38. Leaf Biomechanics

Organised by Yusuke Onoda to be held at Network Headquarters, Sydney. First meeting 1 - 4 April 2008

PARTICIPANTS INCLUDE Yusuke Onoda - Macquarie University Ian Wright - Macquarie University Mark Westoby - Macquarie University Natalia Perez-Harguindeguy - Universidad Nacional de Cordoba, Argentina Lucas Enrico - Universidad Nacional de Cordoba, Argentina Kaoru Kitajima - University of Florida, USA Paul Fine - University of California, Berkeley, USA Peter Lucas - George Washington University, USA Lars Markesteijn - Wageningen University, The Netherlands Clare McArthur - University of Sydney Lora Richards - Macquarie University Fiona Clissold - Sydney University

April 08 >

GOAL

Leaf mechanical properties are thought to play an important role in resisting biotic (e.g. herbivory) and abiotic physical stresses (e.g. wind) and are therefore closely associated with leaf life-span, a key trait in the leaf economics spectrum. Leaf mechanical properties are also thought to be important for carbon and nitrogen allocation in leaves, and influence decomposition rates since cell walls account for a large fraction of leaf biomass. However, leaf mechanics are not well understood in comparison with other important leaf traits. The objective of this working group is to assemble existing datasets on leaf mechanics on the largest scale ever, and analyse the main pattern in them across different environments and growth forms.

Current situation

We have gathered over 2700 species-at-site observations. During the meeting, we achieved consensus about the normalization of leaf biomechanics data, which is one of the major achievements for global comparison of leaf biomechanics. Based on this framework, we are analyzing leaf biomechanics with respect to environmental
variables and other important ecological traits.

Any inquiries or contribution of leaf biomechanics data, contact Yusuke Onoda.

Last Updated September 2008