Specific leaf area

Last updated

Specific leaf area (SLA) is the ratio of leaf area to leaf dry mass. [1] [2] [3] The inverse of SLA is Leaf Mass per Area (LMA).

Contents

Rationale

Specific leaf area is a ratio indicating how much leaf area a plant builds with a given amount of leaf biomass:

where A is the area of a given leaf or all leaves of a plant, and ML is the dry mass of those leaves. Typical units are m2 ·kg−1 or mm2 ·mg−1.

Leaf mass per area (LMA) is its inverse and can mathematically be decomposed in two component variables, leaf thickness (LTh) and leaf density (LD): [4]

Typical units are g.m−2 for LMA, µm for LTh and g.ml−1 for LD.

Both SLA and LMA are frequently used in plant ecology and biology. SLA is one of the components in plant growth analysis, and mathematically scales positively and linearly with the relative growth rate of a plant. LMA mathematically scales positively with the investments plants make per unit leaf area (amount of protein and cell wall; cell number per area) and with leaf longevity. Since linear, positive relationships are more easily analysed than inverse negative relationships, researchers often use either variable, depending on the type of questions asked.

Normal Ranges

Normal ranges of SLA and LMA are species-dependent and influenced by growth environment. Table 1 gives normal ranges (~10th and ~90th percentiles) for species growing in the field, for well-illuminated leaves. Aquatic plants generally have very low LMA values, with particularly low numbers reported for species such as Myriophyllum farwelli (2.8 g.m−2) [5] and Potamogeton perfoliatus (3.9 g. m−2). [6] Evergreen shrubs and Gymnosperm trees as well as succulents have particularly high LMA values, with highest values reported for Aloe saponaria (2010 g.m−2) and Agave deserti (2900 g.m−2). [7]

Table 1. Normal ranges of SLA and LMA for plant species growing in the field. [8]
SLA (m2 kg−1)LMA (g m−2)
Normal Rangelowhighlowhigh
Herbaceous

species

Aquatic plants15210465
Ferns10452095
Forbs83525130
Grasses43035225
Succulents21285510
Woody

species

Deciduous shrubs92735110
Deciduous woody species82540120
Evergreen shrubs21565380
Evergreen Angiosperm trees82340120
Evergreen Gymnosperm trees21190470

Application

Specific leaf area can be used to estimate the reproductive strategy of a particular plant based upon light and moisture (humidity) levels, among other factors. [9] Specific leaf area is one of the most widely accepted key leaf characteristics used during the study of leaf traits. [10] [11] [12] [13]

Changes in response to drought

Drought and water stress have varying effects on specific leaf area. In a variety of species, drought decreases specific leaf area. [14] [15] [16] For example, under drought conditions, leaves were, on average, smaller than leaves on control plants. [17] This is a logical observation, as a relative decrease in surface area would mean that there would be fewer ways for water to be lost. Species with typically low specific leaf area values are geared for the conservation of acquired resources, due to their large dry matter content, high concentrations of cell walls and secondary metabolites, and high leaf and root longevity. [18]

In some other species, such as Poplar trees, specific leaf area will decrease overall, but there will be an increase in specific leaf area until the leaf has reached its final size. After the final size has been reached, the specific leaf area will then begin decreasing. [19]

Other research has shown increasing specific leaf area values in plants under water limitation. An example of increasing specific leaf area values as a result of drought stress is the birch tree species. [20] Birch tree specific leaf area values significantly increased after two dry seasons, though the authors did note that, in typical cases, lowered specific leaf area values are seen as an adaptation to drought stress.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mycorrhiza</span> Fungus-plant symbiotic association

A mycorrhiza is a symbiotic association between a fungus and a plant. The term mycorrhiza refers to the role of the fungus in the plant's rhizosphere, its root system. Mycorrhizae play important roles in plant nutrition, soil biology, and soil chemistry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evergreen</span> Plant that has leaves in all seasons

In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage during the winter or dry season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mangrove</span> Shrub growing in brackish water

A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows mainly in coastal saline or brackish water. Mangroves grow in an equatorial climate, typically along coastlines and tidal rivers. They have special adaptations to take in extra oxygen and to remove salt, which allow them to tolerate conditions that would kill most plants. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evolution in several plant families. They occur worldwide in the tropics and subtropics and even some temperate coastal areas, mainly between latitudes 30° N and 30° S, with the greatest mangrove area within 5° of the equator. Mangrove plant families first appeared during the Late Cretaceous to Paleocene epochs, and became widely distributed in part due to the movement of tectonic plates. The oldest known fossils of mangrove palm date to 75 million years ago.

