Abstract
Key message
For better categorization of species according to foliar habit, a set of leaf and wood traits must be observed.
Abstract
Tropical forests are influenced by distinct regional rainfall regimes, microclimates, and dynamics of nutrient cycling, which are responsible for creating key biodiversity patterns and differences in leaf deciduousness to drought. Functional traits studies have improved understanding of the functioning and heterogeneity of complex ecosystems. We have reviewed the literature focusing mainly on tropical dry forests and relationships among leaf habits (evergreen and deciduous) and other leaf and wood traits. Thus, we have compiled 121 original papers, 2 reports, and 9 book chapters published since 2000. We also provide a meta-analysis of these traits from Neotropics. Tropical deciduous species often have high photosynthetic rates per mass and specific leaf area and traits that improve water flow throughout the plant, such as wide xylem diameters and high hydraulic conductivity, maximizing resource capture during a limited growing season because of an acquisition strategy. The opposite is observed in evergreen species, namely as conservative species. Regardless of the plant organ, more morphological than physiological traits are available to compare leaf habits. For better categorization of species according to foliar habit, a set of leaf and wood traits must be observed. However, while local comparisons based on one or few traits may group species according to leaf habit, multivariate analyses for large spatial scales can reveal a different pattern. We have identified some open questions that can be further addressed in this research field to contribute to the improvement of theoretical frameworks as well as the consequences of a changing climate for tropical dry forests.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Availability of data and material
No applicable.
References
Aguilar-Peralta JS, González-Rodríguez A, Maldonado-López Y et al (2020) Contrasting patterns of morphology, fluctuating asymmetry and leaf herbivory in three plant species of different successional stages of a tropical dry forest. Trees 34:1075–1086. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-020-01982-z
Aguirre‐Gutiérrez J, Oliveras I, Rifai S, Fauset S, Adu‐Bredu S, Affum‐Baffoe K, Baker TR, Feldpausch TR, Gvozdevaite A, Hubau W, Kraft NJB, Lewis SL, Moore S, Niinemets Ü, Peprah T, Phillips OL, Ziemińska K, Enquist B, Malhi Y, Penuelas J (2019) Drier tropical forests are susceptible to functional changes in response to a long‐term drought. Ecol Lett 22(5):855–865. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13243
Allen K, Dupuy JM, Gei MG et al (2017) Will seasonally dry tropical forests be sensitive or resistant to future changes in rainfall regimes? Environ Res Lett 12:023001. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aa5968
Álvarez-Yépiz JC, Búrquez A, Martínez-Yrízar A et al (2017) Resource partitioning by evergreen and deciduous species in a tropical dry forest. Oecologia 183:607–618. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-016-3790-3
Ávila-Lovera E, Coronel RUI, Tezara W (2019) Seasonal gas exchange and resource-use efficiency in evergreen versus deciduous species from a tropical dry forest. Tree Physiol 39:1561–1571. https://doi.org/10.1093/treephys/tpz060
Baas P, Ewers F, Davis SD et al (2004) The evolution of xylem physiology. In: Raven J, Edwards D (eds) The evolution of plant physiology: from whole plants to ecosystems. Academic Press, Cambridge, pp 273–295
Bartlett MK, Scoffoni C, Sack L (2012) The determinants of leaf turgor loss point and prediction of drought tolerance of species and biomes: a global meta-analysis. Ecol Lett 15:393–405. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1461-0248.2012.01751.x
Bickford CP (2016) Ecophysiology of leaf trichomes. Funct Plant Biol 43(9):807–814. https://doi.org/10.1071/FP16095
Bonal D, Burban B, Stahl C et al (2016) The response of tropical rainforests to drought—lessons from recent research and future prospects. Ann for Sci 73(1):27–44. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13595-015-0522-5
