Leaf-level coordination principles propagate to the ecosystem scale

Ulisse Gomarasca (), Mirco Migliavacca, Jens Kattge, Jacob A. Nelson, Ülo Niinemets, Christian Wirth, Alessandro Cescatti, Michael Bahn, Richard Nair, Alicia T. R. Acosta, M. Altaf Arain, Mirela Beloiu, T. Andrew Black, Hans Henrik Bruun, Solveig Franziska Bucher, Nina Buchmann, Chaeho Byun, Arnaud Carrara, Adriano Conte, Ana C. Silva, Gregory Duveiller, Silvano Fares, Andreas Ibrom, Alexander Knohl, Benjamin Komac, Jean-Marc Limousin, Christopher H. Lusk, Miguel D. Mahecha, David Martini, Vanessa Minden, Leonardo Montagnani, Akira S. Mori, Yusuke Onoda, Josep Peñuelas, Oscar Perez-Priego, Peter Poschlod, Thomas L. Powell, Peter B. Reich, Ladislav Šigut, Peter M. Bodegom, Sophia Walther, Georg Wohlfahrt, Ian J. Wright and Markus Reichstein
Additional contact information
Ulisse Gomarasca: Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry
Mirco Migliavacca: Joint Research Centre
Jens Kattge: Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry
Jacob A. Nelson: Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry
Ülo Niinemets: Estonian University of Life Sciences
Christian Wirth: Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry
Alessandro Cescatti: Joint Research Centre
Michael Bahn: Universität Innsbruck, Institut für Ökologie
Richard Nair: Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry
Alicia T. R. Acosta: Dipartimento di Scienze - Università Roma TRE - V.le Marconi 446
M. Altaf Arain: McMaster University
Mirela Beloiu: ETH Zurich
T. Andrew Black: University of British Columbia
Hans Henrik Bruun: University of Copenhagen
Solveig Franziska Bucher: German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena Leipzig
Nina Buchmann: ETH Zurich
Chaeho Byun: Andong National University
Arnaud Carrara: Fundación Centro de Estudios Ambientales del Mediterráneo (CEAM)
Adriano Conte: Institute for Sustainable Plant Protection (IPSP)
Ana C. Silva: Santa Catarina State University, Agroveterinary Center, Forestry Department, Av Luiz de Camões, 2090, Conta Dinheiro, 88.520-000
Gregory Duveiller: Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry
Silvano Fares: Institute for Agriculture and Forestry Systems in the Mediterranean (ISAFOM)
Andreas Ibrom: Technical University of Denmark (DTU), Environmental Engineering and Resource Management
Alexander Knohl: University of Göttingen
Benjamin Komac: Andorra Research + Innovation; Avinguda Rocafort 21-23, Edifici Molí, 3r pis
Jean-Marc Limousin: CEFE, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, IRD
Christopher H. Lusk: University of Waikato, Private Bag
Miguel D. Mahecha: German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena Leipzig
David Martini: Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry
Vanessa Minden: Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Leonardo Montagnani: Free University of Bolzano
Akira S. Mori: the University of Tokyo
Yusuke Onoda: Kyoto University, Oiwake, Kitashirakawa
Josep Peñuelas: CSIC, Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CSIC-UAB, Bellaterra
Oscar Perez-Priego: University of Córdoba, Edif. Leonardo da Vinci, Campus de Rabanales s/n
Peter Poschlod: Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Plant Sciences - Faculty of Biology and Preclinical Medicine - University of Regensburg
Thomas L. Powell: The University of the South
Peter B. Reich: University of Minnesota
Ladislav Šigut: Global Change Research Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences
Peter M. Bodegom: Leiden University
Sophia Walther: Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry
Georg Wohlfahrt: Universität Innsbruck, Institut für Ökologie
Ian J. Wright: Western Sydney University
Markus Reichstein: Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry

Nature Communications, 2023, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-11

Abstract: Abstract Fundamental axes of variation in plant traits result from trade-offs between costs and benefits of resource-use strategies at the leaf scale. However, it is unclear whether similar trade-offs propagate to the ecosystem level. Here, we test whether trait correlation patterns predicted by three well-known leaf- and plant-level coordination theories – the leaf economics spectrum, the global spectrum of plant form and function, and the least-cost hypothesis – are also observed between community mean traits and ecosystem processes. We combined ecosystem functional properties from FLUXNET sites, vegetation properties, and community mean plant traits into three corresponding principal component analyses. We find that the leaf economics spectrum (90 sites), the global spectrum of plant form and function (89 sites), and the least-cost hypothesis (82 sites) all propagate at the ecosystem level. However, we also find evidence of additional scale-emergent properties. Evaluating the coordination of ecosystem functional properties may aid the development of more realistic global dynamic vegetation models with critical empirical data, reducing the uncertainty of climate change projections.

Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-39572-5

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