Patterns and drivers of community specific leaf area in China

Abstract

Specific leaf area (SLA), an important functional trait, reflects the abilities of light capture and adaption to environments of plants. Earlier spatiotemporal changes in SLA at the species level have been widely studied. However, changes at the community level, especially those associated with species abundance and coverage, remain poorly being understood. Using the community data of SLA, which based on field measured and literature, for 2104 plots from 212 forests and grasslands in China between 2007 and 2019, we found that (1) Both CWM SLA (Community-weighted mean SLA) and CNM SLA (Community-not weighted mean SLA) in western China was significantly lower than those in eastern China; (2) Spatial patterns of CWM SLA in different landscapes were significantly different CNM SLA; (3) Both CWM and CNM SLAs of herbaceous plants was significantly higher than those of trees in natural and planted forests, and CNM SLA of trees in planted forests is significantly higher than that in natural forests; (4) Both CWM and CNM SLA of trees in natural and planted forest significantly increase with forest age aging. Our results provided the evidence that climate and stand-driven changes strengthen differences in SLA among the species from different communities, which have important insights into species competition and coexistence in forest ecosystems.