Borchert R, Rivera G, Hagnauer W (2002) Modification of vegetative phenology in a tropical semideciduous forest by abnormal drought and rain. Biotropica 34:27–39. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-7429.2002.tb00239.x
Brienen RJW, Schöngart J, Zuidema PA (2016) Tree rings in the tropics: insights into the ecology and climate sensitivity of tropical trees. In: Goldstein G, Santiago L (eds) Tropical tree physiology. Tree Physiol, 6th edn. Springer, Cham, pp 439–461. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-27422-5_20
Brodribb TJ, Holbrook NM (2005) Leaf physiology does not predict leaf habit; examples from tropical dry forest. Trees 19:290–295. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-004-0390-3
Brodribb TJ, Holbrook NM, Edwards EJ et al (2003) Relations between stomatal closure, leaf turgor and xylem vulnerability in eight tropical dry forest trees. Plant Cell Environ 26:443–450. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-3040.2003.00975.x
Bucci SJ, Goldstein G, Meinzer FC et al (2004) Functional convergence in hydraulic architecture and water relations of tropical savanna trees: from leaf to whole plant. Tree Physiol 24:891–899. https://doi.org/10.1093/treephys/24.8.891
Bucci SJ, Goldstein G, Meinzer FC et al (2005) Mechanisms contributing to seasonal homeostasis of minimum leaf water potential and predawn disequilibrium between soil and plant water potential in neotropical savanna trees. Trees 19:296–304. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-004-0391-2
Callado CH, Silva Neto SJ, Scarano FR et al (2001) Anatomical features of growth rings in flood-prone trees of the atlantic rain forest in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. IAWA Journal 22(1):29–42
Callado CH, Vasconcellos TJ, Costa MS et al (2014) Studies on cambial activity: advances and challenges in the knowledge of growth dynamics of Brazilian woody species. An Acad Bras Ciênc 86:277–284. https://doi.org/10.1590/0001-3765201320130033
Carmona D, Lajeunesse MJ, Johnson MT (2011) Plant traits that predict resistance to herbivores. Funct Ecol 25(2):358–367. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2435.2010.01794.x
Carrasco-Carballido V, Martínez-Garza C, Jiménez-Hernández H et al (2019) Effects of initial soil properties on three-year performance of six tree species in tropical dry forest restoration plantings. Forests 10(5):428. https://doi.org/10.3390/f10050428
Chakrabarty S, Sharma S, Ganguly S et al (2021) Quantitative estimates of deciduousness in woody species from a seasonally dry tropical forest are related to leaf functional traits and the timing of leaf flush. BioRxiv. https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.03.03.433407
Chaturvedi RK, Raghubanshi AS, Singh JS (2011) Plant functional traits with particular reference to tropical deciduous forests: a review. J Biosc 36:963–981. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12038-011-9159-1
Chaturvedi RK, Tripathi A, Raghubanshi AS et al (2021) Functional traits indicate a continuum of tree drought strategies across a soil water availability gradient in a tropical dry forest. For Ecol Manag 482:118740. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2020.118740
Chave J, Coomes D, Jansen S et al (2009) Towards a worldwide wood economics spectrum. Ecology Lett 12:351–366. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1461-0248.2009.01285.x
Chen JW, Zhang Q, Li XS et al (2009a) Independence of stem and leaf hydraulic traits in six Euphorbiaceae tree species with contrasting leaf phenology. Planta 230:459–468. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-009-0959-6
Chen JW, Zhang Q, Cao KF (2009b) Inter-species variation of photosynthetic and xylem hydraulic traits in the deciduous and evergreen Euphorbiaceae tree species from a seasonally tropical forest in south-western China. Ecol Res 24:65–73. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11284-008-0482-4
Choat B, Ball MC, Luly JG et al (2005) Hydraulic architecture of deciduous and evergreen dry rainforest tree species from north-eastern Australia. Trees 19:305–311. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-004-0392-1