<i>Acer saccharum</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Sapindaceae

Acer saccharum, the sugar maple, is a species of flowering plant in the soapberry and lychee family Sapindaceae. It is native to the hardwood forests of eastern Canada and eastern United States. Sugar maple is best known for being the primary source of maple syrup and for its brightly colored fall foliage. It may also be known as "rock maple", "sugar tree", "birds-eye maple", "sweet maple", "curly maple", or "hard maple", particularly when referring to the wood.

Leaf area index (LAI) is a dimensionless quantity that characterizes plant canopies. It is defined as the one-sided green leaf area per unit ground surface area in broadleaf canopies. In conifers, three definitions for LAI have been used:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phenotypic plasticity</span> Trait change of an organism in response to environmental variation

Phenotypic plasticity refers to some of the changes in an organism's behavior, morphology and physiology in response to a unique environment. Fundamental to the way in which organisms cope with environmental variation, phenotypic plasticity encompasses all types of environmentally induced changes that may or may not be permanent throughout an individual's lifespan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plant defense against herbivory</span> Plants defenses against being eaten

Plant defense against herbivory or host-plant resistance (HPR) is a range of adaptations evolved by plants which improve their survival and reproduction by reducing the impact of herbivores. Plants can sense being touched, and they can use several strategies to defend against damage caused by herbivores. Many plants produce secondary metabolites, known as allelochemicals, that influence the behavior, growth, or survival of herbivores. These chemical defenses can act as repellents or toxins to herbivores or reduce plant digestibility. Another defensive strategy of plants is changing their attractiveness. To prevent overconsumption by large herbivores, plants alter their appearance by changing their size or quality, reducing the rate at which they are consumed.

Ecophysiology, environmental physiology or physiological ecology is a biological discipline that studies the response of an organism's physiology to environmental conditions. It is closely related to comparative physiology and evolutionary physiology. Ernst Haeckel's coinage bionomy is sometimes employed as a synonym.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Effects of climate change on plant biodiversity</span>

The history of life on Earth is closely associated with environmental change on multiple spatial and temporal scales. Climate change is a long-term change in the average weather patterns that have come to define Earth’s local, regional and global climates. These changes have a broad range of observed effects that are synonymous with the term. Climate change is any significant long term change in the expected pattern, whether due to natural variability or as a result of human activity. Predicting the effects that climate change will have on plant biodiversity can be achieved using various models, however bioclimatic models are most commonly used.

Joy K. Ward is a leading evolutionary biologist studying the impact of the environment on plants and ecosystems. She began a new role as the dean of the College of Arts & Sciences at Case Western Reserve University on July 1, 2020 - leaving behind her professorship at the University of Kansas. Her research on plant life has gained her notoriety in many scientific research fields. Aside from her work in the lab, she is also a strong advocate for advancing underrepresented communities' scientific learning and careers. As part of her deanship at the University of Kansas, Ward was an important factor in increasing the number of underrepresented individuals who held faculty positions in STEM subjects. Notably, as a result of her research efforts, she was awarded the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers by U.S. President Barack Obama.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Photosynthesis system</span>

Photosynthesis systems are electronic scientific instruments designed for non-destructive measurement of photosynthetic rates in the field. Photosynthesis systems are commonly used in agronomic and environmental research, as well as studies of the global carbon cycle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ectomycorrhiza</span> Non-penetrative symbiotic association between a fungus and the roots of a vascular plant

An ectomycorrhiza is a form of symbiotic relationship that occurs between a fungal symbiont, or mycobiont, and the roots of various plant species. The mycobiont is often from the phyla Basidiomycota and Ascomycota, and more rarely from the Zygomycota. Ectomycorrhizas form on the roots of around 2% of plant species, usually woody plants, including species from the birch, dipterocarp, myrtle, beech, willow, pine and rose families. Research on ectomycorrhizas is increasingly important in areas such as ecosystem management and restoration, forestry and agriculture.

Biomass partitioning is the process by which plants divide their energy among their leaves, stems, roots, and reproductive parts. These four main components of the plant have important morphological roles: leaves take in CO2 and energy from the sun to create carbon compounds, stems grow above competitors to reach sunlight, roots absorb water and mineral nutrients from the soil while anchoring the plant, and reproductive parts facilitate the continuation of species. Plants partition biomass in response to limits or excesses in resources like sunlight, carbon dioxide, mineral nutrients, and water and growth is regulated by a constant balance between the partitioning of biomass between plant parts. An equilibrium between root and shoot growth occurs because roots need carbon compounds from photosynthesis in the shoot and shoots need nitrogen absorbed from the soil by roots. Allocation of biomass is put towards the limit to growth; a limit below ground will focus biomass to the roots and a limit above ground will favor more growth in the shoot.

