Abstract
Specific leaf area (SLA, cm2g− 1) is a fundamental leaf economics spectrum trait, which predicted the total carbon sequestered at the individual level in understory palms of Socratea exorrhiza.
AbstractSection AbstractEvaluating intraspecific and ontogenetic variation in SLA is critical to understand how functional traits influence plant fitness and regeneration strategies. SLA is usually expressed as an average value per species. Its variation across ontogenetic stages and environmental gradients is poorly known, particularly in palms. I measured SLA in 112 palms of Socratea exorrhiza in the understory of a tropical rainforest in Costa Rica. Total carbon content sequestered per palm (kg) was estimated from an allometric equation. I determined the regression between Ln SLA and Ln carbon content, and then used principal components to summarize the regeneration strategy of S. exorrhiza by examining the allometry of stem length and diameter, number of fronds, number of stilt roots, stilt root cone height, slenderness ratio, SLA, and carbon content. SLA predicted total sequestered carbon (slope = − 4.33, r2 = 0. 52). Smaller values of SLA were associated with increased carbon content and larger palms. Two components explained 77% of the variation in functional traits. The first (76%) was dominated by stem diameter, height, stilt root cone, and carbon content (negatively associated with SLA) and reflected palm size; the second (15%) was dominated by slenderness ratio and number of leaves and reflected allocation to growth in height. The inverse relationship between SLA and sequestered carbon is consistent with the initial shade tolerant, conservative resource use strategy of S. exorrhiza.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Data availability
All data necessary to replicate analyses are archived in a permanent repository hosted by the Mendeley Digital Repository: Avalos, Gerardo (2022), “SLA Socratea exorrhiza”, Mendeley Data, V1, doi: https://doi.org/10.17632/bwfm57cgky.1.
References
Adler PB, Salguero-Gómez R, Compagnoni A, Hsu JS et al (2014) Functional traits explain variation in plant life history strategies. P Natl Acad Sci 111:740–745. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.131517911
Alvarez-Clare S, Mack MC, Brooks M (2013) A direct test of nitrogen and phosphorus limitation to net primary productivity in a lowland tropical wet forest. Ecology 94:1540–1551. https://doi.org/10.1890/12-2128.1
Araus JL, Hogan KP (1994) Leaf structure and patterns of photoinhibition in two neotropical palms in clearings and forest understory during the dry season. Am J Bot 81:726–738. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1537-2197.1994.tb15507.x
Asner GP, Martin RE, Tupayachi R, Emerson R et al (2011) Taxonomy and remote sensing of leaf mass per area (LMA) in humid tropical forests. Ecol Appl 21:85–98. https://doi.org/10.1890/09-1999.1
Avalos G (2019) Shade tolerance within the context of the successional process in tropical rain forests. Rev Biol Trop 67:53–77. https://doi.org/10.15517/rbt.v67i2supl.37206
Avalos G, Salazar D, Araya A (2005) Stilt Root structure in the neotropical Palms Iriartea XXXeltoidei and Socratea exorrhiza. Biotropica 37:44–53. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-7429.2005.03148.x
Avalos G, Gei M, Ríos LD, Otárola MF et al (2019) Scaling of stem diameter and height allometry in 14 neotropical palm species of different forest strata. Oecologia 190:757–767. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-019-04452-7
Avalos G, Emilio T, Andersen KM, Alvarez-Clare S (2022a) Editorial: Functional Ecology and Conservation of Palms. Front For Glob Change 5:1021784. https://doi.org/10.3389/ffgc.2022.1021784
Avalos G, Cambronero M, Alvarez-Vergnani C (2022b) Allometric models to estimate carbon content in Arecaceae based on seven species of neotropical palms. Front Forests Global Change 5:867912. https://doi.org/10.3389/ffgc.2022.867912
Baker WJ, Dransfield J (2016) Beyond Genera Palmarum: progress and prospects in palm systematics. Bot J Linn Soc 182:207–233. https://doi.org/10.1111/boj.12401
Balslev H, Kahn F, Millan B, Svenning JC et al (2011) Species diversity and growth forms in tropical american palm communities. Bot Rev 77:381–425. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12229-011-9084-x
Boukili VK, Chazdon RL (2017) Environmental filtering, local site factors and landscape context drive changes in functional trait composition during tropical forest succession. Perspect Plant Ecol 24:37–47. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ppees.2016.11.003
Castorena M, Olson ME, Enquist BJ et al (2022) Toward a general theory of plant carbon economics. Trends Ecol Evol 37:829–837. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2022.05.007
Chabot BF, Hicks DJ (1982) The ecology of leaf life spans. Ann Rev Ecol 3(1):229–259. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.es.13.110182.001305
Chiariello NR, Mooney HA, Williams K (1989) Growth, carbon allocation and cost of plant tissues. In: Pearcy RW, Ehleringer JR, Mooney HA, Rundel PW (eds) Plant physiological ecology. Springer, Dordrecht, pp 327–365
Clark DB, Palmer MW, Clark DA (1999) Edaphic factors and the landscape-scale distributions of tropical rain forest trees. Ecology 80:2662–2675. https://doi.org/10.1890/0012-9658(1999)080[2662:EFATLS]2.0.CO;2
