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Seasonal differences in leaf attributes in Australian tropical tree species: family and habitat comparisons

journal contribution
posted on 2023-05-16, 19:43 authored by Lynda PriorLynda Prior, David BowmanDavid Bowman, Eamus, D
1. An individual evergreen leaf in the northern Australian savanna biome experiences seasonal extremes in rainfall, raising questions of whether there is a corresponding shift in the physiology of these leaves, and whether estimates of leaf function for the biome differ between wet and dry seasons. 2. A range of leaf attributes was measured for 21 tree species in four contrasting habitats during the wet season, and again during the dry season for the 14 species that retained leaves. 3. The 14 leaf-retaining species showed decreases in assimilation rates, foliar saturated water content and chlorophyll content, and increases in leaf mass per area and leaf density between wet and dry seasons. Species means were strongly correlated between seasons for attributes other than assimilation and stomatal conductance. 4. Seasonal variation in CO2 assimilation rates was larger in non-Myrtaceous species than in the leaf-retaining Myrtaceous species that largely dominate the biome, and also varied considerably among the four habitats, which had different edaphic conditions. Assimilation per unit mass decreased between the wet and dry seasons by only 5% in the Melaleuca swamp and 17% in the Eucalyptus open forest, compared with 47% in the dry monsoon forest and 57% in the mixed woodland. 5. Biome means differed between seasons because wet-season means included measurements of fully deciduous species which tended to have large, thin, nitrogen-rich leaves.

History

Publication title

Functional Ecology

Volume

18

Issue

5

Pagination

707-718

ISSN

0269-8463

Department/School

School of Natural Sciences

Publisher

Blackwell Publishing

Place of publication

Oxford

Rights statement

© 2004 British Ecological Society. The definitive published version is available online at: http://www.interscience.wiley.com

Repository Status

  • Restricted

Socio-economic Objectives

Social impacts of climate change and variability

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