The contrasting leaf functional traits between a karst forest and a nearby non-karst forest in south-west China

Trees in karst forests exhibit higher phosphorus concentrations, photosynthetic capacity, and water use efficiency compared to those in nearby non-karst forests. This adaptation suggests that karst trees are more conservative in water use, while soil phosphorus deficiency may limit growth in non-karst forests. The study analyzed gas exchange, anatomical traits, and mineral nutrient concentrations in leaves from 21 tree species in a tropical karst forest and 19 in a non-karst forest in south-west China. It found that evergreen and deciduous trees differed more significantly in leaf functional traits in the karst forest than in the non-karst forest, with the palisade:spongy mesophyll thickness ratio positively correlated with stomatal conductance but negatively with photosynthetic water use efficiency—contrasting patterns not observed in the non-karst forest.

Fu, P.-L., Zhu, S.-D., Zhang, J.-L., Finnegan, P. M., Jiang, Y.-J., Lin, H., Fan, Z.-X., & Cao, K.-F. (2019). The contrasting leaf functional traits between a karst forest and a nearby non-karst forest in south-west China. Functional Plant Biology, 46(10), 907–915. https://doi.org/10.1071/fp19103