Leaf pH as a plant trait: Species-driven rather than soil-driven variation

Functional Ecology

Volumn 25, Issue 3, 2011, Pages 449-455

  Cornelissen, Johannes H C ^a   Sibma, Florus ^a   Van Logtestijn, Richard S P ^a   Broekman, Rob A ^a   Thompson, Ken ^b  

^a VU UNIVERSITY AMSTERDAM   (Netherlands)

^b UNIVERSITY OF SHEFFIELD   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

Calcium; Interspecific variation; Intraspecific variation; Leaf acidity; Leaf chemistry; Phenotypic plasticity; Soil pH

Indexed keywords

ACIDITY; ADAPTATION; CALCIUM; COHORT ANALYSIS; FUNCTIONAL CHANGE; HERB; HYPOTHESIS TESTING; INTERSPECIFIC VARIATION; INTRASPECIFIC VARIATION; PH; PHENOTYPIC PLASTICITY; SOIL TYPE;

EID: 79955514947     PISSN: 02698463     EISSN: 13652435     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2435.2010.01765.x     Document Type: Article

References (37)

1. Chapin, F.S., III, Walker, B.H., Hobbs, R.J., Hooper, D.U., Lawton, J.H., Sala, O.E. & Tilman, D. (1997) Biotic control over the functioning of ecosystems. Science, 277, 500-504.
2. Cornelissen, J.H.C. & Thompson, K. (1997) Functional leaf attributes predict litter decomposition rate in herbaceous plants. New Phytologist, 135, 109-114.
3. Cornelissen, J.H.C., Lavorel, S., Garnier Diaz, E.S., Buchmann, N., Gurvich, D.E., Reich, P.B., Steege, H.T.E.R., Morgan, H.D., Van Der Heijden, M.G.A., Pausas, J.G. & Poorter, H. (2003) A handbook of protocols for standardised and easy measurement of plant functional traits worldwide. Australian Journal of Botany, 51, 335-380.
4. Cornelissen, J.H.C., Quested, H.M., Van Logtestijn, R.S.P., Pérez-Harguindeguy, N., Gwynn-Jones, D., Díaz, S., Callaghan, T.V., Press, M.C. & Aerts, R. (2006) Foliar pH as a new plant trait: can it explain variation in foliar chemistry and carbon cycling processes among subarctic plant species and types? Oecologia, 147, 315-326.
5. Cornwell, W.K., Cornelissen, J.H.C., Amatangelo, K., Dorrepaal, E., Eviner, V.T., Godoy, O., Hobbie, S.E., Hoorens, B., Kurokawa, H., Pérez-Harguindeguy, N., Quested, H.M., Santiago, L.S., Wardle, D.A., Wright, I.J., Aerts, R., Allison, S.D., Van Bodegom, P.M., Brovkin, V., Chatain, A., Callaghan, T.V., Díaz, S., Garnier, E., Gurvich, D.E., Kazakou, E., Klein, J.A., Read, J., Reich, P.B., Soudzilovskaia, N.A., Vaieretti, M.V. & Westoby, M. (2008) Plant species traits are the predominant control on litter decomposition rates within biomes worldwide. Ecology Letters, 11, 1065-1071.
6. Craine, J.M., Tilman, D., Wedin, D., Reich, P., Tjoelker, M. & Knops, J. (2002) Functional traits, productivity and effects on nitrogen cycling of 33 grassland species. Functional Ecology, 16, 563-574.
7. Diaz, S., Lavorel, S., De Bello, F., Quetier, F., Grigulis, K. & Robson, M. (2007) Incorporating plant functional diversity effects in ecosystem service assessments. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 104, 20684-20689.
8. Díaz, S., Hodgson, J.G., Thompson, K., Cabido, M., Cornelissen, J.H.C., Jalili, A., Montserrat-Martí, G., Grime, J.P., Asri, Y., Band, S.R., Basconcelo, S., Castro-Díez, P., Funes, G., Hamzehee, B., Khoshnevis, M., Pérez-Harguindeguy, N., Pérez-Rontomé, M.C., Shirvany, F.A., Vendramini, F., Yazdani, S., Zarrinkamar, F., Abbas-Azimi, R., Bogard, A., Boustani, S., Charles, M., Dehghan, M., Hynd, A., Jones, G., Kazemi-Saeed, F., Kowsary, E., Siavash, B. & Zak, M.R. (2004) The plant traits that drive ecosystems: evidence from three continents. Journal of Vegetation Science, 15, 295-304.
