Leaf functional traits differentiation in relation to covering materials of urban tree pits

BMC Plant Biology

Yujuan Cao¹  Qing Xu¹  Jiyou Zhu¹  Xinna Zhang¹  Chengyang Xu¹  Weijun He² 

[1] Research Center for Urban Forestry, The Key Laboratory for Silviculture and Conservation of Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory for Silviculture and Forest Ecosystem of State Forestry and Grassland Administration, Beijing Forestry University, 100083, Beijing, China;Research Institute of Tropical Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, 510520, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China;

关键词: Leaf functional traits;    Adaptive strategies;    Urban tree pits;    Covering materials;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12870-021-03316-8

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundUnderstanding the ecological strategies of urban trees to the urban environment is crucial to the selection and management of urban trees. However, it is still unclear whether urban tree pit cover will affect plant functional traits. Here, we study the response of urban trees to different tree pit covers, analyzed the effects of different cover types on soil properties and their trade-off strategies based on leaf functional traits.ResultsWe found that there were obvious differences in the physical properties of the soil in different tree pit covers. Under the different tree pit cover types, soil bulk density and soil porosity reached the maximum under cement cover and turf cover, respectively. We found that tree pit cover significantly affected the leaf properties of urban trees. Leaf thickness, chlorophyll content index and stomatal density were mainly affected by soil bulk density and non-capillary porosity in a positive direction, and were affected by soil total porosity and capillary porosity in a negative direction. Leaf dry matter content and stomata area were mainly negatively affected by soil bulk density and non-capillary porosity, and positively affected by soil total porosity and capillary porosity. Covering materials of tree pits promoted the functional adjustment of plants and form the best combination of functions.ConclusionUnder the influence of tree pit cover, plant have low specific leaf area, stomata density, high leaf thickness, chlorophyll content index, leaf dry matter content, leaf tissue density and stomata area, which belong to “quick investment-return” type in the leaf economics spectrum.

【 授权许可】

CC BY