Articles | Volume 12, issue 18
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-5339-2015
© Author(s) 2015. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-5339-2015
© Author(s) 2015. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Research article
| 
17 Sep 2015
Research article |
| 17 Sep 2015
Responses of leaf traits to climatic gradients: adaptive variation versus compositional shifts
T.-T. Meng
Beijing Enterprises Water Group Limited, Beijing, China
Beijing Beihuaqingchuang Environmental Science and Technology Co., Ltd., Beijing, China
State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing, China
State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, College of Forestry, Northwest Agriculture & Forestry University, Yangling, China
Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
S. P. Harrison
Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
Centre for Past Climate Change and School of Archaeology, Geography and Environmental Science (SAGES), University of Reading, Whiteknights, Reading, UK
I. C. Prentice
State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, College of Forestry, Northwest Agriculture & Forestry University, Yangling, China
Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
AXA Chair in Biosphere and Climate Impacts, Grand Challenges in Ecosystems and the Environment and Grantham Institute – Climate Change and the Environment, Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Silwood Park Campus, Ascot, UK
State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing, China
State Key Laboratory of Environmental Geochemistry, Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Science, Guiyang, China
Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Potsdam, Germany
G. Wang
State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing, China
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Cited
49 citations as recorded by crossref.
- Response of leaf traits of common plants in alpine meadow to plateau pika disturbance X. Pang & Z. Guo 10.1071/RJ17089
- Components of leaf‐trait variation along environmental gradients N. Dong et al. 10.1111/nph.16558
- Timely estimation of leaf chlorophyll fluorescence parameters under varying light regimes by coupling light drivers to leaf traits G. Song et al. 10.1111/ppl.14048
- Foliar pH, an emerging plant functional trait: Biogeography and variability across northern China S. Liu et al. 10.1111/geb.12860
- Species diversity and ecological strategies shifted in degraded alpine grasslands: insights from the Yellow River source region X. Zhan et al. 10.1016/j.agee.2025.109888
- Climate, Life Form and Family Jointly Control Variation of Leaf Traits H. Zhang et al. 10.3390/plants8080286
- Evaluating Sorghum bicolor resistance to Solidago canadensis invasion under different nitrogen scenarios M. Anas et al. 10.3389/fpls.2024.1468816
- Taxonomic diversity masks leaf vein–climate relationships: lessons from herbarium collections across a latitudinal rainfall gradient in West Africa J. Schneider et al. 10.1080/23818107.2017.1421480
- Warming Change Nutritional Status and Improve Stylosanthes capitata Vogel Growth Only Under Well-Watered Conditions R. Barreto et al. 10.1007/s42729-020-00255-5
- Shifts in Plant Community Assembly Processes across Growth Forms along a Habitat Severity Gradient: A Test of the Plant Functional Trait Approach J. Xu et al. 10.3389/fpls.2018.00180
- Variation in leaf traits across a precipitation gradient in coastal sand dunes in Yucatan Peninsula M. Munguía-Rosas et al. 10.1016/j.jaridenv.2018.12.001
- Eco‐evolutionary optimality as a means to improve vegetation and land‐surface models S. Harrison et al. 10.1111/nph.17558
- Consistent Temperature-Dependent Patterns of Leaf Lifespan Across Spatial and Temporal Gradients for Deciduous Trees in Europe X. Xia et al. 10.2139/ssrn.3973930
- Leaf nitrogen from first principles: field evidence for adaptive variation with climate N. Dong et al. 10.5194/bg-14-481-2017
- Disturbance sensitivity shapes patterns of tree species distribution in Afrotropical lowland rainforests more than climate or soil C. Núñez et al. 10.1002/ece3.11329
- Simple process-led algorithms for simulating habitats (SPLASH v.1.0): robust indices of radiation, evapotranspiration and plant-available moisture T. Davis et al. 10.5194/gmd-10-689-2017
- Predictability of leaf traits with climate and elevation: a case study in Gongga Mountain, China H. Xu et al. 10.1093/treephys/tpab003
- Simulated annual changes in plant functional types and their responses to climate change on the northern Tibetan Plateau L. Cuo et al. 10.5194/bg-13-3533-2016
