brooksbank, K	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Eamus, D https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2765-8040	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Taylor, D	en_US
dc.date.available	2014-10-27	en_US
dc.date.issued	2015-01-01	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Ecology and Evolution, 2015, 5 (6), pp. 1263 - 1270	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/35591
dc.description.abstract	© 2015 Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. The leaf area-to-sapwood area ratio (LA:SA) is a key plant trait that links photosynthesis to transpiration. The pipe model theory states that the sapwood cross-sectional area of a stem or branch at any point should scale isometrically with the area of leaves distal to that point. Optimization theory further suggests that LA:SA should decrease toward drier climates. Although acclimation of LA:SA to climate has been reported within species, much less is known about the scaling of this trait with climate among species. We compiled LA:SA measurements from 184 species of Australian evergreen angiosperm trees. The pipe model was broadly confirmed, based on measurements on branches and trunks of trees from one to 27 years old. Despite considerable scatter in LA:SA among species, quantile regression showed strong (0.2 < R1 < 0.65) positive relationships between two climatic moisture indices and the lowermost (5%) and uppermost (5-15%) quantiles of log LA:SA, suggesting that moisture availability constrains the envelope of minimum and maximum values of LA:SA typical for any given climate. Interspecific differences in plant hydraulic conductivity are probably responsible for the large scatter of values in the mid-quantile range and may be an important determinant of tree morphology. We compiled LA:SA measurements from 183 species of Australian evergreen angiosperm trees. The pipe model was broadly confirmed. LA:SA quantile regression showed positive relationships between two climatic moisture indices and the lowermost and uppermost quantiles.	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	Ecology and Evolution	en_US
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1002/ece3.1344	en_US
dc.title	Morphological and moisture availability controls of the leaf area-to-sapwood area ratio: Analysis of measurements on Australian trees	en_US
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	6	en_US
utslib.citation.volume	5	en_US
utslib.for	0602 Ecology	en_US
utslib.for	0603 Evolutionary Biology	en_US
pubs.embargo.period	Not known	en_US
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Science
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Science/School of Life Sciences
utslib.copyright.status	open_access
pubs.issue	6	en_US
pubs.publication-status	Published	en_US
pubs.volume	5	en_US

Abstract:

© 2015 Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. The leaf area-to-sapwood area ratio (LA:SA) is a key plant trait that links photosynthesis to transpiration. The pipe model theory states that the sapwood cross-sectional area of a stem or branch at any point should scale isometrically with the area of leaves distal to that point. Optimization theory further suggests that LA:SA should decrease toward drier climates. Although acclimation of LA:SA to climate has been reported within species, much less is known about the scaling of this trait with climate among species. We compiled LA:SA measurements from 184 species of Australian evergreen angiosperm trees. The pipe model was broadly confirmed, based on measurements on branches and trunks of trees from one to 27 years old. Despite considerable scatter in LA:SA among species, quantile regression showed strong (0.2 < R1 < 0.65) positive relationships between two climatic moisture indices and the lowermost (5%) and uppermost (5-15%) quantiles of log LA:SA, suggesting that moisture availability constrains the envelope of minimum and maximum values of LA:SA typical for any given climate. Interspecific differences in plant hydraulic conductivity are probably responsible for the large scatter of values in the mid-quantile range and may be an important determinant of tree morphology. We compiled LA:SA measurements from 183 species of Australian evergreen angiosperm trees. The pipe model was broadly confirmed. LA:SA quantile regression showed positive relationships between two climatic moisture indices and the lowermost and uppermost quantiles.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/35591