9. Eviner, V.T. & Chapin, F.S., III (2003) Functional matrix: a conceptual framework for predicting multiple plant effects on ecosystem processes. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics, 34, 455-485.
10. Farley, K.A., Jobbagy, E.G. & Jackson, R.B. (2005) Effects of afforestation on water yield: a global synthesis with implications for policy. Global Change Biology, 11, 1565-1576.
11. Finzi, A.C., Canham, C.D. & van Breemen, N. (1998) Canopy tree-soil interactions within temperate forests: species effects on pH and cations. Ecological Applications, 8, 447-454.
12. Freschet, G.T., Cornelissen, J.H.C., van Logtestijn, R.S.P. & Aerts, R. (2010) Evidence of the 'plant economics spectrum' in a subarctic flora. Journal of Ecology, 98, 362-373.
13. Grime, J.P. (2001) Plant Strategies, Vegetation Processes, and Ecosystem Properties, 2nd edn. John Wiley & Sons, Chichester, UK.
14. Grime, J.P., Hodgson, J.G. & Hunt, R. (2007) Comparative Plant Ecology: A Functional Approach to Common British Species, 2nd edn. Castlepoint Press, Colvend, UK.
15. Grime, J.P., Thompson, K., Hunt, R., Hodgson, J.G., Cornelissen, J.H.C., Rorison, I.H., Hendry, G.A.F., Ashenden, T.W., Askew, A.P., Band, S.R., Booth, R.E., Bossard, C.C., Campbell, B.D., Cooper, J.E.L., Davison, A.W., Gupta, P.L., Hall, W., Hand, D.W., Hannah, M.A., Hillier, S.H., Hodkinson, D.J., Jalili, A., Liu, Z., Mackey, J.M.L., Matthews, N., Mowforth, M.A., Neal, A.M., Reader, R.J., Reiling, K., Ross-Fraser, W., Spencer, R.E., Sutton, F., Tasker, D.E., Thorpe, P.C. & Whitehouse, J. (1997) Integrated screening validates primary axes of specialisation in plants. Oikos, 79, 259-281.
16. Grubb, P.J., Green, H.E. & Merrifield, R.C.J. (1969) The ecology of chalk heath: its relevance to the calcifuge-calcicole and soil acidification problem. Journal of Ecology, 57, 175-211.
17. Hättenschwiler, S. & Vitousek, P.M. (2000) The role of polyphenols in terrestrial ecosystem nutrient cycling. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 5, 238-243.
18. Hobbie, S.E. (1992) Effects of plant species on nutrient cycling. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 7, 336-339.
19. Hooper, D.U., Chapin, F.S., Ewel, J.J., Hector, A., Inchausti, P., Lavorel, S., Lawton, J.H., Lodge, D.M., Loreau, M., Naeem, S., Schmid, B., Setala, H., Symstad, A.J., Vandermeer, J. & Wardle, D.A. (2005) Effects of biodiversity on ecosystem functioning: a consensus of current knowledge. Ecological Monographs, 75, 3-35.
20. Hunt, R. & Cornelissen, J.H.C. (1997) Physiology, allocation and growth rate: a re-examination of the Tilman model. The American Naturalist, 50, 122-130.
21. Kleyer, M., Bekker, R.M., Knevel, I.C., Bakker, J.P., Thompson, K., Sonnenschein, M., Poschlod, P., van Groenendael, J.M., Klimeš, L., Klimešová, J., Klotz, S., Rusch, G., Hermy, M., Adriaens, D., Boedeltje, G., Bossuyt, B., Endels, P., Götzenberger, L., Hodgson, J.G., Jackel, A.-K., Dannemann, A., Kühn, I., Kunzmann, D., Ozinga, W.A., Römermann, C., Stadler, M., Schlegelmilch, J., Steendam, H.J., Tackenberg, O., Wilmann, B., Cornelissen, J.H.C., Eriksson, O., Garnier, E., Fitter, A. & Peco, B. (2008) The LEDA Traitbase: a database of plant life-history traits of North West Europe. Journal of Ecology, 96, 1266-1274.
