Altitude variation in covariation of the leaf functional traits of dominant woody plants in Mao'er Mountain of Guangxi
In order to reveal the strategies of plants to environmental changes along elevation gradient,we studied the leaf functional traits of dominant trees of five plant communities distributed at elevation 1380 m,1585 m,1860 m,1988 m,and 2108 m in Mao'er Mountain,Guangxi.Seven indices,including leaf water content(LWC),leaf dry matter content(LDMC),specific leaf area(SLA),leaf volume(LV),leaf thickness(LT),leaf tissue density(LTD)and specific leaf weight(SLW)were measured.One way ANOVA,Pearson correlation analysis and standardized major axis were used to detect the altitude regulations and composition relationships of the 7 tested indices.The results showed the order of coefficient variation for the 7 leaf functional traits was SLA>LV>SLW>LTD>LT>LDMC>LWC.One way ANOVA suggested the leaf functional traits were highly and significantly different among altitude gradient(P<0.01).However,there was inconsistent with each other for the variations of different leaf traits along elevation gradient.For example,SLA first increased and then declined,while LV decreased along altitude.There were general combination relationships between leaf functional traits,i.e.,SLA had highly significant negative correlation with LDMC,LT,LTD,SLW,except LV,and there was strongly significant positive relationship between LDMC and LTD and SLW.Many of the positive or negative relationships between combinations were only significant at some altitude gradients.The results indicate the leaf functional traits studied show significant responses to environment changes,and the covariations or trade-offs between functional traits were allometric scaling along the elevation.
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