Choat B, Ball MC, Luly JG et al (2006) Seasonal patterns of leaf gas exchange and water relations in dry rain forest trees of contrasting leaf phenology. Tree Physiol 26:657–664. https://doi.org/10.1093/treephys/26.5.657
Collins CG, Wright SJ, Wurzburger N (2016) Root and leaf traits reflect distinct resource acquisition strategies in tropical lianas and trees. Oecologia 180:1037–1047. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-015-3410-7
Cuba N, Lawrence D, Rogan J et al (2018) Local variability in the timing and intensity of tropical dry forest deciduousness is explained by differences in forest stand age. Gisci Remote Sens 55:437–456. https://doi.org/10.1080/15481603.2017.1403136
Curtis PS, Ackerly DD (2008) Introduction to a “virtual special issue” on plant ecological strategy axes in leaf and wood traits. New Phytol 179:901–903. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-8137.2008.02593.x
Díaz S, Kattge J, Cornelissen JHC et al (2016) The global spectrum of plant form and function. Nature 529:167–183. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature16489
Dirzo R, Raven PH (2003) Global state of biodiversity and loss. Annu Rev Environ Resources 28:137–167. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.energy.28.050302.105532
Donovan LA, Maherali H, Caruso CM et al (2011) The evolution of the worldwide leaf economics spectrum. Trends Ecology Evol 26:88–95. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2010.11.011
Eamus D, Prior L (2001) Ecophysiology of trees of seasonally dry tropics: comparisons among phenologies. Adv Ecol Res 32:113–197. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0065-2504(01)32012-3
Esser LF, Neves D, Jarenkow JA (2018) Habitat-specific impacts of climate change in the Mata Atlântica biodiversity hotspot. Divers Distrib 25:1846–1856. https://doi.org/10.1111/ddi.12984
Estrada-Medina H, Santiago LS, Graham RC et al (2013) Source water, phenology and growth of two tropical dry forest tree species growing on shallow karst soils. Trees 27:1297–1307. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-013-0878-9
Falster DS (2006) Sapling strength and safety: the importance of wood density in tropical forests. New Phytol 171:237–239. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-8137.2006.01809.x
Fan D, Zhang S, Yan H et al (2018) Do karst woody plants control xylem tension to avoid substantial xylem cavitation in the wet season? For Ecosyst 5:1–11. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40663-018-0158-7
FAO (2000) Global ecological zoning for the global forest resources assessment 2000 final report. Forest Resources Assessment—WP 56. http://www.fao.org/3/ad652e/ad652e07.htm#P470_31994. Accessed in 25 Sep 2020
Fu P-L, Jiang Y-J, Wang A-Y et al (2012) Stem hydraulic traits and leaf water-stress tolerance are coordinated with the leaf phenology of angiosperm trees in an Asian tropical dry karst forest. Ann Bot 110:189–199. https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcs092
Gei MG, Powers JS (2014) Nutrient cycling in tropical dry forests. In: Sanchez-Azofeifa A, Powers JS, Fernandes GW et al (eds) Tropical dry forests in the Americas: ecology, conservation, and management. CRC Press, Boca Raton, pp 141–156
GermanVargas G, Brodribb TJ, Dupuy JM et al (2021) Beyond leaf habit: generalities in plant function across 97 tropical dry forest tree species. New Phytol Accepted. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.17584
Givnish TJ (2002) Adaptive significance of evergreen vs. deciduous leaves: solving the triple paradox. Silva Fenn 36(3):703–743. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.535
Golicher DJ, Cayuela L, Newton AC (2012) Effects of climate change on the potential species richness of Mesoamerican forests. Biotropica 44(3):284–293. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-7429.2011.00815.x
Greve P, Orlowsky B, Mueller B et al (2014) Global assessment of trends in wetting and drying over land. Nat Geosc 7(10):716–721. https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo2247
Hacke UG, Sperry JS, Pockman WT et al (2001) Trends in wood density and structure are linked to prevention of xylem implosion by negative pressure. Oecologia 126:457–461. https://doi.org/10.1007/s004420100628
