Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38510539›Full record

ArticleEcology and evolution2024

Leaf morphological traits show greater responses to changes in climate than leaf physiological traits and gas exchange variables.

Susan E Everingham, Catherine A Offord, Manon E B Sabot, Angela T Moles

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Ecology and evolution, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

8 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. The Potential Habitat ofEcology and evolution · 2026
    Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Susan E EveringhamEvolution and Ecology Research Centre, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences UNSW Sydney New South Wales Australia.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4780-2700
Catherine A OffordThe Australian Institute of Botanical Science, The Australian PlantBank, Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust, Australian Botanic Garden Mount Annan Mount Annan New South Wales Australia.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9553-6590
Manon E B SabotClimate Change Research Centre UNSW Sydney New South Wales Australia.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9440-4553
Angela T MolesEvolution and Ecology Research Centre, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences UNSW Sydney New South Wales Australia.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2041-7762

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Adaptation to changing conditions is one of the strategies plants may use to survive in the face of climate change. We aimed to determine whether plants' leaf morphological and physiological traits/gas exchange variables have changed in response to recent, anthropogenic climate change. We grew seedlings from resurrected historic seeds from ex-situ seed banks and paired modern seeds in a common-garden experiment. Species pairs were collected from regions that had undergone differing levels of climate change using an emerging framework-Climate Contrast Resurrection Ecology, allowing us to hypothesise that regions with greater changes in climate (including temperature, precipitation, climate variability and climatic extremes) would be greater trait responses in leaf morphology and physiology over time. Our study found that in regions where there were greater changes in climate, there were greater changes in average leaf area, leaf margin complexity, leaf thickness and leaf intrinsic water use efficiency. Changes in leaf roundness, photosynthetic rate, stomatal density and the leaf economic strategy of our species were not correlated with changes in climate. Our results show that leaves do have the ability to respond to changes in climate, however, there are greater inherited responses in morphological leaf traits than in physiological traits/variables and greater responses to extreme measures of climate than gradual changes in climatic means. It is vital for accurate predictions of species' responses to impending climate change to ensure that future climate change ecology studies utilise knowledge about the difference in both leaf trait and gas exchange responses and the climate variables that they respond to.

Indexed as

climate changeleaf morphologyleaf shapeLMAphotosynthesisplant traits

Identifiers

PMID38510539
PMCPMC10951557

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.