This study addresses the critical need for efficient phenotyping methods in plant ecology by exploring predictive models for total leaf area per shoot ( A T ) and total leaf dry mass per shoot ( M T ), which are both key determinants of photosynthetic capacity and carbon allocation, using two fast-growing bamboo species ( Indocalamus decorus and I. longiauritus ) as proof of concept. Traditional approaches to measuring these traits are destructive and labor-intensive, motivating our exploration of non-destructive proxies based on one-dimensional leaf metrics. We validated the Montgomery equation for individual leaves, confirming a robust proportional relationship between leaf area ( A ) and the product of length and width ( LW ) in both Indocalamus species ( k ≈ 0.72). Extending this to the shoot level, the Montgomery-Koyama-Smith equation (MKSE) revealed significant proportionality between total leaf area ( A T ) and the composite metric L KS W KS (where L KS denotes the sum of leaf widths and W KS denotes maximum leaf length, and the subscript “KS” stands for Koyama-Smith). However, power-law scaling analysis demonstrated allometric, non-isometric relationships for A T vs. L KS W KS (with a scaling exponent α < 1), indicating diminishing leaf area expansion per unit dimensional increase, and A T vs. total leaf dry mass ( M T ) (α < 1), indicating an increased biomass investment per unit area (i.e., increasing leaf mass per unit area) in larger shoots. These findings validate using simplified one-dimensional metrics that enable accurate, non-destructive predictions of shoot-level functional traits, advancing phenotyping in bamboo ecology, which may hold true more generally for other types of plant species.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2025.1650196
Publish Year: 2025
