Toward Synthesis of Relationships among Leaf Longevity, Instantaneous Photosynthetic Rate, Lifetime Leaf Carbon Gain, and the Gross Primary Production of Forests

The assimilation of carbon by plant communities (gross primary production [GPP]) is a central concern in plant ecology as well as for our understanding of global climate change. As an alternative to traditional methods involving destructive harvests or time‐consuming measurements, we present a simple, general model for GPP as the product of the lifetime carbon gain by a single leaf, the daily leaf production rate, and the length of the favorable period for photosynthesis. To test the model, we estimated leaf lifetime carbon gain for 26 species using the concept of mean labor time for leaves (the part of each day the leaf functions to full capacity), average potential photosynthetic capacity over the leaf lifetime, and functional leaf longevity (leaf longevity discounted for periods within a year wholly unfavorable for photosynthesis). We found that the lifetime carbon gain of leaves was rather constant across species. Moreover, when foliar biomass was regressed against functional leaf longevity, aseasonal and seasonal forests fell on a single line, suggesting that the leaf production rate during favorable periods is not substantially different among forests in the world. The gross production of forest ecosystems then can be predicted to a first approximation simply by the annual duration of the period favorable for photosynthetic activity in any given region.

[1]  M. Lechowicz,et al.  Alternative Designs and the Evolution of Functional Diversity , 2005, The American Naturalist.

[2]  A. Kerkhoff,et al.  Plant allometry, stoichiometry and the temperature-dependence of primary productivity , 2005 .

[3]  Michael E Alfaro,et al.  Evolutionary Consequences of Many‐to‐One Mapping of Jaw Morphology to Mechanics in Labrid Fishes , 2005, The American Naturalist.

[4]  E. Lo.  GAUSSIAN ERROR PROPAGATION APPLIED TO ECOLOGICAL DATA: POST‐ICE‐STORM‐DOWNED WOODY BIOMASS , 2005 .

[5]  K. Hikosaka,et al.  Leaf canopy as a dynamic system: ecophysiology and optimality in leaf turnover. , 2004, Annals of botany.

[6]  M. Fuchs,et al.  Spacial distribution of photosynthetic capacity and performance in a mountain spruce forest of Northern Germany , 1977, Oecologia.

[7]  Timothy M. Lenton,et al.  An analysis of some diverse approaches to modelling terrestrial net primary productivity , 2004 .

[8]  R. Fernández-Escobar,et al.  Nitrogen Dynamics in the Olive Bearing Shoot , 2004 .

[9]  K. Umeki,et al.  Mean labor time of a leaf , 2004, Ecological Research.

[10]  Maosheng Zhao,et al.  A Continuous Satellite-Derived Measure of Global Terrestrial Primary Production , 2004 .

[11]  C. Körner,et al.  A world‐wide study of high altitude treeline temperatures , 2004 .

[12]  A. Rosati,et al.  A simple method to estimate photosynthetic radiation use efficiency of canopies. , 2004, Annals of botany.

[13]  Sean C. Thomas,et al.  The worldwide leaf economics spectrum , 2004, Nature.

[14]  D. Ackerly,et al.  Leaf dynamics, self-shading and carbon gain in seedlings of a tropical pioneer tree , 1995, Oecologia.

[15]  P. Reich,et al.  Leaf lifespan as a determinant of leaf structure and function among 23 amazonian tree species , 1991, Oecologia.

[16]  M. Fuchs,et al.  Spacial distribution of photosynthetic capacity and performance in a mountain spruce forest of Northern Germany , 1977, Oecologia.

[17]  A. Whitea,et al.  An analysis of some diverse approaches to modelling terrestrial net primary productivity , 2004 .

[18]  A. Escudero,et al.  Photosynthetic capacity, integrated over the lifetime of a leaf, is predicted to be independent of leaf longevity in some tree species. , 2003, The New phytologist.

[19]  Rein Ahas,et al.  Variations of the climatological growing season (1951–2000) in Germany compared with other countries , 2003 .

