Association plant leaf longevity to the increasing warm and arid environment

Abstract

The longevity of plant leaves is an important factor relating to their growth strategies and responding to global climate change. The focus of this study is to present a meta-analysis of leaf life spans through an extensive literature survey. As to our knowledge, no comprehensive synthesis has yet been presented to reveal the response of leaf longevities to changing external abiotic factors, including elevated levels of carbon dioxide, increasing temperatures and shorter availability of moisture. We screened 146 abstracts from the Web of Science and summarized the results of 78 specific studies dealing with plants leaf longevity including herbaceous, shrub and tree species. The reaction of tree species was assessed in field studies while shrub and herb species were studied under experimental or field conditions. The leaf longevities of tree species are most affected by elevated levels of CO2, but not by the other two factors. Shorter leaf longevities of herbaceous species are observed in response to rising temperatures and greater moisture levels. Shrub species did not show significant changes in leaf longevity responding to any of the studied external factors. Herbaceous species were more affected by combined changes in temperature, moisture, and CO2 than shrub and tree species. In view of the whole plant biome, there are no significant responses, neither.