- The role of spatiotemporal plant trait variability in model predictions of ecohydrological responses to climate change in a desert shrubland S. Liu & G. Ng 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2020.125088
- Principles for satellite monitoring of vegetation carbon uptake I. Prentice et al. 10.1038/s43017-024-00601-6
- Potential and limitations of inferring ecosystem photosynthetic capacity from leaf functional traits T. Musavi et al. 10.1002/ece3.2479
- Towards a New Generation of Trait-Flexible Vegetation Models F. Berzaghi et al. 10.1016/j.tree.2019.11.006
- Environmental Gradients and Vegetation Types Alter the Effects of Leaf Traits on the Dominance of Woody Angiosperm Species J. Zhou et al. 10.3390/f14050866
- Polyploidy and the relationship between leaf structure and function: implications for correlated evolution of anatomy, morphology, and physiology in Brassica R. Baker et al. 10.1186/s12870-016-0957-3
- Response of Leaf Traits of Eastern Qinghai-Tibetan Broad-Leaved Woody Plants to Climatic Factors X. Kang et al. 10.3389/fpls.2021.679726
- Functional traits patterns along an altitudinal gradient in a large tropical forest region N. Silva et al. 10.1016/j.flora.2023.152403
- Experimental evaluation of the robustness of the growth–stress tolerance trade‐off within the perennial grass Dactylis glomerata P. Bristiel et al. 10.1111/1365-2435.13112
- Taxonomic and ecological relevance of the chlorophyll a fluorescence signature of tree species in mixed European forests M. Pollastrini et al. 10.1111/nph.14026
- Intraspecific differences in leaf chemical traits from five common evergreen species in contrasting climate conditions (temperature and precipitation) from northern Patagonian rainforest (42–44°S) C. Cerda-Peña et al. 10.1007/s11104-023-06244-8
- Soil–climate interactions explain variation in foliar, stem, root and reproductive traits across temperate forests A. Simpson et al. 10.1111/geb.12457
- Estimation of six leaf traits of East Asian forest tree species by leaf spectroscopy and partial least square regression T. Nakaji et al. 10.1016/j.rse.2019.111381
- Leaf morphological traits as adaptations to multiple climate gradients H. Wang et al. 10.1111/1365-2745.13873
- A machine learning approach targeting parameter estimation for plant functional type coexistence modeling using ELM-FATES (v2.0) L. Li et al. 10.5194/gmd-16-4017-2023
- The global spectrum of plant form and function: enhanced species-level trait dataset S. Díaz et al. 10.1038/s41597-022-01774-9
- Quantifying leaf‐trait covariation and its controls across climates and biomes Y. Yang et al. 10.1111/nph.15422
- Climatic and soil factors explain the two-dimensional spectrum of global plant trait variation J. Joswig et al. 10.1038/s41559-021-01616-8
- Plant's‐eye view of temperature governs elevational distributions P. Liancourt et al. 10.1111/gcb.15129
- Ecological uniqueness and the determinants in arid desert ecosystems of Northwest China H. Wang et al. 10.1016/j.gecco.2022.e02005
- Climate-trait relationships exhibit strong habitat specificity in plant communities across Europe S. Kambach et al. 10.1038/s41467-023-36240-6
- Functional trait variation related to gap dynamics in tropical moist forests: A vegetation modelling perspective H. Togashi et al. 10.1016/j.ppees.2018.10.004
- Leaf carbon and nitrogen stoichiometric variation along environmental gradients H. Xu et al. 10.5194/bg-20-4511-2023
- Consistent temperature-dependent patterns of leaf lifespan across spatial and temporal gradients for deciduous trees in Europe X. Xia et al. 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.153175
- Robust leaf trait relationships across species under global environmental changes E. Cui et al. 10.1038/s41467-020-16839-9
- Elevated [CO2] and warming increase the macronutrient use efficiency and biomass of Stylosanthes capitata Vogel under field conditions J. Carvalho et al. 10.1111/jac.12398
- Elevated CO2 and warming change the nutrient status and use efficiency of Panicum maximum Jacq J. Carvalho et al. 10.1371/journal.pone.0223937
- Organizing principles for vegetation dynamics O. Franklin et al. 10.1038/s41477-020-0655-x
- The China plant trait database version 2 H. Wang et al. 10.1038/s41597-022-01884-4
- TiP-Leaf: a dataset of leaf traits across vegetation types on the Tibetan Plateau Y. Jin et al. 10.5194/essd-15-25-2023
- Leaf traits divergence and correlations of woody plants among the three plant functional types on the eastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, China H. Xing et al. 10.3389/fpls.2023.1128227
48 citations as recorded by crossref.
