Imperial College London
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Professor Iain Colin Prentice

Faculty of Natural Sciences, Department of Life Sciences (Silwood Park)

Chair in Biosphere and Climate Impacts
 
 
 
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Contact

 

+44 (0)20 7594 2482c.prentice

 
 
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Location

 

2.3Centre for Population BiologySilwood Park

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Summary

 

Publications

Citation

BibTex format

@article{Diaz:2015:10.1038/nature16489,
author = {Diaz, S and Kattge, J and Cornelissen, JHC and Wright, IJ and Lavorel, S and Dray, S and Reu, B and Kleyer, M and Wirth, C and Prentice, IC and Garnier, E and Boenisch, G and Westoby, M and Poorter, H and Reich, PB and Moles, AT and Dickie, J and Gillison, AN and Zanne, AE and Chave, J and Wright, SJ and Sheremet'ev, SN and Jactel, H and Baraloto, C and Cerabolini, B and Pierce, S and Shipley, B and Kirkup, D and Casanoves, F and Joswig, JS and Guenther, A and Falczuk, V and Rueger, N and Mahecha, MD and Gorne, LD},
doi = {10.1038/nature16489},
journal = {Nature},
pages = {167--U73},
title = {The global spectrum of plant form and function},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature16489},
volume = {529},
year = {2015}
}
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RIS format (EndNote, RefMan)

TY  - JOUR
AB  - Earth is home to a remarkable diversity of plant forms and life histories, yet comparatively few essential trait combinations have proved evolutionarily viable in today’s terrestrial biosphere. By analysing worldwide variation in six major traits critical to growth, survival and reproduction within the largest sample of vascular plant species ever compiled, we found that occupancy of six-dimensional trait space is strongly concentrated, indicating coordination and trade-offs. Three-quarters of trait variation is captured in a two-dimensional global spectrum of plant form and function. One major dimension within this plane reflects the size of whole plants and their parts; the other represents the leaf economics spectrum, which balances leaf construction costs against growth potential. The global plant trait spectrum provides a backdrop for elucidating constraints on evolution, for functionally qualifying species and ecosystems, and for improving models that predict future vegetation based on continuous variation in plant form and function.
AU  - Diaz,S
AU  - Kattge,J
AU  - Cornelissen,JHC
AU  - Wright,IJ
AU  - Lavorel,S
AU  - Dray,S
AU  - Reu,B
AU  - Kleyer,M
AU  - Wirth,C
AU  - Prentice,IC
AU  - Garnier,E
AU  - Boenisch,G
AU  - Westoby,M
AU  - Poorter,H
AU  - Reich,PB
AU  - Moles,AT
AU  - Dickie,J
AU  - Gillison,AN
AU  - Zanne,AE
AU  - Chave,J
AU  - Wright,SJ
AU  - Sheremet'ev,SN
AU  - Jactel,H
AU  - Baraloto,C
AU  - Cerabolini,B
AU  - Pierce,S
AU  - Shipley,B
AU  - Kirkup,D
AU  - Casanoves,F
AU  - Joswig,JS
AU  - Guenther,A
AU  - Falczuk,V
AU  - Rueger,N
AU  - Mahecha,MD
AU  - Gorne,LD
DO  - 10.1038/nature16489
EP  - 73
PY  - 2015///
SN  - 0028-0836
SP  - 167
TI  - The global spectrum of plant form and function
T2  - Nature
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature16489
UR  - http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/56792
VL  - 529
ER  -
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