Hanley ME, Lamont BB, Fairbanks MM et al (2007) Plant structural traits and their role in anti-herbivore defence. Perspect Plant Ecol Evol Syst 8(4):157–178. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ppees.2007.01.001
Hasnat GNT, Hossain MK (2020) Global overview of tropical dry forests. In: Bhadouria R, Tripathi S, Srivastava P et al (eds) Handbook of research on the conservation and restoration of tropical dry forests, Pennsylvania, pp 1–23
Hasselquist NJ, Allen MF, Santiago LS (2010) Water relations of evergreen and drought-deciduous trees along a seasonally dry tropical forest chronosequence. Oecologia 164:881–890. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-010-1725-y
Haworth M, McElwain J (2008) Hot, dry, wet, cold or toxic? Revisiting the ecological significance of leaf and cuticular micromorphology. Palaeogeogr Palaeoclimatol Palaeoecol 262(1–2):79–90. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2008.02.009
Hiremath AJ (2000) Photosynthetic nutrient-use efficiency in three fast-growing tropical trees with differing leaf longevities. Tree Physiol 20:937–944. https://doi.org/10.1093/treephys/20.14.937
Hoeber S, Leuschner C, Köhler L et al (2014) The importance of hydraulic conductivity and wood density to growth performance in eight tree species from a tropical semi-dry climate. For Ecol Manag 330:126–136. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2014.06.039
Holanda AER, Souza BC, Carvalho ECD et al (2019) How do leaf wetting events affect gas exchange and leaf lifespan of plants from seasonally dry tropical vegetation? Plant Biol 21:1097–1109. https://doi.org/10.1111/plb.13023
Huechacona-Ruiz AH, Dupuy JM, Schwartz NB et al (2020) Mapping tree species deciduousness of tropical dry forests combining reflectance, spectral unmixing, and texture data from high-resolution imagery. Forests 11(11):1234. https://doi.org/10.3390/f11111234
IPCC (2021) Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Masson-Delmotte V, Zhai P, Pirani A, Connors SL, Péan C, Berger S, Caud N, Chen Y, Goldfarb L, Gomis MI, Huang M, Leitzell K, Lonnoy E, Matthews JBR, Maycock TK, Waterfield T, Yelekçi O, Yu R, Zhou B (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press. In Press
Ishida A, Diloksumpun S, Ladpala P et al (2006) Contrasting seasonal leaf habits of canopy trees between tropical dry-deciduous and evergreen forests in Thailand. Tree Physiol 26:643–656. https://doi.org/10.1093/treephys/26.5.643
Kikuzawa K, Lechowicz MJ (2011) Ecology of leaf longevity. Springer, Berlin
King DA, Davies SJ, Tan S et al (2006) The role of wood density and stem support costs in the growth and mortality of tropical trees. J Ecol 94(3):670–680. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2745.2006.01112.x
Kursar TA, Engelbrecht BMJ, Burke A et al (2009) Tolerance to low leaf water status of tropical tree seedlings is related to drought performance and distribution. Funct Ecol 23:93–102. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2435.2008.01483.x
Kushwaha CP, Singh KP (2005) Diversity of leaf phenology in a tropical deciduous forest in India. J Trop Ecol 21:47–56. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0266467404002032
Kushwaha CP, Tripathi SK, Singh KP et al (2010) Diversity deciduousness and phenological traits of key Indian dry tropical forest trees. Ann Sci 67:1–8. https://doi.org/10.1051/forest/2009116
Lal CB, Annapurna C, Raghubanshi AS et al (2011) Effect of leaf habit and soil type on nutrient resorption and conservation in woody species of a dry tropical environment. Can J Bot 79:1066–1075. https://doi.org/10.1139/b01-077
Lavorel S, Garnier E (2002) Predicting changes in community composition and ecosystem functioning from plant traits: revisiting the Holy Grail. Funct Ecol 16:545–556. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2435.2002.00664.x
Li L, Mc Cormack ML, Ma C et al (2015) Leaf economics and hydraulic traits are decoupled in five species-rich tropical-subtropical forests. Ecol Lett 18:899–906. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.12466
Linares-Palomino R, Oliveira-Filho AT, Pennington RT (2011) Neotropical seasonally dry forests: diversity, endemism, and biogeography of woody plants. In: Dirzo R, Young HS, Mooney HA et al (eds) Seasonally dry tropical forests: ecology and conservation. Island Press, Washington, pp 1–23
