Patterns of Leaf Morphological Traits of Beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) along an Altitudinal Gradient

George C Adamidis,Georgios Varsamis,Ioannis Tsiripidis,Panayiotis G Dimitrakopoulos,Aristotelis C Papageorgiou

doi:10.3390/f12101297

George C Adamidis, Georgios Varsamis + Show 3 more

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Broadleaved tree species in mountainous populations usually demonstrate high levels of diversity in leaf morphology among individuals, as a response to a variety of environmental conditions associated with changes in altitude. We investigated the parameters shaping leaf morphological diversity in 80 beech individuals (Fagus sylvatica L.), in light and shade leaves, growing along an elevational gradient and under different habitat types on Mt. Paggeo in northeastern Greece. A clear altitudinal pattern was observed in the morphological leaf traits expressing lamina size and shape; with increasing altitude, trees had leaves with smaller laminas, less elongated outlines, and fewer pairs of secondary veins. However, this altitudinal trend in leaf morphology was varied in different habitat types. Furthermore, the shade leaves and light leaves showed differences in their altitudinal trend. Traits expressing lamina shape in shade leaves were more related to altitude, while leaf size appeared to be more influenced by habitat type. While the altitudinal trend in leaf morphology has been well documented for numerous broadleaved tree species, in a small spatial scale, different patterns emerged across different habitat types. This morphological variability among trees growing in a mountainous population indicates a high potential for adaptation to environmental extremes.

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The morphological attributes of plant leaves are the fundamental functional traits for balancing light capture and transpiration [1] and are, for this reason, very important for the plant’s ability to adapt to the ongoing environmental change [2]
The results of this study indicate that the altitude is an important factor shaping leaf morphology in the European beech
This altitudinal trend in leaf morphology was stronger for leaf size and the number of secondary veins, especially for leaves directly exposed to sunlight

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Introduction

The morphological attributes of plant leaves are the fundamental functional traits for balancing light capture and transpiration [1] and are, for this reason, very important for the plant’s ability to adapt to the ongoing environmental change [2]. Shifts in leaf morphology have usually been associated with altitude in many broadleaved species, e.g., in [11]. Most authors explain this as a result of plasticity due to the declining temperature with an increasing altitude [12,13,14], and because of other stressful conditions characteristic of higher altitude habitats, such as low water availability, limited nutrient supply, wind exposure, and intense solar irradiation [11,13,15,16,17,18]. Besides the multitude of environmental factors that change along an altitudinal cline, plants often demonstrate variation in leaf traits as part of more complex, physiological size/number trade-offs, including shifts in leaf, shoot and whole plant traits [21,22]

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