22. Lambers, H., Pons, T.L. & Chapin, F.S., III (2008) Plant Physiological Ecology, 2nd edn. Springer, New York.
23. Lang, S.I., Cornelissen, J.H.C., Klahn, T., Van Logtestijn, R.S.P., Broekman, R., Schweikert, W. & Aerts, R. (2009) An experimental comparison of chemical traits and litter decomposition rates in a diverse range of subarctic bryophyte, lichen and vascular plant species. Journal of Ecology, 97, 886-900.
24. Lavorel, S. & Garnier, E. (2002) Predicting changes in community composition and ecosystem functioning from plant traits: revisiting the Holy Grail. Functional Ecology, 16, 545-556.
25. Marschner, H. (1995)Mineral Nutrition in Higher Plants, 2nd edn. Academic Press, London, UK.
26. Read, D.J. (1991) Mycorrhizas in ecosystems. Experientia, 47, 376-391.
27. Reich, P.B., Walters, M.B. & Ellsworth, D.S. (1991) Leaf life-span in relation to leaf, plant and stand characteristics among diverse ecosystems. Ecological Monographs, 62, 365-392.
28. Rorison, I.H. & Robinson, D. (1984) Calcium as an environmental variable. Plant, Cell and Environment, 9, 57-64.
29. Soudzilovskaia, N.A., Cornelissen, J.H.C., During, H.J., van Logtestijn, R.S.P., Lang, S.I. & Aerts, R. (2010). Similar cation exchange capacities among bryophyte species refute a presumed mechanism of peatland acidification. Ecology, in press. DOI: .
30. Thompson, K., Parkinson, J.A., Band, S.R. & Spencer, R.E. (1997) A comparative study of leaf nutrient concentrations in a regional herbaceous flora. New Phytologist, 136, 679-689.
31. Vitousek, P.M., Walker, L.R., Whiteaker, L.D., Meuller-Dombois, D. & Matson, P.A. (1987) Biological invasion by Myrica faya alters ecosystem development in Hawaii. Science, 238, 802-804.
32. Wardle, D.A., Zackrisson, O., Hornberg, G. & Gallet, C. (1997) The influence of island area on ecosystem properties. Science, 277, 1296-1299.
33. Wardle, D.A., Wiser, S.K., Allen, R.B., Doherty, J.E., Bonner, K.I. & Williamson, W.M. (2008) Aboveground and belowground effects of single-tree removals in New Zealand rain forest. Ecology, 89, 1232-1245.
34. Weiher, E., van der Werf, A., Thompson, K., Roderick, M., Garnier, E. & Eriksson, O. (1999) Challenging Theophrastus: a common core list of plant traits for functional ecology. Journal of Vegetation Science, 10, 609-620.
35. Westoby, M., Falster, D., Moles, A., Vesk, P. & Wright, I. (2002) Plant ecological strategies: some leading dimensions of variation between species. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics, 33, 125-159.
36. Wright, I.J., Reich, P.B., Westoby, M., Ackerly, D.D., Baruch, Z., Bongers, F., Cavendar-Bares, J., Chapin, T., Cornelissen, J.H.C., Diemer, M., Flexas, J., Garnier, E., Groom, P.K., Gulias, J., Hikosaka, K., Lamont, 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., Veneklaas, E. & Villar, R. (2004) The worldwide leaf economics spectrum. Nature, 428, 821-827.
37. Zinke, P.J. (1962) The pattern of influence of individual forest trees on soil properties. Ecology, 43, 130-133.