Data from: Leaf lifespan and the leaf economic spectrum in the context of whole plant architecture

1. The leaf economics spectrum (LES) has been an organizing framework of
plant functional ecology for the past decade. The LES describes a set of
trade-offs among traits related to plant carbon balance. Species with a
long leaf lifespan (LLS) invest additional material for leaf protection
and structural support, and consequently tend to have a lower leaf
photosynthetic rate per unit mass than species with a shorter LLS. 2.
While the LES is most apparent in comparing species with extreme
differences in their traits, it has nonetheless been adopted as a general
explanation of leaf trait variation at all scales and in all plants. It
highlights the ‘trait-based’ approach to plant ecology, which has
generally used a small set of traits to predict whole organism- and even
whole ecosystem- attributes. Few studies have investigated the
relationships between LES traits and organismal attributes not directly
related to carbon economy. 3. We explored the LES in 32 deciduous woody
species of Viburnum (Adoxaceae). We found no evidence for any mass-based
LES trade-offs. Rather, on an area basis, photosynthetic rates were
positively correlated with leaf mass per area (LMA); higher LMA was
associated with greater investment in photosynthetic tissue, with most of
the variation due to changes in the thickness of photosynthetic mesophyll.
4. Species’ mean LLS varied between 19 and 26 weeks, and was not
correlated with other LES traits. Instead, LLS was strongly associated
with the diverse set of whole-plant branching patterns in Viburnum. In the
most common growth pattern, LLS was significantly correlated with
flowering time, because branches end in terminal inflorescences, and all
leaves and inflorescences are preformed in over-wintering buds. 5.
Synthesis. Plants may recover the cost of their leaves early in the
growing season, allowing LLS to vary independently of the plant carbon
budget. In deciduous species, LLS may be strongly influenced by whole
plant architecture, which, in Viburnum, is evolutionarily conserved. In
general, positive area-based LES trait relationships will limit the
relevance of LLS to this spectrum, and allow LLS to vary for reasons that
are not directly related to carbon economy.