A test of the generality of leaf trait relationships on the Tibetan Plateau

• DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-8137.2006.01704.x
• Publication Date: 2006-03-27T12:01:20Z
• Authors: Jin‐Sheng He; Zhiheng Wang; Xiangping Wang; Bernhard Schmid; Wenyun Zuo; Meng Zhou; Chengyang Zheng; Mingfeng Wang; Jingyun Fang
• Keywords: Trait; Specific leaf area; Freezing tolerance; Photosynthetic capacity; Plant Physiology

• Leaf mass per area (LMA), nitrogen concentration (on and bases, Nmass Narea, respectively), photosynthetic capacity (Amass Aarea) use efficiency (PNUE) are key foliar traits, but few data available from cold, high-altitude environments. Here, we systematically measured these leaf traits in 74 species at 49 research sites on the Tibetan Plateau to examine how near extremes of plant tolerance, compare with global patterns. Overall, had higher concentrations capacities compared a dataset, they slightly lower Amass given Nmass. These trait relationships were consistent those reported slopes standardized major axes Amass–LMA, Nmass–LMA Amass–Nmass identical dataset. Climate only weakly modulated traits. Our indicate that covarying sets across environments biogeographic regions. results demonstrate functional convergence an extreme environment.