Ricerc@Sapienza

The responsiveness of net photosynthetic rate (Aa) to mean monthly air temperature (TM) of eight Mediterranean
evergreen species was investigated by analyzing the inter-annual changes in leaf mass area (LMA), leaf tissue
density (LTD) and leaf thickness (LT). We wanted to test if species leaf habitus affected this response. To hit the
goal, a multi-year dataset from our previously published papers was used. The inter-annual variability in LMA,
LTD and LT was assessed by their coefficients of variation (CVs). Aa sensitivity to TM (SAa) was quantified by the

The covariation pattern among leaf functional traits involved in resource acquisition has been successfully provided by the leaf economic spectrum (LES). Nevertheless, some aspects such as how the leaf trait variation sources affect LES predictions are still little investigated. Accordingly, the aim of this paper was to test whether leaf trait variations within different leaf cohorts could alter LES. Improving this knowledge can extend the potential of trait-based approaches in simulating future climate effects on ecosystems.