[20]  T. Dejong,et al.  Estimating photosynthetic radiation use efficiency using incident light and photosynthesis of individual leaves. , 2003, Annals of botany.

[21]  A. Escudero,et al.  Uptake, demand and internal cycling of nitrogen in saplings of Mediterranean Quercus species , 2003, Oecologia.

[22]  Kihachiro Kikuzawa,et al.  Phenological and morphological adaptations to the light environment in two woody and two herbaceous plant species , 2003 .

[23]  Stephen J. Wright,et al.  Decline of photosynthetic capacity with leaf age and position in two tropical pioneer tree species. , 2002, American journal of botany.

[24]  H. Tian,et al.  A model for seasonality and distribution of leaf area index of forests and its application to China , 2002 .

[25]  Peter B. Reich,et al.  Body size, geometry, longevity and metabolism: do plant leaves behave like animal bodies? , 2001 .

[26]  S. Díaz,et al.  Vive la différence: plant functional diversity matters to ecosystem processes , 2001 .

[27]  Mark Westoby,et al.  The Time Value of Leaf Area , 2000, The American Naturalist.

[28]  P. Reich,et al.  Generality of leaf trait relationships: a test across six biomes: Ecology , 1999 .

[29]  D. Ackerly,et al.  Self-shading, Carbon Gain and Leaf Dynamics: a Test of Alternative Optimality Models , 1998 .

[30]  David D. Ackerly,et al.  Significance of leaf longevity in plants , 1999 .

[31]  P. Reich,et al.  From tropics to tundra: global convergence in plant functioning. , 1997, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[32]  K. Kitajima,et al.  Decline of photosynthetic capacity with leaf age in relation to leaf longevities for five tropical canopy tree species. , 1997, American journal of botany.

[33]  C. Field,et al.  Scaling physiological processes: leaf to globe. , 1995 .

[34]  K. Griffin.  Calorimetric estimates of construction cost and their use in ecological studies , 1994 .

[35]  P. Reich,et al.  Canopy dynamics and aboveground production of five tree species with different leaf longevities. , 1993, Tree physiology.

[36]  P. Reich,et al.  Leaf Life‐Span in Relation to Leaf, Plant, and Stand Characteristics among Diverse Ecosystems , 1992 .

[37]  K. Kikuzawa.  A Cost-Benefit Analysis of Leaf Habit and Leaf Longevity of Trees and Their Geographical Pattern , 1991, The American Naturalist.

[38]  F. Stuart Chapin,et al.  The Ecology and Economics of Storage in Plants , 1990 .

[39]  Takao Fujimori,et al.  Crown and Canopy Structure in Relation to Productivity. , 1987 .

[40]  K. Vogt,et al.  Production, Turnover, and Nutrient Dynamics of Above- and Belowground Detritus of World Forests , 1986 .

[41]  H. Mooney,et al.  Resource Limitation in Plants-An Economic Analogy , 1985 .

[42]  Richard H. Waring,et al.  Forest Ecosystems: Analysis at Multiple Scales , 1985 .

[43]  P. J. Wood,et al.  World Forest Biomass and Primary Production Data. , 1983 .

[44]  David J. Hicks,et al.  The Ecology of Leaf Life Spans , 1982 .

[45]  C. Osmond,et al.  Physiological Plant Ecology I , 1981, Encyclopedia of Plant Physiology.

[46]  John Philip Cooper,et al.  Photosynthesis and productivity in different environments , 1976 .

[47]  J. Monteith.  SOLAR RADIATION AND PRODUCTIVITY IN TROPICAL ECOSYSTEMS , 1972 .

[48]  T. Kira,et al.  PRIMARY PRODUCTION AND TURNOVER OF ORGANIC MATTER IN DIFFERENT FOREST ECOSYSTEMS OF THE WESTERN PACIFIC , 1967 .

[49]  Eville Gorham,et al.  Litter Production in Forests of the World , 1964 .