Abstract
Stomata control carbon and water vapor exchange between the leaves and the atmosphere, thus influencing photosynthesis and transpiration. Combinations of forest patches with different stand ages are common in nature, however, information of which stomatal traits vary among these stands and how, remains limited. Here, seven different aged forest stands (6, 14, 25, 36, 45, 55, and 100 years) were selected in typical temperate, mixed broadleaf-conifer forests of northeast China. Stomatal density, size and relative area of 624 species, including the same species in stands of different ages were selected. Stomatal density, size and relative area were distributed log-normally, differing across all species and plant functional groups. Stomatal density ranged from 4.2 to 1276.7 stomata mm–2, stomatal size ranged from 66.6 to 8315.7 μm2, and stomatal relative area 0.1–93.3%. There was a significant negative relationship between density and size at the species and functional group levels, while the relative stomatal area was positively correlated with density and size. Stomatal traits of dominant species were relatively stable across different stand ages but were significantly different for herbs. The results suggest that stomatal traits remain relatively stable for dominant species in natural forests and therefore, spatial variation in stomatal traits across forest patches does not need to be incorporated in future ecological models.
Highlights
Leaf stomata are composed of a pair of guard cells, the opening and closing of which are driven by moisture, temperature, light, and carbon dioxide (CO2) in the short term1 3 Vol.:(0123456789)(Casson and Gray 2008; Lau and Bergmann 2012)
The results suggest that stomatal traits remain relatively stable for dominant species in natural forests and spatial variation in stomatal traits across forest patches does not need to be incorporated in future ecological models
This study showed that trees had the highest stomatal density and relative area, followed by shrubs and herbs, while the opposite pattern was found for stomatal size
Summary
Leaf stomata are composed of a pair of guard cells, the opening and closing of which are driven by moisture, temperature, light, and carbon dioxide (CO2) in the short term1 3 Vol.:(0123456789)(Casson and Gray 2008; Lau and Bergmann 2012). Stomata allow plants to exchange gas with the external environment, controlling photosynthesis and transpiration (Martin and Glover 2007; Franks and Beerling 2009), in addition to influencing net primary productivity and water use efficiency of the ecosystem (Kim and Lieth 2003; Miyashita et al 2005). Plants respond quickly to short-term environmental changes by opening and closing their stomata, while morphological traits of stomata such as stomatal density (SD), stomatal size (SS), and stomatal relative area (SRA, %), are the result of long-term adaptations to the external environment. Understanding how the morphological traits of leaf stomata vary could provide insights on the adaptation strategies of plants to changing external environments over the long term
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