Leaf-level coordination principles propagate to the ecosystem scale
Nature Communications, vol. 14, pp. 3948
Abstract
Fundamental axes of variation in plant traits result from trade-offs between costs and benefits of resource-use strategies at the leaf scale. However, it is unclear whether similar trade-offs propagate to the ecosystem level. Here, we test whether trait correlation patterns predicted by three well-known leaf- and plant-level coordination theories - the leaf economics spectrum, the global spectrum of plant form and function, and the least-cost hypothesis - are also observed between community mean traits and ecosystem processes. We combined ecosystem functional properties from FLUXNET sites, vegetation properties, and community mean plant traits into three corresponding principal component analyses. We find that the leaf economics spectrum (90 sites), the global spectrum of plant form and function (89 sites), and the least-cost hypothesis (82 sites) all propagate at the ecosystem level. However, we also find evidence of additional scale-emergent properties. Evaluating the coordination of ecosystem functional properties may aid the development of more realistic global dynamic vegetation models with critical empirical data, reducing the uncertainty of climate change projections.
Authors 43
-
Ulisse Gomarasca corresponding
Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry
Affiliation as printed
Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Hans-Knöll-Str. 10, 07745, Jena, Germany. ugomar@bgc-jena.mpg.de
Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Hans-Knöll-Str. 10, 07745, Jena, Germany
-
European Commission · Joint Research Centre
Affiliation as printed
European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Ispra, 21027, VA, Italy
-
Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry
Affiliation as printed
Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Hans-Knöll-Str. 10, 07745, Jena, Germany
-
Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry
Affiliation as printed
Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Hans-Knöll-Str. 10, 07745, Jena, Germany
-
Estonian University of Life Sciences
Affiliation as printed
Chair of Plant and Crop Science, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Kreutzwaldi 1, 51006, Tartu, Estonia
-
German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research · Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry · Leipzig University
Affiliation as printed
German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
Institute of Biology, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany
Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Hans-Knöll-Str. 10, 07745, Jena, Germany
-
European Commission · Joint Research Centre
Affiliation as printed
European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Ispra, 21027, VA, Italy
-
Affiliation as printed
Universität Innsbruck, Institut für Ökologie, Innsbruck, Austria
-
Trinity College Dublin · Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry
Affiliation as printed
Discipline of Botany, School of Natural Sciences Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Hans-Knöll-Str. 10, 07745, Jena, Germany
-
Affiliation as printed
Dipartimento di Scienze - Università Roma TRE - V.le Marconi 446, 00146, Roma, Italy
-
Affiliation as printed
School of Earth, Environment & Society and McMaster Centre for Climate Change, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
-
ETH Zurich · Institute of Terrestrial Ecosystems
Affiliation as printed
Institute of Terrestrial Ecosystems, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
-
University of British Columbia
Affiliation as printed
Faculty of Land and Food Systems, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
-
Affiliation as printed
Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, 2100, Copenhagen Ø, Denmark
-
German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research · Friedrich Schiller University Jena
Affiliation as printed
German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
Institute of Ecology and Evolution - Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Philosophenweg 16, 07743, Jena, Germany
-
Affiliation as printed
Department of Environmental Systems Science, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
-
Affiliation as printed
Department of Biological Sciences, Andong National University, Andong, 36729, Republic of Korea
-
Mediterranean Center for Environmental Studies
Affiliation as printed
Fundación Centro de Estudios Ambientales del Mediterráneo (CEAM), Paterna, Spain
-
Universidade do Estado de Santa Catarina
Affiliation as printed
Santa Catarina State University, Agroveterinary Center, Forestry Department, Av Luiz de Camões, 2090, Conta Dinheiro, 88.520-000, Lages, SC, Brazil
-
Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry
Affiliation as printed
Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Hans-Knöll-Str. 10, 07745, Jena, Germany
-
National Research Council · Institute for Agricultural and Forest Systems in the Mediterranean
Affiliation as printed
National Research Council of Italy (CNR), Institute for Agriculture and Forestry Systems in the Mediterranean (ISAFOM), Naples, 80055, Italy
-
Technical University of Denmark
Affiliation as printed
Technical University of Denmark (DTU), Environmental Engineering and Resource Management, Bygningstorvet 115, 2800 Kgs., Lyngby, Denmark
-
Affiliation as printed
Bioclimatology, University of Göttingen, Büsgenweg 2, 37077, Göttingen, Germany
-
Affiliation as printed
Andorra Research + Innovation; Avinguda Rocafort 21-23, Edifici Molí, 3r pis, AD600, Sant Julià de Lòria, Andorra
Andorra Research + Innovation
Avinguda Rocafort 21-23, Edifici Molí, 3r pis, AD600, Sant Julià de Lòria, Andorra
-
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique · Centre d'Écologie Fonctionnelle et Évolutive · Institut de Recherche pour le Développement
Affiliation as printed
CEFE, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, Montpellier, France
-
Affiliation as printed
Environmenal Research Institute, University of Waikato, Private Bag, 3105, Hamilton, New Zealand
-
German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research · Leipzig University
Affiliation as printed
German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
Remote Sensing Centre for Earth System Research, Leipzig University, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
-
Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry
Affiliation as printed
Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Hans-Knöll-Str. 10, 07745, Jena, Germany
-
Affiliation as printed
Department of Biology, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, 1050, Brussel, Belgium
-
Free University of Bozen-Bolzano
Affiliation as printed
Faculty of Science and Technology, Free University of Bolzano, Piazza Università 5, 39100, Bolzano, Italy
-
Affiliation as printed
Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, the University of Tokyo, 4-6-1 Komaba, Meguro, Tokyo, 153-8904, Japan
-
Affiliation as printed
Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Oiwake, Kitashirakawa, Kyoto, 606-8502, Japan
-
Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas · Centre for Research on Ecology and Forestry Applications · Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CSIC-UAB
Affiliation as printed
CREAF, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, 08193, Catalonia, Spain
CSIC, Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CSIC-UAB, Bellaterra, Barcelona, 08193, Catalonia, Spain
-
Affiliation as printed
Department of Forestry Engineering, University of Córdoba, Edif. Leonardo da Vinci, Campus de Rabanales s/n, 14071, Córdoba, Spain
-
Affiliation as printed
Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Plant Sciences - Faculty of Biology and Preclinical Medicine - University of Regensburg, Universitaetsstrasse 31, D-93053, Regensburg, Germany
-
Sewanee: The University of the South
Affiliation as printed
The Department of Earth and Environmental Systems, The University of the South, Sewanee, TN, USA
-
University of Minnesota · University of Michigan · Western Sydney University
Affiliation as printed
Department of Forest Resources, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, 55108, USA
Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW, 2753, Australia
Institute for Global Change Biology, and School for Environment and Sustainability, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA
-
Czech Academy of Sciences, Global Change Research Institute
Affiliation as printed
Department of Matter and Energy Fluxes, Global Change Research Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Bělidla 986/4a, 603 00, Brno, Czech Republic
-
Affiliation as printed
Institute of Environmental Sciences, Leiden University, Einsteinweg 2, 2333 CC, Leiden, the Netherlands
-
Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry
Affiliation as printed
Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Hans-Knöll-Str. 10, 07745, Jena, Germany
-
Affiliation as printed
Universität Innsbruck, Institut für Ökologie, Innsbruck, Austria
-
Western Sydney University · Macquarie University
Affiliation as printed
Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW, 2753, Australia
School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University, Macquarie Park, NSW, 2109, Australia
-
German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research · Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry
Affiliation as printed
German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Hans-Knöll-Str. 10, 07745, Jena, Germany
Cited by 41 stored of 41
No patents citing this paper on Lens.org (checked 2026-10-11).