Data from: Within-species patterns challenge our understanding of the Leaf Economics Spectrum

The utility of plant functional traits for predictive ecology relies on our ability to interpret trait variation across multiple taxonomic and ecological scales. Using extensive datasets of trait variation within species, across species, and across communities, we analyzed whether and at what scales ‘leaf economics spectrum’ (LES) traits show predicted trait-trait covariation. We found that most variation in LES traits is often, but not universally, at high taxonomic levels (between families, between genera in a family). However, we found that trait covariation shows distinct taxonomic scale-dependence, with some trait correlations showing opposite signs within versus across species. LES traits responded independently to environmental gradients within species, with few shared environmental responses across traits or across scales. We conclude that, at small taxonomic scales, plasticity may obscure or reverse the broad evolutionary linkages between leaf traits, meaning that variation in LES traits cannot always be interpreted as differences in resource use strategy.

植物功能性状在预测生态学中的应用价值，取决于我们能否清晰阐释跨多重分类学与生态学尺度的性状变异规律。本研究依托涵盖种内、种间以及群落间性状变异的大规模数据集，分析了“叶经济谱（leaf economics spectrum, LES）”性状是否符合预期的性状间协变关系，以及其呈现该协变关系的具体尺度。研究发现，叶经济谱性状的绝大多数变异通常存在于较高的分类学层级（科间、科内属间），但这一规律并非普遍适用。同时，我们发现性状协变关系具有显著的分类学尺度依赖性：部分性状间的相关方向在种内与种间层面恰好相反。叶经济谱性状在种内尺度下对环境梯度的响应彼此独立，极少存在跨性状或跨尺度的共享环境响应模式。综上，在较小的分类学尺度下，表型可塑性可能掩盖甚至逆转叶性状间广泛存在的进化关联，这意味着叶经济谱性状的变异并非总能被解读为资源利用策略的差异。