Assessment of leaf morphological, physiological, chemical and stoichiometry functional traits for understanding the functioning of Himalayan temperate forest ecosystem

Abstract

Leaf functional traits support plant survival and growth in different stress and disturbed conditions and respond according to leaf habit. The present study examined 13 leaf traits (3 morphological, 3 chemical, 5 physiological, and 2 stoichiometry) of nine dominant forest tree species (3 coniferous, 3 deciduous broad-leaved, 3 evergreen broad-leafed) to understand the varied response of leaf habits. The hypothesis was to test if functional traits of the conifers, deciduous and evergreen differ significantly in the temperate forest and to determine the applicability of leaf economic theory i.e., conservative vs. acquisitive resource investment, in the temperate Himalayan region. The attributes of the functional traits i.e., leaf area (LA), specific leaf area (SLA), leaf dry matter content (LDMC), leaf water content (LWC), stomatal conductance (Gs), and transpiration (E) followed the order deciduous > evergreen > coniferous. Leaf carbon and leaf C/N ratio showed the opposite pattern, coniferous > evergreen > deciduous. Chlorophyll (Chl) and photosynthetic rate (A) were highest for evergreen species, followed by deciduous and coniferous species. Also, structural equation modelling determined that morphological factors were negatively related to physiological and positively with chemical factors. Nevertheless, physiological and chemical factors were positively related to each other. The physiological traits were mainly regulated by stomatal conductance (Gs) however the morphological traits were determined by LDMC. Stoichiometry traits, such as leaf C/N, were found to be positively related to leaf carbon, and leaf N/P was found to be positively related to leaf nitrogen. The result of the leaf functional traits relationship would lead to precise prediction for the functionality of the temperate forest ecosystem at the regional scale.