Kikuzawa K., Lechowicz M.J. Ecology of Leaf Longevity

Springer, 2011. — 162 p. — ISBN: 4431539174, 9784431539179Leaf longevity is a fundamental process underlying patterns of variation in foliar phenology and determining the distinction between deciduous and evergreen plant species. Variation in leaf longevity is associated with a wide array of differences in the physiology, anatomy, morphology and ecology of plants. This book brings together for the first time information scattered widely in the botanical literature to provide a clear and comprehensive introduction to the nature and significance of variation in leaf longevity. It traces the development of ideas about leaf longevity from the earliest descriptive studies to contemporary theory of leaf longevity as a key element in the function of leaves as photosynthetic organs. An understanding of variation in leaf longevity reveals much about the nature of adaptation at the whole plant level and provides fundamental insights into the basis of variation in plant productivity at the ecosystem level. The analysis of leaf longevity also provides a process-based perspective on phenological shifts associated with the changing climate. Readers will find this an informative synthesis summarizing and illustrating different views in a readily accessible narrative that draws attention to a central aspect of plant biology.
Keywords » Climate change - Foliar function - Forest ecology - Phenology - Plant adaptationFoliar Habit and Leaf Longevity
Leaves: Evolution, ontogeny and death
Quantifying Leaf Longevity
Theories of Leaf Longevity
Phylogenetic Variation in Leaf Longevity
Key Elements of Foliar Function
Endogenous Influences on Leaf Longevity
Exogenous Influences on Leaf Longevity
Biogeography of Leaf Longevity and Foliar habit
Ecosystem perspectives on leaf longevity