title: The 'plant economic spectrum' in bryophytes, a comparative study in subalpine forest.
abstract: Tradeoffs among functional traits of vascular plants are starting to be better understood, but it is unclear whether bryophytes possess similar tradeoffs or how trait relationships, or the 'economic spectrum', differ between the two groups.
  
  
  
  We determined functional-trait values [including shoot mass per area (SMA), light-saturated assimilation rate (Amass), dark respiration rate (Rdmass), N and P concentrations (Nmassand Pmass), and photosynthetic N and P use efficiency (PNUE and PPUE)] and their bivariate relationships for 28 bryophytes growing in a subalpine old-growth fir forest on the eastern Tibetan Plateau. Trait values and scaling relationships of these bryophytes were compared with data for vascular plant leaves from the Global Plant Trait Network (GLOPNET) dataset.
  
  
  
  We found that the Amass, Nmass, N:P, PNUE and PPUE of bryophyte shoots were lower than those of vascular plant leaves. In contrast, bryophytes possessed higher Pmassand the two groups had similar values of SMA and Rdmass. The Nmassand Pmasswere closely associated with Amassand Rdmass, and these traits were all significantly negatively related to SMA. Metabolic rates increased faster with nutrient concentrations in bryophytes than in vascular plants.
  
  
  
  Our research indicates that bryophytes have similar trait relationships as vascular plant leaves, although the slopes of the relationships differ for most trait combinations. This study confirms a functional-trait tradeoff in bryophytes, and reveals that bryophytes allocate greater proportions of N and P into the metabolic pools.
authors.affiliation: Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Key Laboratory of Mountain Ecological Restoration and Bioresource Utilization & Ecological Restoration and Biodiversity Conservation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041, China.|Ecological Plant Geography, Faculty of Geography, University of Marburg, Marburg 35032 Germany.
authors.forename: Zhe
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Key Laboratory of Mountain Ecological Restoration and Bioresource Utilization & Ecological Restoration and Biodiversity Conservation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041, China.
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Ecological Plant Geography, Faculty of Geography, University of Marburg, Marburg 35032 Germany.
authors.forename: Maaike Y
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Bader
authors.affiliation: Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Key Laboratory of Mountain Ecological Restoration and Bioresource Utilization & Ecological Restoration and Biodiversity Conservation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041, China.
authors.forename: Defeng
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.affiliation: Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Key Laboratory of Mountain Ecological Restoration and Bioresource Utilization & Ecological Restoration and Biodiversity Conservation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041, China baowk@cib.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Weikai
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Bao
mesh_terms: D000531:Altitude; D018533:Biomass; D044002:Bryophyta / Q000145:classification / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D017753:Ecosystem; D065928:Forests; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000378:metabolism*; D010758:Phosphorus / Q000378:metabolism*; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D018520:Plant Shoots / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D010944:Plants / Q000378:metabolism*; D013045:Species Specificity; D018609:Tibet
chemical_list: D010758:Phosphorus; D009584:Nitrogen
keywords: bryophyte; leaf economic spectrum; nutrient allocation pattern; plant functional traits; stoichiometry