▪ Abstract An important aim of plant ecology is to identify leading dimensions of ecological
variation among species and to understand the basis for them. Dimensions that can readily …

Comparative functional ecology seeks to understand why and how ecological systems and
their components operate differently across environments. Although traditionally used in …

There is growing recognition that classifying terrestrial plant species on the basis of their
function (into'functional types') rather than their higher taxonomic identity, is a promising way …

Although the structure and composition of plant communities is known to influence the
functioning of ecosystems, there is as yet no agreement as to how these should be …

Variation in plant functional traits results from evolutionary and environmental drivers that
operate at a variety of different scales, which makes it a challenge to differentiate among …

Since the publication of the third edition of the Handbook of Plant and Crop Stress,
continuous discoveries in the fields of plant and crop environmental stresses and their …

Background and Aims Leaf thickness plays an important role in leaf and plant functioning,
and relates to a species' strategy of resource acquisition and use. As such, it has been …

Specific leaf area (leaf area to dry mass ratio), leaf dry matter content (leaf dry mass to
saturated fresh mass ratio) and leaf nitrogen concentration (LNC) have been proposed as …

Summary 1 Leaf life span (LL) and leaf mass per area (LMA) are fundamental traits in the
carbon economy of plants, representing the investment required per unit leaf area (LMA) …

Across species, leaf lifespan (LL) tends to be correlated with leaf mass per area (LMA).
Previously we found that Australian perennial species from low‐rainfall sites had c. 40 …