The worldwide leaf economics spectrum

Ian J. Wright; Peter B. Reich; Mark Westoby; David D. Ackerly; Zdravko Baruch; Frans Bongers; Jeannine Cavender-Bares; Terry Chapin; Johannes H C Cornellssen; Matthias Diemer; Jaume Flexas; Eric Garnier; Philip K. Groom; Javier Gulias; Kouki Hikosaka; Byron B. Lamont; Tall Lee; William Lee; Christopher Lusk; Jeremy J. Midgley; Marie Laure Navas; Ülo Niinemets; Jacek Oleksyn; Horiyuki Osada; Hendrik Poorter; Pleter Pool; Lynda Prior; Vladimir I. Pyankov; Catherine Roumet; Sean C. Thomas; Mark G. Tjoelker; Erik J. Veneklaas; Rafael Villar

doi:10.1038/nature02403

The worldwide leaf economics spectrum

Ian J. Wright, Peter B. Reich, Mark Westoby, David D. Ackerly, Zdravko Baruch, Frans Bongers, Jeannine Cavender-Bares, Terry Chapin, Johannes H C Cornellssen, Matthias Diemer, Jaume Flexas, Eric Garnier, Philip K. Groom, Javier Gulias, Kouki Hikosaka, Byron B. Lamont, Tall Lee, William Lee, Christopher Lusk, Jeremy J. MidgleyMarie Laure Navas, Ülo Niinemets, Jacek Oleksyn, Horiyuki Osada, Hendrik Poorter, Pleter Pool, Lynda Prior, Vladimir I. Pyankov, Catherine Roumet, Sean C. Thomas, Mark G. Tjoelker, Erik J. Veneklaas, Rafael Villar

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Abstract

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 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.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	821-827
Number of pages	7
Journal	Nature
Volume	428
Issue number	6985
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/nature02403
State	Published - Apr 22 2004

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Wright, I. J., Reich, P. B., Westoby, M., Ackerly, D. D., Baruch, Z., Bongers, F., Cavender-Bares, J., Chapin, T., Cornellssen, J. H. C., Diemer, M., Flexas, J., Garnier, E., Groom, P. K., Gulias, J., Hikosaka, K., Lamont, B. B., Lee, T., Lee, W., Lusk, C., ... Villar, R. (2004). The worldwide leaf economics spectrum. Nature, 428(6985), 821-827. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature02403

Wright, IJ, Reich, PB, Westoby, M, Ackerly, DD, Baruch, Z, Bongers, F, Cavender-Bares, J, Chapin, T, Cornellssen, JHC, Diemer, M, Flexas, J, Garnier, E, Groom, PK, Gulias, J, Hikosaka, K, Lamont, BB, Lee, T, Lee, W, Lusk, C, Midgley, JJ, Navas, ML, Niinemets, Ü, Oleksyn, J, Osada, H, Poorter, H, Pool, P, Prior, L, Pyankov, VI, Roumet, C, Thomas, SC, Tjoelker, MG, Veneklaas, EJ & Villar, R 2004, 'The worldwide leaf economics spectrum', Nature, vol. 428, no. 6985, pp. 821-827. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature02403

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abstract = "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 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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AU - Poorter, Hendrik

AU - Pool, Pleter

AU - Prior, Lynda

AU - Pyankov, Vladimir I.

AU - Roumet, Catherine

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The worldwide leaf economics spectrum

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