| Ecological differences among vascular land plants arise from the diverse ways of acquiring, using and conserving resources. In this respect, specific leaf area (projected leaf area per leaf dry mass; SLA) has received attention as the central trait, being associated with relative growth rate and with leaf life span, and hence with a plant's resource balance and its ecological behaviour. However, SLA is a complex trait determined by leaf dry matter content, lamina thickness and leaf density (fresh mass per volume); variation in each of the components can be assumed to have different consequences for a plant's adaptation to its habitat. In the present study, thirty six herbaceous plant species of Northeastern Ontario wetlands were measured comparing the following leaf traits: length, width, lamina thickness, cross-sectional area, dry matter content (DMC), SLA, leaf density, and the form of the leaf cross-sectional area. The aim was to better understand factors constraining SLA. Furthermore, leaf lifespan and leaf litter decomposition rates were assessed in order to understand the ecological consequences of variation in the different leaf traits. The investigations were conducted outdoors in an experimental garden with potted plants. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)... |