- Response of leaf traits of common plants in alpine meadow to plateau pika disturbance X. Pang & Z. Guo 10.1071/RJ17089
- Components of leaf‐trait variation along environmental gradients N. Dong et al. 10.1111/nph.16558
- Timely estimation of leaf chlorophyll fluorescence parameters under varying light regimes by coupling light drivers to leaf traits G. Song et al. 10.1111/ppl.14048
- Foliar pH, an emerging plant functional trait: Biogeography and variability across northern China S. Liu et al. 10.1111/geb.12860
- Species diversity and ecological strategies shifted in degraded alpine grasslands: insights from the Yellow River source region X. Zhan et al. 10.1016/j.agee.2025.109888
- Climate, Life Form and Family Jointly Control Variation of Leaf Traits H. Zhang et al. 10.3390/plants8080286
- Evaluating Sorghum bicolor resistance to Solidago canadensis invasion under different nitrogen scenarios M. Anas et al. 10.3389/fpls.2024.1468816
- Taxonomic diversity masks leaf vein–climate relationships: lessons from herbarium collections across a latitudinal rainfall gradient in West Africa J. Schneider et al. 10.1080/23818107.2017.1421480
- Warming Change Nutritional Status and Improve Stylosanthes capitata Vogel Growth Only Under Well-Watered Conditions R. Barreto et al. 10.1007/s42729-020-00255-5
- Shifts in Plant Community Assembly Processes across Growth Forms along a Habitat Severity Gradient: A Test of the Plant Functional Trait Approach J. Xu et al. 10.3389/fpls.2018.00180
- Variation in leaf traits across a precipitation gradient in coastal sand dunes in Yucatan Peninsula M. Munguía-Rosas et al. 10.1016/j.jaridenv.2018.12.001
- Eco‐evolutionary optimality as a means to improve vegetation and land‐surface models S. Harrison et al. 10.1111/nph.17558
- Consistent Temperature-Dependent Patterns of Leaf Lifespan Across Spatial and Temporal Gradients for Deciduous Trees in Europe X. Xia et al. 10.2139/ssrn.3973930
- Leaf nitrogen from first principles: field evidence for adaptive variation with climate N. Dong et al. 10.5194/bg-14-481-2017
- Disturbance sensitivity shapes patterns of tree species distribution in Afrotropical lowland rainforests more than climate or soil C. Núñez et al. 10.1002/ece3.11329
- Simple process-led algorithms for simulating habitats (SPLASH v.1.0): robust indices of radiation, evapotranspiration and plant-available moisture T. Davis et al. 10.5194/gmd-10-689-2017
- Predictability of leaf traits with climate and elevation: a case study in Gongga Mountain, China H. Xu et al. 10.1093/treephys/tpab003
- Simulated annual changes in plant functional types and their responses to climate change on the northern Tibetan Plateau L. Cuo et al. 10.5194/bg-13-3533-2016
- The role of spatiotemporal plant trait variability in model predictions of ecohydrological responses to climate change in a desert shrubland S. Liu & G. Ng 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2020.125088
- Principles for satellite monitoring of vegetation carbon uptake I. Prentice et al. 10.1038/s43017-024-00601-6
- Potential and limitations of inferring ecosystem photosynthetic capacity from leaf functional traits T. Musavi et al. 10.1002/ece3.2479
- Towards a New Generation of Trait-Flexible Vegetation Models F. Berzaghi et al. 10.1016/j.tree.2019.11.006
- Environmental Gradients and Vegetation Types Alter the Effects of Leaf Traits on the Dominance of Woody Angiosperm Species J. Zhou et al. 10.3390/f14050866
- Polyploidy and the relationship between leaf structure and function: implications for correlated evolution of anatomy, morphology, and physiology in Brassica R. Baker et al. 10.1186/s12870-016-0957-3
- Response of Leaf Traits of Eastern Qinghai-Tibetan Broad-Leaved Woody Plants to Climatic Factors X. Kang et al. 10.3389/fpls.2021.679726
- Functional traits patterns along an altitudinal gradient in a large tropical forest region N. Silva et al. 10.1016/j.flora.2023.152403
