Abstract
Variation in leaf morphology of Quercus petraea in response to several ecological conditions has been studied extensively, although not explicitly in the context of within- and among-tree variation. This study examined leaf morphology and anatomy of Q. petraea, growing in five natural Italian populations adapted to different ecological environments, to understand the pattern of within- and among-tree variation in this species. We used an ANOVA model with both crossed and nested effects. All levels contributed significant components of variation. Within-tree variation due to branch position was large, particularly in thickness and productivity (40%). For 19 of 32 variables, the variation among trees was surprisingly lower than the within-tree variation explained by branch position. Trends in leaf morphology and anatomy with branch position exhibited the sun-shade dichotomy. Patterns of crown plasticity showed lower values in the two xeric populations. Results suggest the need for taxonomic studies to consider variation as a quantitative attribute of individual trees.
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