Journal article

Leaf nutrients, not specific leaf area, are consistent indicators of elevated nutrient inputs.

  • Firn J Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, 4000, Queensland, Australia. jennifer.firn@qut.edu.au.
  • McGree JM Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, 4000, Queensland, Australia.
  • Harvey E Département de Sciences Biologiques, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Quebec, Canada.
  • Flores-Moreno H Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, USA.
  • Schütz M Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research, Birmensdorf, Switzerland.
  • Buckley YM School of Natural Sciences, Zoology, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
  • Borer ET Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, USA.
  • Seabloom EW Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, USA.
  • La Pierre KJ Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Edgewater, MD, USA.
  • MacDougall AM Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
  • Prober SM CSIRO Land and Water, Floreat, Western Australia, Australia.
  • Stevens CJ Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK.
  • Sullivan LL Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, USA.
  • Porter E Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, 4000, Queensland, Australia.
  • Ladouceur E German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
  • Allen C Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, 4000, Queensland, Australia.
  • Moromizato KH Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, 4000, Queensland, Australia.
  • Morgan JW Department of Ecology, Environment and Evolution, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
  • Harpole WS German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
  • Hautier Y Ecology and Biodiversity Group, Department of Biology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands.
  • Eisenhauer N German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
  • Wright JP Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.
  • Adler PB Department of Wildland Resources/Ecology Center, Utah State University, Logan, UT, USA.
  • Arnillas CA Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
  • Bakker JD School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
  • Biederman L Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA.
  • Broadbent AAD Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK.
  • Brown CS Department of Bioagricultural Sciences and Pest Management, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA.
  • Bugalho MN Centre for Applied Ecology (CEABN-InBIO), School of Agriculture, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal.
  • Caldeira MC Forest Research Centre, School of Agriculture, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal.
  • Cleland EE Division of Biological Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
  • Ebeling A Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Jena, Jena, Germany.
  • Fay PA Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Grassland Soil and Water Research Laboratory, Temple, TX, USA.
  • Hagenah N Mammal Research Institute, Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa.
  • Kleinhesselink AR Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
  • Mitchell R School of Earth Sciences and Environmental Sustainability, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, USA.
  • Moore JL School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
  • Nogueira C Forest Research Centre, School of Agriculture, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal.
  • Peri PL Department of Forestry, Agriculture and Water, National University-INTA-CONICET, Rio Gallegos, Santa Cruz, Patagonia, Argentina.
  • Roscher C German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
  • Smith MD Department of Biology, Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA.
  • Wragg PD Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, USA.
  • Risch AC Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research, Birmensdorf, Switzerland.
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  • 2019-02-06
Published in:
  • Nature ecology & evolution. - 2019
English Leaf traits are frequently measured in ecology to provide a 'common currency' for predicting how anthropogenic pressures impact ecosystem function. Here, we test whether leaf traits consistently respond to experimental treatments across 27 globally distributed grassland sites across 4 continents. We find that specific leaf area (leaf area per unit mass)-a commonly measured morphological trait inferring shifts between plant growth strategies-did not respond to up to four years of soil nutrient additions. Leaf nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium concentrations increased in response to the addition of each respective soil nutrient. We found few significant changes in leaf traits when vertebrate herbivores were excluded in the short-term. Leaf nitrogen and potassium concentrations were positively correlated with species turnover, suggesting that interspecific trait variation was a significant predictor of leaf nitrogen and potassium, but not of leaf phosphorus concentration. Climatic conditions and pretreatment soil nutrient levels also accounted for significant amounts of variation in the leaf traits measured. Overall, we find that leaf morphological traits, such as specific leaf area, are not appropriate indicators of plant response to anthropogenic perturbations in grasslands.
Language
  • English
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green
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https://sonar.ch/global/documents/61473
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