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de la Riva, E.G., Arenas, M., Villar, R., Garcia-Oliva, F., Oyama, K. 2019. The role of evapotranspiration on the foliar functional distribution of 28 Quercus species from Mexico and Spain. Ecosistemas 28(3):199-207. Doi.: 10.7818/ECOS.1803 Quercus species represent the most important woody genus in the northern hemisphere, with broad environmental distribution in Spain and Mexico. Functional plant traits are commonly used as indicators of species diversification and environmental adaptations, and they allow us to better understand the morphological and physiological limitations of the species that restrict its evolution. The main objective of this study is to explore the spectrum of variation of Quercus genus, by analyzing the variation in five functional leaf traits of 28 Quercus species from Spain and Mexico along an environmental gradient of potential evapotranspiration. We found two major dimensions of functional variation: on one hand, the species are segregating along the humidity gradient according with the leaf economics spectrum. Therefore, we found species associated to a conservative use of resources in areas with higher evapotranspiration rate and acquisitive species in the areas with lower evapotranspiration. On the other hand, the leaf size is mainly determined by the geographical origin of the species. These results suggest that the evolutionary modifications within the same genus are related with the leaf traits variation, being humidity a key factor of functional trait variation within the Quercus genus. In addition, we would like to highlight that we do not find relationship between leaf longevity and leaf economic spectrum, which may be explained by the different evolutionary histories of the leaf habit in oaks between both countries. |
