title: Global leaf trait relationships: mass, area, and the leaf economics spectrum.
abstract: The leaf economics spectrum (LES) describes multivariate correlations that constrain leaf traits of plant species primarily to a single axis of variation if data are normalized by leaf mass. We show that these traits are approximately distributed proportional to leaf area instead of mass, as expected for a light- and carbon dioxide-collecting organ. Much of the structure in the mass-normalized LES results from normalizing area-proportional traits by mass. Mass normalization induces strong correlations among area-proportional traits because of large variation among species in leaf mass per area (LMA). The high LMA variance likely reflects its functional relationship with leaf life span. A LES that is independent of mass- or area-normalization and LMA reveals physiological relationships that are inconsistent with those in global vegetation models designed to address climate change.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08542, USA. jldosnas@gmail.com
authors.forename: Jeanne L D
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Osnas
authors.forename: Jeremy W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Lichstein
authors.forename: Peter B
authors.initials: PB
authors.lastname: Reich
authors.forename: Stephen W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Pacala
mesh_terms: D002245:Carbon Dioxide / Q000378:metabolism; D008027:Light; D009929:Organ Size; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000528:radiation effects; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D002245:Carbon Dioxide