Leaf thickness and density drive the responsiveness of photosynthesis to air temperature in Mediterranean species according to their leaf habitus
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