Abstract
Intraspecific variation in leaf functional traits has gained widespread attention as a means to evaluate, predict, and manage plant responses to environmental conditions, however there are considerable uncertainties regarding the extent and drivers of intraspecific trait variation (ITV) in domesticated plants. In a coffee (Coffea arabica) agroforestry system, we quantified ITV in seven leaf traits [i.e. area (LA), mass per area (LMA), dry matter content (LDMC), thickness (Lth), nitrogen concentrations (LNC), maximum photosynthetic rate on area and mass bases (Asat, Amass, respectively)] across managed gradients of soil fertility and light availability. Leaf physiological traits (Asat, Amass), as well as LA, showed the greatest extent of variation within coffee, while morphological traits (LMA, LDMC, Lth) and leaf N were less variable. All traits differed significantly as a function of light and fertilization treatment, however light was more influential in driving ITV in coffee leaves. Low light availability resulted in greater ITV for physiological leaf traits (Asat and Amass), while high light constrained ITV in most morphological-(LA, LMA, LDMC), physiological-(Asat, Amass) and chemical-(LNC) traits. Fertilization treatments did not induce systematic shifts in the extent of ITV. In addition, shade management treatments explained 9.2% of the variation in multivariate trait syndromes, while nutrient management regimes explained only 2.9%. Our results indicate that highly heterogeneous aboveground resource environments such those created by agroforestry, results in greater ITV for key crop physiological parameters. Based on ecological theory, such patterns indicate that management systems promoting resource heterogeneity should promote higher rates of resource partitioning, and greater resource-use efficiency in agroecosystems.
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Acknowledgements
The authors wish to extent their gratitude to a handling editor and two anonymous reviewers who made comments that greatly improved the manuscript. The authors also sincerely thank CATIE and P. Leandro for laboratory facilities and the Aquiares farm for hosting the Coffee-Flux observatory since 2009. The Coffee-Flux site belongs to the SOERE F-ORE-T, which is supported annually by Ecofor, Allenvi and the French national research infrastructure ANAEE-F (http://www.anaee-france.fr/fr/). The experimental field site is partly funded by the CIRAD/IRD SAFSE and ANR MACACC (ANR-13-AGRO-0005) projects. We are much indebted to the Barquero family and collaborators for their excellent field assistance and to students and contributors of the Coffee-Flux project: http://www6.montpellier.inra.fr/ecosols/Implantations-et-ateliers/Costa-Rica. Financial support for this research was provided by a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Discovery Grant to MEI.
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Buchanan, S., Isaac, M.E., Van den Meersche, K. et al. Functional traits of coffee along a shade and fertility gradient in coffee agroforestry systems. Agroforest Syst 93, 1261–1273 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-018-0239-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-018-0239-1