Intra-specific variation in leaf attributes of four savanna tree species across a rainfall gradient in tropical Australia
L. D. Prior A C , D. M. J. S. Bowman A and D. Eamus BA Key Centre for Tropical Wildlife Management, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, NT 0909, Australia.
B Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Technology, Sydney, NSW 2007, Australia.
C Corresponding author. Email: lynda.prior@cdu.edu.au
Australian Journal of Botany 53(4) 323-335 https://doi.org/10.1071/BT04080
Submitted: 4 June 2004 Accepted: 23 December 2004 Published: 24 June 2005
Abstract
Leaf attributes of four savanna tree species were measured along a rainfall gradient (1650–950 mm per annum) in the Australian monsoon tropics. As the mean annual rainfall decreased, leaf thickness increased for three of these four species. However, a corresponding decrease in leaf density for two species meant that leaf mass per area increased significantly only for one species. Physiological measurements were made during both the wet and dry seasons on comparable stands of vegetation near the extremes and middle of this gradient. Assimilation per unit mass was similar at all three sites but assimilation per leaf area was higher at the drier sites because leaves were thicker with higher mass per area. These results probably reflect reduced tree density and leaf area index at the drier sites, which offsets the lower rainfall, potentially allowing similar rates of assimilation per unit carbohydrate invested in leaves.
Acknowledgments
We thank staff of the Northern Territory Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Environment for allowing us access to the Territory Wildlife Park and Cutta Cutta Nature Park for this study. Mr Garry Hamilton of Equest Pty Ltd kindly permitted us to use the McDonald Airstrip site. We also thank the Bureau of Meteorology for supplying rainfall data for the study sites. We are grateful to Ms Françoise Foti for careful leaf nutrient analyses and to Dan McIntyre for preparing Fig. 1. This work was funded by Australian Research Council Large Grant A00001382.
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