Analogous above- and belowground traits for twelve boreal tree species

It is heavily debated whether analagous aboveground and belowground traits
are coordinated. Here, we collected trait data (above- and belowground)
for twelve boreal forest tree species to assess trait coordination in
leaves and roots. We find only partial evidence for above-belowground
coordination for "fast-slow economic traits", such that N
content and dry matter content were positively correlated with each other.
However, root dry matter content and leaf N had no significant
relationship. For reseource acquisition traits we found no strong evidence
for trait cordination, as specific root length and specific leaf area were
not positively correlated.Site explained little of the total trait
variation, whereas within-site variation contributed substantially to the
total trait variation for a large number of traits, more so for
morphological root traits than leaf traits.