Coll L, Potvin C, Messier C, Delagrange S (2008) Root architecture and allocation patterns of eight native tropical species with different successional status used in open-grown mixed plantations in Panama. Trees 22:585–596. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-008-0219-6
Da Silva F, Suwa R, Kajimoto T, Ishizuka M (2015) Allometric equations for estimating biomass of Euterpe precatoria, the most abundant palm species in the Amazon. Forests 6:450–463. https://doi.org/10.3390/f6020450
Diaz S, Hodgson JG, Thompson K, Cabido M et al (2004) The plant traits that drive ecosystems: evidence from three continents. J Veg Sci 15:295–304. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1654-1103.2004.tb02266.x
Díaz S, Kattge J, Cornelissen JHC, Wright IJ et al (2016) The global spectrum of plant form and function. Nature 529:167–171. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature16489
Dransfield J, Uhl NW, Amussen CB, Baker WJ et al (2008) Genera palmarum: the evolution and classification of palms. Kew Publishing, Kew, UK
Falster DS, Duursma RA, FitzJohn RG (2018) How functional traits influence plant growth and shade tolerance across the life cycle. Proc Nat Acad Sci 115:E6789–E6798. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.171404411
Frazer GW, Canham CD, Lertzman KP (1999) Gap light Analyzer (GLA), version 20: imaging software to extract canopy structure and gap light transmission indices from true colour fisheye photographs, user´s manual and program documentation. Simon Fraser University, Institute of Ecosystem Studies
Garnier E, Shipley B, Roumet C, Laurent G (2001) A standardized protocol for the determination of specific leaf area and leaf dry matter content. Func Ecol 15:688–695. https://www.jstor.org/stable/826696
Gilbert B, Wright SJ, Muller-Landau H, Kitajima K et al (2006) Life history trade-offs in tropical trees and lianas. Ecology 87:1281–1288. https://doi.org/10.1890/0012-9658(2006)87[1281:LHTITT]2.0.CO;2
Grayum MH (2003) Socratea. In: Hammel BE, Grayum MH, Herrera C, Zamora N (eds) Manual de Plantas de Costa Rica, vol III. Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, pp 289–290
Henderson A (2002) Evolution and ecology of palms. New York Botanical Garden Press, New York
Hogan KP (1986) Plant architecture, photosynthetic responses, and population biology in the palms Socratea durussima and Scheelea zonensis on Barro Colorado Island, Panama. PhD dissertation, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Kikuzawa K (1995) The basis for variation in leaf longevity of plants. Vegetatio 121:89–100. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00044675
Kissling WD, Balslev H, Baker WJ, Dransfield J et al (2019) PalmTraits 1.0, a species-level functional trait database of palms worldwide. Sci Data 6:1–13. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-019-0189-0
Kitajima K, Poorter L (2008) Functional basis for resource niche partitioning by tropical trees. In: Carson WP, Schnitzer SA (eds) Tropical Forest Community Ecology. Blackwell, Oxford, pp 172–188
Kraf NJ, Valencia R, Ackerly DD (2008) Functional traits and niche-based tree community assembly in an amazonian forest. Science 322:580–582. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1160662
Lambers HANS, Poorter H (1992) Inherent variation in growth rate between higher plants: a search for physiological causes and ecological consequences. Adv Ecol Res 23:87–261. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0065-2504(08)60148-8
Laughlin DC, Gremer JR, Adler PB, Mitchell RM et al (2020) The net effect of functional traits on fitness. Trends Ecol Evol 35:1037–1047. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2020.07.010
Mediavilla S, Garcia‐Ciudad A, Garcia‐Criado B et al (2008) Testing the correlations between leaf life span and leaf structural reinforcement in 13 species of European Mediterranean woody plants. Funct Ecol 22:787–793. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2435.2008.01453.x
Montufar R, Pintaud JC (2006) Variation in species composition, abundance and microhabitat preferences among western amazonian terra firme palm communities. Bot J Linn Soc 151:127–140. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1095-8339.2006.00528.x
Niklas KJ (1994) Plant allometry: the scaling of form and process. University of Chicago Press, Chicago
Niklas KJ, Cobb EE, Marler T (2006) A comparison between the record height-to-stem diameter allometries of pachycaulis and leptocaulis species. Ann Bot 97:79–83. https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcj002
Osnas JL, Katabuchi M, Kitajima K et al (2018) Divergent drivers of leaf trait variation within species, among species, and among functional groups. Proc Nat Acad Sci 115:5480–5485. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.180398911
Poorter H, Niinemets Ü, Poorter L, Wright IJ et al (2009) Causes and consequences of variation in leaf mass per area (LMA): a meta-analysis. New Phytol 182:565–588. https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcj002
Poorter H, Lambers H, Evans JR (2014) Trait correlation networks: a whole-plant perspective on the recently criticized leaf economic spectrum. New Phytol 201:378–382. https://www.jstor.org/stable/newphytologist.201.2.378