- Experimental evaluation of the robustness of the growth–stress tolerance trade‐off within the perennial grass Dactylis glomerata P. Bristiel et al. 10.1111/1365-2435.13112
- Taxonomic and ecological relevance of the chlorophyll a fluorescence signature of tree species in mixed European forests M. Pollastrini et al. 10.1111/nph.14026
- Intraspecific differences in leaf chemical traits from five common evergreen species in contrasting climate conditions (temperature and precipitation) from northern Patagonian rainforest (42–44°S) C. Cerda-Peña et al. 10.1007/s11104-023-06244-8
- Soil–climate interactions explain variation in foliar, stem, root and reproductive traits across temperate forests A. Simpson et al. 10.1111/geb.12457
- Estimation of six leaf traits of East Asian forest tree species by leaf spectroscopy and partial least square regression T. Nakaji et al. 10.1016/j.rse.2019.111381
- Leaf morphological traits as adaptations to multiple climate gradients H. Wang et al. 10.1111/1365-2745.13873
- A machine learning approach targeting parameter estimation for plant functional type coexistence modeling using ELM-FATES (v2.0) L. Li et al. 10.5194/gmd-16-4017-2023
- The global spectrum of plant form and function: enhanced species-level trait dataset S. Díaz et al. 10.1038/s41597-022-01774-9
- Quantifying leaf‐trait covariation and its controls across climates and biomes Y. Yang et al. 10.1111/nph.15422
- Climatic and soil factors explain the two-dimensional spectrum of global plant trait variation J. Joswig et al. 10.1038/s41559-021-01616-8
- Plant's‐eye view of temperature governs elevational distributions P. Liancourt et al. 10.1111/gcb.15129
- Ecological uniqueness and the determinants in arid desert ecosystems of Northwest China H. Wang et al. 10.1016/j.gecco.2022.e02005
- Climate-trait relationships exhibit strong habitat specificity in plant communities across Europe S. Kambach et al. 10.1038/s41467-023-36240-6
- Functional trait variation related to gap dynamics in tropical moist forests: A vegetation modelling perspective H. Togashi et al. 10.1016/j.ppees.2018.10.004
- Leaf carbon and nitrogen stoichiometric variation along environmental gradients H. Xu et al. 10.5194/bg-20-4511-2023
- Consistent temperature-dependent patterns of leaf lifespan across spatial and temporal gradients for deciduous trees in Europe X. Xia et al. 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.153175
- Robust leaf trait relationships across species under global environmental changes E. Cui et al. 10.1038/s41467-020-16839-9
- Elevated [CO2] and warming increase the macronutrient use efficiency and biomass of Stylosanthes capitata Vogel under field conditions J. Carvalho et al. 10.1111/jac.12398
- Elevated CO2 and warming change the nutrient status and use efficiency of Panicum maximum Jacq J. Carvalho et al. 10.1371/journal.pone.0223937
- Organizing principles for vegetation dynamics O. Franklin et al. 10.1038/s41477-020-0655-x
- The China plant trait database version 2 H. Wang et al. 10.1038/s41597-022-01884-4
- TiP-Leaf: a dataset of leaf traits across vegetation types on the Tibetan Plateau Y. Jin et al. 10.5194/essd-15-25-2023
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Latest update: 07 Sep 2025
Short summary
By analysing the quantitative leaf-traits along extensive temperature and moisture gradients with generalized linear models, we found that metabolism-related traits are universally acclimated to environmental conditions, rather than being fixed within plant functional types. The results strongly support a move towards Dynamic Global Vegetation Models in which continuous, adaptive trait variation provides the fundamental mechanism for changes in ecosystem properties along environmental gradients.
By analysing the quantitative leaf-traits along extensive temperature and moisture gradients...
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