Does local soil factor drive functional leaf trait variation? A test on Neilingding Island, South China

Abstract

Leaf traits were affected by soil factors and displayed varietal differences in forest. However, few examples have been reported on the Island ecosystems. We comprehensively investigated 9 leaf traits (leaf length, leaf width, leaf area, SLA, leaf fresh weight, leaf C content, leaf N content, leaf K content, leaf C:N ratio) of 54 main subtropical woody species and soil parameters (soil pH, total C content, total N content, total K content, available N content, available P content, available K content and soil moisture) in Neilingding Island, Shenzhen, southern China. Intra-and interspecific variation of leaf traits were measured and their correlations with soil parameters were explored. The interspecific variations of leaf C:N ratio, leaf N content and leaf fresh weight were higher than their intraspecific variations. The intraspecific variation of leaf K content was larger than that of interspecific one, accounting for 80.69% of the total variance. Positive correlations were found among intraspecific coefficients of variations in leaf morphological traits. The correlation analysis between the variation of intraspecific traits and the variation of soil parameters showed that changes in soil factors affected leaf morphology and stoichiometry. The interaction between soil moisture and soil available P content was the key factor on intraspecific variations of leaf traits including leaf area, leaf fresh weight, leaf C and leaf K content. We concluded that leaf traits of plants in the island were tightly related to soil parameters. Soil parameters, especially soil moisture and available P content, affected plant leaf morphology and stoichiometry at the local scale.