Biogeosciences, 9, 775–801, 2012 www.biogeosciences.net/9/775/2012/ Biogeosciences doi:10.5194/bg-9-775-2012 © Author(s) 2012. CC Attribution 3.0 License. Coordination of physiological and structural traits in Amazon forest trees S. Patino˜ 1,2,†, N. M. Fyllas2, T. R. Baker2, R. Paiva3, C. A. Quesada2-4, A. J. B. Santos3,4,†, M. Schwarz1, H. ter Steege5, O. L. Phillips2, and J. Lloyd2,6 1Max-Planck-Institut fur¨ Biogeochemie, Postfach 100164, 07701, Jena, Germany 2School of Geography, University of Leeds, LS2 9JT UK 3Institito Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazonia,ˆ Manaus, AM, Brazil 4Departamento de Ecologia, Universidade de Bras´ılia, DF, Brazil 5Dept. of Plant Ecology and Biodiversity, Utrecht University, The Netherlands 6School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, James Cook University, Cairns, Qld 4871, Australia †deceased Correspondence to: J. Lloyd (
[email protected]) Received: 5 May 2011 – Published in Biogeosciences Discuss.: 25 May 2011 Revised: 16 November 2011 – Accepted: 18 January 2012 – Published: 16 February 2012 Abstract. Many plant traits covary in a non-random man- appears to be synchronised with increases in foliar nutrient ner reflecting interdependencies associated with “ecological concentrations and reductions in foliar [C]. Leaf and leaflet strategy” dimensions. To understand how plants integrate area and 8LS were less responsive to the environment than their structural and physiological investments, data on leaf ρx. and leaflet size and the ratio of leaf area to sapwood area Thus, although genetically determined foliar traits such as (8LS) obtained for 1020 individual trees (encompassing 661 those associated with leaf construction costs coordinate in- species) located in 52 tropical forest plots across the Ama- dependently of structural characteristics such as maximum zon Basin were incorporated into an analysis utilising ex- height, others such as the classical “leaf economic spectrum” isting data on species maximum height (Hmax), seed size, covary with structural traits such as leaf size and 8LS.