Lohbeck M, Lebrija-Trejos E, Martínez-Ramos M et al (2015) Functional trait strategies of trees in dry and wet tropical forests are similar but differ in their consequences for succession. PLoS One 10(4):e0123741. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0123741
Lusk CH, Wright I, Reich PB (2003) Photosynthetic differences contribute to competitive advantage of evergreen angiosperm trees over evergreen conifers in productive habitats. New Phytol 160:329–336. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1469-8137.2003.00879.x
Malhi Y, Wright J (2004) Spatial patterns and recent trends in the climate of tropical rainforest regions. Philos Trans R Soc Lond [bio] 359:311–329. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2003.1433
Malhi Y, Gardner TA, Goldsmith GR et al (2014) Tropical forests in the anthropocene. Annu Rev Environ Resour 39:125–159. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-environ-030713-155141
Marchin R, Zeng H, Hoffmann W (2010) Drought-deciduous behavior reduces nutrient losses from temperate deciduous trees under severe drought. Oecologia 163:845–854. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-010-1614-4
Markesteijn L, Poorter L, Paz H et al (2011) Ecological differentiation in xylem cavitation resistance is associated with stem and leaf structural traits. Plant Cell Environ 34:137–148. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-3040.2010.02231.x
Marques TV, Mendes K, Mutti P et al (2020) Environmental and biophysical controls of evapotranspiration from Seasonally Dry Tropical Forests (Caatinga) in the Brazilian Semiarid. Agric for Meteorol 287:107957. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2020.107957
Meinzer FC, James SA, Goldstein G, Woodruff D (2003) Whole-tree water transport scales with sapwood capacitance in tropical forest canopy trees. Plant Cell Environ 26:1147–1155. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-3040.2003.01039.x
Meir P, Pennington RT (2011) Climatic change and seasonally dry tropical forests. In: Dirzo R, Young HS, Mooney HA et al (eds) Seasonally dry tropical forests. Island Press, Washington, pp 279–299
Meir P, Mencuccini M, Dewar RC (2015) Drought-related tree mortality: addressing the gaps in understanding and prediction. New Phytol 207(1):28–33. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.13382
Méndez-Alonzo R, Paz H, Zuluaga RC et al (2012) Coordinated evolution of leaf and stem economics in tropical dry forest trees. Ecology 93:397–406. https://doi.org/10.1890/11-1213.1
Méndez-Alonzo R, Pineda-García F, Paz H et al (2013) Leaf phenology is associated with soil water availability and xylem traits in a tropical dry forest. Trees 27:745–754. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-012-0829-x
Messier J, McGill BJ, Enquist BJ et al (2017) Trait variation and integration across scales: is the leaf economic spectrum present at local scales? Ecography 40(6):685–697. https://doi.org/10.1111/ecog.02006
Missio FDF, da Silva AC, Higuchi P et al (2017) Functional traits of tree species in a fragment of araucaria forest in Lages, Santa Catarina state. Ciência Florestal 27:215–224. https://doi.org/10.5902/1980509826460
Myers N, Mittermeier RA, Mittermeier CG et al (2000) Biodiversity hotspots for conservation priorities. Nature 403:853–858. https://doi.org/10.1038/35002501
Nath CD, Munoz F, Pélissier R et al (2016) Growth rings in tropical trees: role of functional traits, environment, and phylogeny. Trees 30:2153–2175. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-016-1442-1
O’Brien JJ, Oberbauer SF, Clark DB et al (2008) Phenology and stem diameter increment seasonality in a Costa Rican wet tropical forest. Biotropica 40:151–159. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-7429.2007.00354.x
Oliveira RS, Costa FRC, Baalen E et al (2018) Embolism resistance drives the distribution of Amazonian rainforest tree species along hydro-topographic gradients. New Phytol 221:1457–1465. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.15463
Oliveira RS, Eller CB, Barros FDV et al (2021) Linking plant hydraulics and the fast–slow continuum to understand resilience to drought in tropical ecosystems. New Phytol 230(3):904–923. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.17266
