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<Emphasis Type="BoldItalic">Key message</Emphasis> <p><b>Leaf-shape variation significantly affects the robustness of the square relationship between leaf area and leaf length.</b></p> Abstract <p>Leaf area (<i>A</i>) for many broad-leaved plants is reported to be proportional to the product of leaf length (<i>L</i>) and width (<i>W</i>), which conforms with the Montgomery equation (ME), as shown by previous studies using leaves pooled from multiple individuals across species or from specific crown positions within a species. However, Thompson’s principle of similarity asserts that&#xa0;<i>A</i> ∝ <i>L</i><sup>2</sup>, which is referred to as the square-law equation (SLE). Given that leaf functional traits can vary as a function of crown position, the ME vs. SLE inconsistency can be resolved by sampling all leaves for each plant to test the influence of plant size on leaf shape, size, and their variation across plants. In this study, we sampled 121 <i>Semiarundinaria densiflora</i> culms, measured the lamina area of every leaf, and above-ground height of each culm to examine the validity of the ME and SLE, and the influence of culm size on leaf shape, size, and their variation. The data show that (i) the ME provides a better goodness-of-fit than the SLE, (ii) leaf-shape variation reduces the reliability of the SLE, and (iii) mean leaf area increases with increasing culm height. Thus, culm height affects leaf shape, leaf area, and therefore affects the performance of SLE. These findings indicate that mixed sampling from plants differing in height can potentially lead to biased assessments of leaf functional traits.</p>

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Variation in leaf shape affects the validity of the leaf area and length square-law relationship: evidence from the bamboo Semiarundinaria densiflora

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年5月16日

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  • Hanzhou Qiu,
  • Peijian Shi,
  • Danyu Zhou,
  • Dirk Hölscher,
  • Karl J. Niklas

摘要

Key message

Leaf-shape variation significantly affects the robustness of the square relationship between leaf area and leaf length.

Abstract

Leaf area (A) for many broad-leaved plants is reported to be proportional to the product of leaf length (L) and width (W), which conforms with the Montgomery equation (ME), as shown by previous studies using leaves pooled from multiple individuals across species or from specific crown positions within a species. However, Thompson’s principle of similarity asserts that A ∝ L2, which is referred to as the square-law equation (SLE). Given that leaf functional traits can vary as a function of crown position, the ME vs. SLE inconsistency can be resolved by sampling all leaves for each plant to test the influence of plant size on leaf shape, size, and their variation across plants. In this study, we sampled 121 Semiarundinaria densiflora culms, measured the lamina area of every leaf, and above-ground height of each culm to examine the validity of the ME and SLE, and the influence of culm size on leaf shape, size, and their variation. The data show that (i) the ME provides a better goodness-of-fit than the SLE, (ii) leaf-shape variation reduces the reliability of the SLE, and (iii) mean leaf area increases with increasing culm height. Thus, culm height affects leaf shape, leaf area, and therefore affects the performance of SLE. These findings indicate that mixed sampling from plants differing in height can potentially lead to biased assessments of leaf functional traits.