Leaf caloric value (LCV) reflects the capacity of a leaf to fix and accumulate solar energy through photosynthesis. We systematically investigated the LCV of 745 plant species in 9 forests, representing a range of tropical to cold-temperate forests along the 4700-km North-South Transect of Eastern China. The goals were to explore the latitudinal patterns of LCV at the levels of species, plant functional group, and community and to establish the relationship between LCV and gross primary productivity (GPP). Our results showed that LCV for all species ranged from 12.85 to 22.15 KJ g–1 with an average of 18.46 KJ g–1. Plant functional groups had a significant influence on LCV, with trees > shrubs > herbs, conifers > broadleaved trees, and evergreens > deciduous trees. The different values of LCV represented the long-term evolution and adaptation of plant species to different environments. Unexpectedly, no apparent latitudinal trends of LCV at community level were observed, although LCV at the species level clearly decreased with increasing latitude. Use efficiency of LCV (CUE, gC KJ–1), defined as the ratio of GPP to total LCV at the community level, varied quadratic with latitude and was lower in the middle latitudes. Climate (temperature and precipitation) may explain 52.9% of the variation in spatial patterns of CUE, which was positively correlated with aridity. Our findings are the first large-scale report of the latitudinal patterns of LCV in forests at the species, plant functional group, and community levels and provide new insights into the relationship between LCV and ecosystem functions in forest communities.
Key Laboratory for Forest Resources & Ecosystem Processes of Beijing, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, China;Key Laboratory for Forest Resources & Ecosystem Processes of Beijing, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, China;Key Laboratory for Forest Resources & Ecosystem Processes of Beijing, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, China;Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China;Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China
Recommended Citation:
Guangyan Song,Jihua Hou,Ying Li,et al. Leaf Caloric Value from Tropical to Cold-Temperate Forests: Latitudinal Patterns and Linkage to Productivity[J]. PLOS ONE,2016-01-01,11(6)