Osnas JLD, Katabuchi M, Kitajima K et al (2018) Divergent drivers of leaf trait variation within species, among species, and among functional groups. PNAS 155:5480–5485. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1803989115
Pacifici M, Visconti P, Butchart SH et al (2017) Species’ traits influenced their response to recent climate change. Nat Clim Chang 7(3):205–208. https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate3223
Pantoja MV, Mota MA, Jardim MAG (2019) Influence of rainfall in natural regeneration in a dense ombrophylous forest alluvial in eastern amazon, Pará, Brasil. Rev Bras Geogr Fís 12:1302–1309. https://doi.org/10.26848/rbgf.v12.4.p1302-1309
Pennington RT, Lavin M, Oliveira-Filho A (2009) Woody plant diversity, evolution, and ecology in the tropics: perspectives from seasonally dry tropical forests. Annu Rev Ecol Evol Syst 40:437–457. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.110308.120327
Pérez-Harguindeguy N, Diaz S, Garnier E et al (2016) New Handbook for standardized measurement of plant functional traits worldwide. Aust J Bot 61:167–234. https://doi.org/10.1071/BT12225_CO
Phillips OL, Aragão LE, Lewis SL et al (2009) Drought sensitivity of the Amazon rainforest. Science 323(5919):1344–1347. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1164033
Pickup M, Westoby M, Basden A (2005) Dry mass costs of deploying leaf area in relation to leaf size. Funct Ecol 19(1):88–97. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0269-8463.2005.00927.x
Pineda-García F, Paz H, Meinzer FC et al (2015) Exploiting water versus tolerating drought: water-use strategies of trees in a secondary successional tropical dry forest. Tree Physiol 36:208–217. https://doi.org/10.1093/treephys/tpv124
Poorter L, Bongers F (2006) Leaf traits are good predictors of plant performance across 53 rain forest species. Ecology 87:1733–1743. https://doi.org/10.1890/0012-9658(2006)87[1733:LTAGPO]2.0.CO;2
Poorter L, Van de Plassche M, Willems S, Boot RGA (2004) Leaf traits and herbivory rates of tropical tree species differing in successional status. Plant Biol 6:746–754. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-2004-821269
Poorter L, Bongers F, Sterck FJ, Wöll H (2005) Beyond the regeneration phase: differentiation of height–light trajectories among tropical tree species. J Ecol 93:256–267. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2745.2004.00956.x
Poorter L, McDonald I, Alarcón A et al (2010) The importance of wood traits and hydraulic conductance for the performance and life history strategies of 42 rainforest tree species. New Phytol 185(2):481–492. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-8137.2009.03092.x
Poorter L, Rozendaal DM, Bongers F et al (2019) Wet and dry tropical forests show opposite successional pathways in wood density but converge over time. Nat Ecol Evol 3(6):928–934. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-019-0882-6
Powers JS, Tiffin P (2010) Plant functional type classifications in tropical dry forests in Costa Rica: leaf habit versus taxonomic approaches. Funct Ecol 24:927–936. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2435.2010.01701.x
Powers JS, Backlund KK, Gei MG et al (2015) Nutrient addition effects on tropical dry forests: a mini-review from microbial to ecosystem scales. Front Earth Sci 3:34. https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2015.00034
Pringle EG, Adams R, Broadbent E et al (2011) Distinct leaf-trait syndromes of evergreen and deciduous trees in a seasonally dry tropical forest. Biotropica 43:299–308. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-7429.2010.00697.x
Prior LD, Eamus D, Bowman DMJS (2003) Leaf attributes in the seasonally dry tropics: a comparison of four habitats in northern Australia. Funct Ecol 17:504–515. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2435.2003.00761.x
Pulla S, Ramaswami G, Mondal N et al (2015) Assessing the resilience of global seasonally dry tropical forests. Int for Rev 17(3):91–113. https://doi.org/10.1505/146554815815834796
