Seeing the canopy for the leaves – foliar functional traits covary with canopy leaf angle distribution.
Andrew Jablonski, University of Virginia, adj8sh@virginia.edu (Presenter)
Kristina J. Anderson-Teixeira, Smithsonian, teixeirak@si.edu
Manuel Lerdau, University of Virginia, mlerdau@virginia.edu
Carmen Petras, University of Virginia, cmp3smz@virginia.edu
Xi Yang, University of Virginia, xiyang@virginia.edu
Plant functional traits have been used to understand how plants acquire, process, and invest resources. For example, foliar functional traits such as leaf mass per unit area (LMA), photosynthetic capacity, and leaf nitrogen (Nmass) covary with each other across species, creating a coherent trait distribution spectrum of quick-return / short lifespan and slow-return / longer lifespan leaves. Recent studies have suggested that these tradeoffs in foliar traits may be coordinated with higher order structural traits, such as leaf angle distribution – an important control on light interception, carbon gain, and water loss, but there are limited data connecting foliar traits to higher levels of organization such as canopy structure.
We investigated the covariation between foliar traits and leaf angle distribution of broadleaf and coniferous trees. We combined multiple datasets collected between 2020 and 2022, from the mid-Atlantic and boreal forest regions. In total, foliar trait data, and three-dimensional (3D) canopy structure, measured with terrestrial laser scanning (TLS), were sampled from 91 individual trees across ten taxonomic families. We applied the TLSLeAF algorithm to each 3D tree reconstruction to derive estimates of leaf angle distribution. Top of canopy LMA varied more than tenfold (0.002 – 0.05 g cm-2), though Nmass ranged from 1 – 3%, and in a subset of our data, optically-retrieved chlorophyll and carotenoid content varied three-fold, from 29 – 67 ug cm-2 and 6 – 15 ug cm-2, respectively. Mean canopy leaf angle varied from 39° – 68° while the standard deviation in leaf angle ranged from 8° – 17°. Canopies with greater variation in leaf angle (e.g., larger standard deviations) had higher values of Nmass and foliar pigments. Our results demonstrate that leaf angle distribution correlates with trait variability and plant resource allocation across a broad range of taxa.
Poster: Poster_Jablonski_3-23_87_35.pdf
Associated Project(s):
Poster Location ID: 3-23
Presentation Type: Poster
Session: Poster Session 3
Session Date: Thu (May 11) 3:00-5:00 PM
CCE Program: BDEC