Daily light integral (DLI) describes the number of photosynthetically active photons that are delivered to a specific area over a 24-hour period. This variable is particularly useful to describe the light environment of plants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ectomycorrhizal extramatrical mycelium</span>

Ectomycorrhizal extramatrical mycelium is the collection of filamentous fungal hyphae emanating from ectomycorrhizas. It may be composed of fine, hydrophilic hypha which branches frequently to explore and exploit the soil matrix or may aggregate to form rhizomorphs; highly differentiated, hydrophobic, enduring, transport structures.

Plant strategies include mechanisms and responses plants use to reproduce, defend, survive, and compete on the landscape. The term “plant strategy” has existed in the literature since at least 1965, however multiple definitions exist. Strategies have been classified as adaptive strategies, reproductive strategies, resource allocation strategies, ecological strategies, and functional trait based strategies, to name a few. While numerous strategies exist, one underlying theme is constant: plants must make trade-offs when responding to their environment. These trade-offs and responses lay the groundwork for classifying the strategies that emerge.

Construction costs is a concept in biology that conveys how much glucose is required to construct a unit of plant biomass, given the biosynthetic pathways and starting from glucose and mineral constituents. It includes the sugars required to provide the carbon skeletons for the formation of e.g. lipids, lignin and proteins, but also the glucose required to produce energy (ATP) and reducing power to drive the metabolic pathways.

Biomass allocation is a concept in plant biology which indicates the relative proportion of plant biomass present in the different organs of a plant. It can also be used for whole plant communities.

Plant growth analysis refers to a set of concepts and equations by which changes in size of plants over time can be summarised and dissected in component variables. It is often applied in the analysis of growth of individual plants, but can also be used in a situation where crop growth is followed over time.

Plant density is the number of individual plants present per unit of ground area. It is most easily interpreted in the case of monospecific stands, where all plants belong to the same species and have germinated at the same time. However, it could also indicate the number of individual plants found at a given location.