Reich PB (2014) The world-wide ‘fast–slow’ plant economics spectrum: a traits manifesto. J Ecology 102:275–301. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.12211
Russo SE, Kitajima K (2016) The ecophysiology of leaf lifespan in tropical forests: adaptive and plastic reses to environmental heterogeneity. In: Goldstein G, Santiago L (eds) Tropical tree physiology, 1st edn. Springer, Berlin, pp 357–383
Sastry A, Barua D (2017) Leaf thermotolerance in tropical trees from a seasonally dry climate varies along the slow-fast resource acquisition spectrum. Sci Rep 7:11246. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-11343-5
Schietti J, Emilio T, Rennó CD et al (2014) Vertical distance from drainage drives floristic composition changes in an Amazonian rainforest. Plant Ecol Divers 7:241–253. https://doi.org/10.1080/17550874.2013.783642
Segrestin J, Sartori K, Navas ML et al (2021) PhenoSpace: a Shiny application to visualize trait data in the phenotypic space of the global spectrum of plant form and function. Ecol Evol 11:1526–1534. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.6928
Shipley B, Lechowicz MJ, Wright I et al (2006) Fundamental trade-offs generating the worldwide leaf economics spectrum. Ecology 87:535–541. https://doi.org/10.1890/05-1051
Silva JO, Espírito-Santo MM, Moraes HC (2015) Leaf traits and herbivory on deciduous and evergreen trees in a tropical dry forest. Basic Appl Ecol 16:210–219. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.baae.2015.02.005
Silva MS, Funch LS, Silva LB (2019) The growth ring concept: seeking a broader and unambiguous approach covering tropical species. Biol Rev 94:1161–1178. https://doi.org/10.1111/brv.12495
Silva JLA, Souza AF, Vitória AP (2021) Historical and current environmental selection on functional traits of trees in the Atlantic Forest biodiversity hotspot. J Veg Sci 32:e13049. https://doi.org/10.1111/jvs.13049
Singh S, Verma AK (2000) Plant functional traits in tropical dry forests: a review. In: Bhadouria R, Tripathi S, Srivastava P et al (eds) Handbook of research on the conservation and restoration of tropical dry forests, Pennsylvania, pp 66–88
Souza BC, Oliveira RS, Araújo FS et al (2015) Functional divergences and strategies of resistance to drought between tropical deciduous and evergreen species. Rodriguésia 66(1):021–032. https://doi.org/10.1590/2175-7860201566102
Souza BC, Carvalho ECD, Oliveira RS et al (2020) Drought response strategies of deciduous and evergreen woody species in a seasonally dry neotropical forest. Oecologia 194:221–236. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-020-04760-3
Sterck FJ, van Gelder HA, Poorter L (2006) Mechanical branch constraints contribute to life-history variation across tree species in a Bolivian forest. J Ecol 94:1192–1200. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2745.2006.01162.x
Swenson NG, Enquist BJ (2007) Ecological and evolutionary determinants of a key plant functional trait: Wood density and its community-wide variation across latitude and elevation. Am J Bot 94(3):451–459. https://doi.org/10.3732/ajb.94.3.451
Tarelkin Y, Hufkens K, Hahn S et al (2019) Wood anatomy variability under contrasted environmental conditions of common deciduous and evergreen species from central African forests. Trees 33:893–909. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-019-01826-5
Taubert F, Fischer R, Groeneveld J et al (2018) Global patterns of tropical forest fragmentation. Nature 554:519–522. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature25508
Valladares F, Gianoli E, Gómez JM (2007) Ecological limits to plant phenotypic plasticity. New Phytol 176:749–763. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-8137.2007.02275.x
Violle C, Navas ML, Vile D et al (2007) Let the concept of trait be functional. Oikos 116:882–892. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0030-1299.2007.15559.x
Vitória AP, Vieira TO, de Camargo PB et al (2016) Using leaf δ13C and photosynthetic parameters to understand acclimation to irradiance and leaf age effects during tropical forest regeneration. For Ecol Manag 379:50–60. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2016.07.048
