INVESTIGADORES
GURVICH Diego Ezequiel
artículos
Título:
Leaf water content and specific leaf area as indicators of resource use in floras with succulent species
Autor/es:
VENDRAMINI F, DÍAZ S, GURVICH DE, THOMPSON K, WILSON P & HODGSON J
Revista:
NEW PHYTOLOGIST
Editorial:
Blackwell Science Ltd.
Referencias:
Lugar: Oxford; Año: 2002 vol. 154 p. 147 - 157
ISSN:
0028-646X
Resumen:
Associations between specific leaf area (SLA), leaf water content (LWC) and leaf
thickness (LT) in 77 species were analysed to identify which of these traits gave
a better indicator value of general plant resource-use strategy within the flora of
central-western Argentina, in which succulent species are common.
When all species were considered together, SLA and LWC were not significantly
correlated. All high-SLA tender-leafed species showed high LWC. Low SLA, however,
was associated both with low LWC (sclerophyllous species) and with high LWC
(succulents). When succulents were excluded, the association between SLA and
LWC was significant and positive. A similar trend was found for a mixed set of nonsucculent
species from other floras of the world.
In the Argentine data set, SLA and LT, but not LWC, were significantly correlated
with species scores along a multivariate axis of plant resource-use strategy.
Because of its clearer ecological interpretation and its applicability across different
floras, SLA appears to be the best candidate for inclusion in large comparative
databases.