References

  1. ↑ Vile, D.; Garnier, E; Shipley, B; Laurent, G; Navas, ML; Roumet, C; Lavorel, S; Díaz, S; et al. (2005). "Specific Leaf Area and Dry Matter Content Estimate Thickness in Laminar Leaves". Annals of Botany. 96 (6): 1129–1136. doi:10.1093/aob/mci264. PMC   4247101 . PMID   16159941.
  2. ↑ "Specific leaf area and leaf dry matter content of plants growing in sand dunes". Ejournal.sinica.edu.tw. Retrieved 2010-08-08.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  3. ↑ "Varietal differences in specific leaf area: a common physiological determinant of tillering ability and early growth vigor ? - Publications des agents du Cirad". Publications.cirad.fr. Retrieved 2010-08-08.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  4. ↑ Witkowski, E. T. F.; Lamont, Byron B. (1991-12-01). "Leaf specific mass confounds leaf density and thickness". Oecologia. 88 (4): 486–493. Bibcode:1991Oecol..88..486W. doi:10.1007/BF00317710. ISSN   1432-1939. PMID   28312617. S2CID   23909271.
  5. ↑ Gerber, D. Timothy; Les, Donald H. (1994). "Comparison of leaf morphology among submersed species of Myriophyllum (Haloragaceae) from different habitats and geographical distributions". American Journal of Botany. 81 (8): 973–979. doi:10.1002/j.1537-2197.1994.tb15584.x. ISSN   1537-2197.
  6. ↑ Neundorfer, JV; Kemp, WM (1993). "Nitrogen versus phosphorus enrichment of brackish waters: responses of the submersed plant Potamogeton perfoliatus and its associated algal community". Marine Ecology Progress Series. 94: 71–82. Bibcode:1993MEPS...94...71N. doi: 10.3354/meps094071 . ISSN   0171-8630.
  7. ↑ Turner, Neil C, editor literario. Kramer, Paul Jackson, editor literario. (1980). Adaptation of plants to water and high temperature stress. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN   0471053724. OCLC   932308683.{{cite book}}: |last= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  8. ↑ Poorter, Hendrik; Niinemets, Ülo; Poorter, Lourens; Wright, Ian J.; Villar, Rafael (2009). "Causes and consequences of variation in leaf mass per area (LMA): a meta-analysis". New Phytologist. 182 (3): 565–588. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-8137.2009.02830.x . ISSN   1469-8137. PMID   19434804. S2CID   6350349.
  9. ↑ Milla, R.; Reich P. B. (4 Apr 2008). "Environmental and developmental controls on specific leaf area are little modified by leaf allometry". Functional Ecology. 22 (4): 565–576. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2435.2008.01406.x .
  10. ↑ Freschet G.T., Dias A.T.C., Ackerly D.D., Aerts R., van Bodegom P.M., Cornwell W.K., Dong M., Kurokawa H., Liu G., Onipchenko V.G., Ordoñez J.C., Peltzer D.A., Richardson S.J., Shidakov I.I., Soudzilovskaia N.A., Tao J. & Cornelissen J.H.C. (2011). Global to community scale differences in the prevalence of convergent over divergent leaf trait distributions in plant assemblages. Global Ecology and Biogeography, no-no.
  11. ↑ Hoffmann, W.A.; Franco, A.C.; Moreira, M.Z.; Haridasan, M. (2005). "Specific leaf area explains differences in leaf traits between congeneric savanna and forest trees". Functional Ecology. 19 (6): 932–940. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2435.2005.01045.x . S2CID   24617364.
  12. ↑ Kraft, N.J.B.; Valencia, R.; Ackerly, D.D. (2008). "Functional traits and niche-based tree community assembly in an amazonian forest". Science. 322 (5901): 580–582. Bibcode:2008Sci...322..580K. doi:10.1126/science.1160662. PMID   18948539. S2CID   18150107.
  13. ↑ Wright, I.J.; Reich, P.B.; Westoby, M.; Ackerly, D.D.; Baruch, Z.; Bongers, F.; Cavender-Bares, J.; Chapin, T.; Cornelissen, 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.; Midgley, J.J.; Navas, M.-L.; Niinemets, Ü.; Oleksyn, J.; Osada, N.; Poorter, H.; Poot, P.; Prior, L.; Pyankov, V.I.; Roumet, C.; Thomas, S.C.; Tjoelker, M.G.; Veneklass, E.J.; Villar, R. (2004). "The worldwide leaf economics spectrum". Nature. 428 (6985): 821–827. Bibcode:2004Natur.428..821W. doi:10.1038/nature02403. hdl: 11299/176900 . PMID   15103368. S2CID   4326028.
  14. ↑ Casper, B. B.; Forseth, I. N.; Kempenich, H.; Seltzer, S.; Xavier, K. (2001). "Drought prolongs leaf life span in the herbaceous desert perennial Cryptantha flava". Functional Ecology. 15 (6): 740–747. doi: 10.1046/j.0269-8463.2001.00583.x . S2CID   85582412.
  15. ↑ Marron, N.; Dreyer, E.; Boudouresque, E.; Delay, D.; Petit, J.-M.; Delmotte, F. M.; Brignolas, F. (2003). "Impact of successive drought and re-watering cycles on growth and specific leaf area of two Populus canadensis (Moench) clones,"Dorskamp"and "Luisa_Avanzo"". Tree Physiology. 23 (18): 1225–1235. doi: 10.1093/treephys/23.18.1225 . PMID   14652222.
  16. ↑ Laureano, R. G.; Lazo, Y. O.; Linares, J. C.; Luque, A.; Martínez, F.; Seco, J. I.; Merino, J. (2008). "The cost of stress resistance: construction and maintenance costs of leaves and roots in two populations of Quercus ilex". Tree Physiology. 28 (11): 1721–1728. doi: 10.1093/treephys/28.11.1721 . PMID   18765377.
  17. ↑ Casper, B. B.; Forseth, I. N.; Kempenich, H.; Seltzer, S.; Xavier, K. (2001). "Drought prolongs leaf life span in the herbaceous desert perennial Cryptantha flava". Functional Ecology. 15 (6): 740–747. doi: 10.1046/j.0269-8463.2001.00583.x . S2CID   85582412.
  18. ↑ Marron, N.; Dreyer, E.; Boudouresque, E.; Delay, D.; Petit, J.-M.; Delmotte, F. M.; Brignolas, F. (2003). "Impact of successive drought and re-watering cycles on growth and specific leaf area of two Populus canadensis (Moench) clones,"Dorskamp"and "Luisa_Avanzo"". Tree Physiology. 23 (18): 1225–1235. doi: 10.1093/treephys/23.18.1225 . PMID   14652222.
  19. ↑ Marron, N.; Dreyer, E.; Boudouresque, E.; Delay, D.; Petit, J.-M.; Delmotte, F. M.; Brignolas, F. (2003). "Impact of successive drought and re-watering cycles on growth and specific leaf area of two Populus canadensis (Moench) clones,"Dorskamp"and "Luisa_Avanzo"". Tree Physiology. 23 (18): 1225–1235. doi: 10.1093/treephys/23.18.1225 . PMID   14652222.
  20. ↑ Aspelmeier, S.; Leuschner, C. (2006). "Genotypic variation in drought response of silver birch (Betula pendula Roth): leaf and root morphology and carbon partitioning". Trees. 20: 42–52. doi:10.1007/s00468-005-0011-9. S2CID   39622078.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.