Vitória AP, Ávila-Lovera E, Vieira TO et al (2018) Isotopic composition of leaf carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) of deciduous and evergreen understorey trees in two tropical Brazilian Atlantic forests. J Trop Ecol 34:145–156. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0266467418000093
Vitória AP, Alves LF, Santiago LS (2019) Atlantic forest and leaf traits: an overview. Trees 33:1535–1547. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-019-01864-z
Werden LK, Waring BG, Smith-Martin CM et al (2018) Tropical dry forest trees and lianas differ in leaf economic spectrum traits but have overlapping water-use strategies. Tree Physiol 38:517–530. https://doi.org/10.1093/treephys/tpx135
Westoby M, Falster DS, Moles AT et al (2002) Plant ecological strategies: some leading dimensions of variation between species. Ann Rev Ecol Syst 33(1):125–159. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.33.010802.150452
Worbes M, Blanchart S, Fichtler E (2013) Relations between water balance, wood traits and phenological behavior of tree species from a tropical dry forest in Costa Rica—a multifactorial study. Tree Physiol 33:527–536. https://doi.org/10.1093/treephys/tpt028
Wright IJ, Westoby M (2002) Leaves at low versus high rainfall: coordination of structure, lifespan and physiology. New Phytol 155:403–416. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1469-8137.2002.00479.x
Wright IJ, Reich PB, Westoby M et al (2004) The world-wide leaf economics spectrum. Nature 428:821–827. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature02403
Wright IJ, Reich PB, Cornelissen JHC et al (2005) Modulation of leaf economic traits and trait relationships by climate. Glob Ecol Biogeogr 14:411–421. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1466-822x.2005.00172.x
Wright SJ, Kitajima K, Kraft NJB et al (2010) Functional traits and the growth-mortality tradeoff in tropical trees. Ecology 91:3664–3674. https://doi.org/10.1890/09-2335.1
Yan Z, Li P, Chen Y et al (2016) Nutrient allocation strategies of woody plants: an approach from the scaling of nitrogen and phosphorus between twig stems and leaves. Sci Rep 6:20099. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep20099
Yang Y-J, Bi M-H, Nie Z-F et al (2021) Evolution of stomatal closure to optimise water use efficiency in response to dehydration in ferns and seed plants. New Phytol. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.17278
Zvereva E, Kozlov MV (2014) Effects of herbivory on leaf life span in woody plants: a meta-analysis. J Ecol 102:873–881. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.12252
Acknowledgements
DRR thanks the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior—CAPES—for a doctoral scholarship (Finance Code 001). APV thanks the Conselho Nacional de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento Tecnológico—CNPq—for a PQ scholarship (process # 302330/2019-4). JLAS thanks the Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense Darcy Ribeiro for a postdoctoral fellowship (Edital 03/2019). The authors acknowledge the financial support given by the Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ) processes # E-26/210.064/2018 and #E-26/010.001917/2019.
Funding
This study was partially financed by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior—Brazil (CAPES)—Finance Code 001. The authors acknowledge the financial support given by FAPERJ (Fundação Carlos Chagas Filho de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro) through the processes # E-26/210.064/2018 and # E-26/010.001917/2019. APV thanks the CNPq (Conselho Nacional de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento Tecnológico, 302330/2019-4) for PQ scholarship.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
To the best of our knowledge, no conflict of interest, financial or other, exists.
Additional information
Communicated by M. Aspinwall .
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Supplementary Information
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ribeiro, D.R., Silva, J.L.A., do Nascimento, M.T. et al. Leaf habits and their relationship with leaf and wood traits in tropical dry forests. Trees 36, 7–24 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-021-02200-0
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-021-02200-0