Plant functional traits

The whole-plant economics spectrum (PES) refers to the trade-offs among the many plant functional traits that are commonly used as indicators of major adaptive strategies, thereby providing insights into plant distributions, ecosystem processes, and evolution. However, there are few studies of what may be called the whole-plant economic spectrum (PES) that integrates bark, wood, and leaf functional traits for different leaf-types and growth habits (evergreen versus deciduous species).

To address this gap in our knowledge, 6 bark traits, 7 wood traits (including mechanical support and nutrient transport characteristics), and 12 leaf traits (including chemical, structural, and physiological characteristics) of 59 representative subtropical woody species were examined using principal component analysis (PCA) to determine PES strategies.

The economics spectra of bark (BES), wood (WES), and leaves (LES), and the entire PES indicated that major traits represent resource acquisition stra...