Changes in leaf stomatal traits of different aged temperate forest stands
Authors:Li, QianHou, JihuaHe, NianpengXu, LiZhang, Zihao
Source:JOURNAL OF FORESTRY RESEARCH
Volume:
DOI:10.1007/s11676-020-01135-5
Published:2020
Document Type:Article; Early Access
Abstract:Stomata control carbon and water vapor exchange between the leaves and the atmosphere, thus influencing photosynthesis and transpiration. Combinations of forest patches with different stand ages are common in nature, however, information of which stomatal traits vary among these stands and how, remains limited. Here, seven different aged forest stands (6, 14, 25, 36, 45, 55, and 100 years) were selected in typical temperate, mixed broadleaf-conifer forests of northeast China. Stomatal density, size and relative area of 624 species, including the same species in stands of different ages were selected. Stomatal density, size and relative area were distributed log-normally, differing across all species and plant functional groups. Stomatal density ranged from 4.2 to 1276.7 stomata mm(-2), stomatal size ranged from 66.6 to 8315.7 mu m(2), and stomatal relative area 0.1-93.3%. There was a significant negative relationship between density and size at the species and functional group levels, while the relative stomatal area was positively correlated with density and size. Stomatal traits of dominant species were relatively stable across different stand ages but were significantly different for herbs. The results suggest that stomatal traits remain relatively stable for dominant species in natural forests and therefore, spatial variation in stomatal traits across forest patches does not need to be incorporated in future ecological models.
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Corresponding Author:
Reprint Address:Hou, JH (corresponding author), Beijing Forestry Univ, Beijing Key Lab Forest Resources & Ecosyst Proc, Beijing 100083, Peoples R China.; Xu, L (corresponding author), Chinese Acad Sci, Inst Geog Sci & Nat Resources Res, Key Lab Ecosyst Network Observat & Modeling, Beijing 100101, Peoples R China.
Addresses:[Li, Qian; Hou, Jihua; Zhang, Zihao] Beijing Forestry Univ, Beijing Key Lab Forest Resources & Ecosyst Proc, Beijing 100083, Peoples R China. [He, Nianpeng; Xu, Li] Chinese Acad Sci, Inst Geog Sci & Nat Resources Res, Key Lab Ecosyst Network Observat & Modeling, Beijing 100101, Peoples R China. [He, Nianpeng] Univ Chinese Acad Sci, Coll Resources & Environm, Beijing, Peoples R China. [He, Nianpeng] Northeast Normal Univ, Key Lab Vegetat Ecol, Minist Educ, Changchun, Peoples R China.
E-mail Addresses:houjihua@bjfu.edu.cn; xuli@igsnrr.ac.cn