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Leaf mass per area, not total leaf area, drives differences in above‐ground biomass distribution among woody plant functional types
Author(s) -
Duursma Remko A.,
Falster Daniel S.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
new phytologist
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.742
H-Index - 244
eISSN - 1469-8137
pISSN - 0028-646X
DOI - 10.1111/nph.14033
Subject(s) - biomass (ecology) , evergreen , gymnosperm , basal area , deciduous , specific leaf area , woody plant , biology , range (aeronautics) , botany , environmental science , agronomy , ecology , photosynthesis , materials science , composite material
Summary Here, we aim to understand differences in biomass distribution between major woody plant functional types ( PFT s) (deciduous vs evergreen and gymnosperm vs angiosperm) in terms of underlying traits, in particular the leaf mass per area (LMA) and leaf area per unit stem basal area. We used a large compilation of plant biomass and size observations, including observations of 21 084 individuals on 656 species. We used a combination of semiparametric methods and variance partitioning to test the influence of PFT , plant height, LMA, total leaf area, stem basal area and climate on above‐ground biomass distribution. The ratio of leaf mass to above‐ground woody mass ( M F / M S ) varied strongly among PFT s. We found that M F / M S at a given plant height was proportional to LMA across PFT s. As a result, the PFT s did not differ in the amount of leaf area supported per unit above‐ground biomass or per unit stem basal area. Climate consistently explained very little additional variation in biomass distribution at a given plant size. Combined, these results demonstrate consistent patterns in above‐ground biomass distribution and leaf area relationships among major woody PFTs, which can be used to further constrain global vegetation models.