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Updated: Mar 8, 2026
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A Telemetric, Gravimetric Platform for Real-Time Physiological Phenotyping of Plant–Environment Interactions
Published on: August 5, 2020
12.7K
Predicting trait-environment relationships for venation networks along an Andes-Amazon elevation gradient
Benjamin Blonder1, Norma Salinas1,2, Lisa Patrick Bentley1
1Environmental Change Institute, School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3QY, UK.
Ecology
|January 26, 2017
Summary
Leaf traits strongly relate to temperature across Andean forests, improving ecological predictions. These functional trait-environment relationships (TERs) offer a mechanistic basis for community assembly theory.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Plant Physiology
- Community Ecology
Background:
- Functional trait-environment relationships (TERs) are crucial for predicting community assembly.
- Existing empirical TERs often lack conceptual foundation and show weak correlations.
- Leaf venation traits may offer a stronger link between individuals and communities through hydraulic constraints.
Purpose of the Study:
- To measure the strength of TERs using leaf venation traits across an elevation gradient.
- To assess if observed TERs align with predictions from physiological theory.
- To investigate the link between leaf traits, temperature, and transpiration rates.
Main Methods:
- Measured vein density, vein radius, and leaf thickness for over 100 dominant species.
- Studied ten forest communities along a 3,300 m Andes-Amazon elevation gradient in Peru.
- Analyzed TERs at the community scale and compared them to physiological predictions.
Main Results:
- Found strong support for TERs between all measured leaf traits (vein density, radius, thickness) and temperature.
- Observed weaker support for a predicted TER between leaf transpiration rate and potential evapotranspiration.
- Demonstrated significant trait-environment relationships across a broad environmental gradient.
Conclusions:
- Leaf venation traits exhibit strong functional trait-environment relationships with temperature.
- These findings support a more mechanistic, trait-based approach to community assembly theory.
- Leaf hydraulic traits provide a valuable framework for understanding ecological patterns.
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