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@article{Xu:2025,
author = {Xu, H and Wang, H and Prentice, IC and Harrison, SP and Rowland, L and Mencuccini, M and Sanchez-Martinez, P and He, P and Wright, IJ and Sitch, S and Li, M and Ye, Q},
journal = {New Phytologist},
title = {Global variation in the ratio of sapwood to leaf area explained by optimality principles},
year = {2025}
}
TY - JOUR
AB - • The sapwood area supporting a given leaf area (Huber value, vH) reflects the coupling between carbon uptake and water transport and loss at a whole-plant level. Geographic variation in vH presumably reflect plant strategic adaptations but the lack of a general explanation for such variation hinders its representation in vegetation models and assessment of how its impact on the global carbon and water cycles. • Here we develop a simple hydraulic trait model to predict optimal vH by matching stem water supply and leaf water loss, and test its performance against two extensive plant hydraulic datasets. • We show that our eco-evolutionary optimality-based model explains nearly 60% of global vH variation in response to light, vapour pressure deficit, temperature and sapwood conductivity. Enhanced hydraulic efficiency with warmer temperatures reduces the sapwood area required to support a given leaf area, whereas high irradiance (supporting increased photosynthetic capacity) and drier air increase it. • This study thus provides a route to modelling variation in functional traits through the coordination of carbon uptake and water transport processes.
AU - Xu,H
AU - Wang,H
AU - Prentice,IC
AU - Harrison,SP
AU - Rowland,L
AU - Mencuccini,M
AU - Sanchez-Martinez,P
AU - He,P
AU - Wright,IJ
AU - Sitch,S
AU - Li,M
AU - Ye,Q
PY - 2025///
SN - 0028-646X
TI - Global variation in the ratio of sapwood to leaf area explained by optimality principles
T2 - New Phytologist
ER -
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