TY - JOUR
T1 - Why are evergreen leaves so contrary about shade?
AU - Lusk, Christopher H.
AU - Reich, Peter B.
AU - Montgomery, Rebecca A.
AU - Ackerly, David D.
AU - Cavender-Bares, Jeannine
PY - 2008/6
Y1 - 2008/6
N2 - Leaf mass per area (LMA) is one of the most widely measured of all plant functional traits. In deciduous forests, there is similarity between plastic and evolutionary responses of LMA to light gradients. In evergreens, however, LMA is lower in shaded than sunlit individuals of the same species, whereas shade-tolerant evergreens have higher LMA than light-demanders grown under the same conditions. We suggest that this pattern of 'counter-gradient variation' results from some combination of (i) close evolutionary coordination of LMA with leaf lifespan, (ii) selection for different leaf constitutions (relative investment in cell walls versus cell contents) in sun and shade environments and/or (iii) constraints on plasticity as a result of genetic correlations between phenotypes expressed in sun and shade.
AB - Leaf mass per area (LMA) is one of the most widely measured of all plant functional traits. In deciduous forests, there is similarity between plastic and evolutionary responses of LMA to light gradients. In evergreens, however, LMA is lower in shaded than sunlit individuals of the same species, whereas shade-tolerant evergreens have higher LMA than light-demanders grown under the same conditions. We suggest that this pattern of 'counter-gradient variation' results from some combination of (i) close evolutionary coordination of LMA with leaf lifespan, (ii) selection for different leaf constitutions (relative investment in cell walls versus cell contents) in sun and shade environments and/or (iii) constraints on plasticity as a result of genetic correlations between phenotypes expressed in sun and shade.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=43749088722&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.tree.2008.02.006
DO - 10.1016/j.tree.2008.02.006
M3 - Article
C2 - 18439708
AN - SCOPUS:43749088722
VL - 23
SP - 299
EP - 303
JO - Trends in Ecology & Evolution
JF - Trends in Ecology & Evolution
SN - 0169-5347
IS - 6
ER -