Queen JP, Quinn GP, Keough MJ (2002) Experimental design and data analysis for biologists. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
R Core Team (2022) R: a language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria. https://www.R-project.org/
Reich PB, Walters MB, Ellsworth DS (1997) From tropics to tundra: global convergence in plant functioning. Proc Nat A Sci 94:13730–13734. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.94.25.13730
Reich PB, Ellsworth DS, Walters MB (1998) Leaf structure (specific leaf area) modulates photosynthesis–nitrogen relations: evidence from within and across species and functional groups. Funct Ecol 12:948–958. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2435.1998.00274.x
Reich PB, Wright IJ, Cavender-Bares J, Craine JM et al (2003) The evolution of plant functional variation: traits, spectra, and strategies. Int J Plant Sci 164:S143–S164. https://doi.org/10.1086/374368
Renninger HJ, Phillips NG (2016) Palm physiology and distribution in response to global environmental change. In: Goldstein G, Santiago L (eds) Tropical tree physiology. Springer, Switzerland, pp 67–101
Rich PM (1986) Mechanical architecture of arborescent rain forest palms. Principes 30:117–131
Rich PM (1987) Mechanical structure of the stem of arborescent palms. Bot Gaz 148:42–50. https://doi.org/10.1086/337626
Rich PM, Holbrook NM, Luttinger N (1995) Leaf development and crown geometry of two iriarteoid palms. Am J Bot 82:328–336. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1537-2197.1995.tb12637.x
Rundel PW, Cooley AM, Gerst KL, Riordan EC et al (2020) Functional traits of broad-leaved monocot herbs in the understory and forest edges of a Costa rican rainforest. PeerJ 8:e9958. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.9958
Sancho F, Mata R, Molina E, Salas R (1990) Estudio de suelos de la finca de la Escuela de Agricultura de la Región Tropical Húmeda. Reporte para la Escuela de Agricultura de la Región Tropical Húmeda (EARTH), Limón, Costa Rica
Sander NL, Pulido-Silva MT, da Silva CJ (eds) (2023) Uso de las palmas en Latinoamérica. CRV, p 250
Santiago LS, Wright SJ (2007) Leaf functional traits of tropical forest plants in relation to growth form. Funct Ecol 21:19–27. https://www.jstor.org/stable/4139383
Shipley B, Lechowicz MJ, Wright I et al (2006) Fundamental trade‐offs generating the worldwide leaf economics spectrum. Ecology 87:535–541. https://doi.org/10.1890/05-1051
Spasojevic MJ, Yablon EA, Oberle B, Myers JA (2014) Ontogenetic trait variation influences tree community assembly across environmental gradients. Ecosphere 5:1–20. https://doi.org/10.1890/ES14-000159.1
Sylvester O, Avalos G, Chávez-Fernández N (2012) Notes on the ethnobotany of Costa Rica’s palms. Palms 56:190–201
ter Steege H, Pitman NC, Sabatier D, Baraloto C et al (2013) Hyperdominance in the amazonian tree flora. Science 342:1243092. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1243092
Trujillo W, Rivera-Rondon CA, Balslev H (2021) Palm functional traits, soil fertility and hydrology relationships in Western Amazonia. Front Forests Global Change 4:723553. https://doi.org/10.3389/ffgc.2021.723553
Villar R, Ruiz‐Robleto J, Ubera JL et al (2013) Exploring variation in leaf mass per area (LMA) from leaf to cell: an anatomical analysis of 26 woody species. Am J Bot 100:1969–1980. https://doi.org/10.3732/ajb.1200562
Violle C, Navas ML, Vile D, Kazakou E et al (2007) Let the concept of trait be functional! Oikos 116:882–892. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0030-1299.2007.15559.x
Westoby M, Falster DS, Moles AT, Vesk PA et al (2002) Plant ecological strategies: some leading dimensions of variation between species. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 33:125–159. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.33.010802.150452
Westoby M, Schrader J, Falster D (2022) Trait ecology of startup plants. New Phytol 235:842–847. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.18193
Wright IJ, Reich PB, Westoby M, Ackerly DD et al (2004) The worldwide leaf economics spectrum. Nature 428:821–827. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature02403
Acknowledgements
This investigation was supported by The School for Field Studies (SFS) and the University of Costa Rica (Project number B9110). Silvia Alvarez-Clare facilitated the research at the EARTH plots. Andrea Vincent, Milena Cambronero, José Murillo, and the students and staff of SFS helped during data collection. Two anonymous reviewers significantly improved the first version of the manuscript.
Funding
This investigation was supported by The School for Field Studies (SFS) and the University of Costa Rica (Project number B9110).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The author declares that there are no personal, professional or financial relationships that could potentially be construed as a conflict of interest.
Additional information
Communicated by T. Grams .
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Supplementary Information
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Avalos, G. Specific leaf area (SLA) serves as a proxy to predict total carbon content in understory individuals of the neotropical canopy palm Socratea exorrhiza. Trees 37, 1831–1840 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-023-02430-4
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-023-02430-4