The scaling relationships between leaf sheath size and leaf lamina size in six bamboo species

The scaling relationship between functional traits of leaf sheath and leaf lamina in bamboo is of significant importance in regulating bamboo growth, yet related studies are lacking. In this study, we collected a total of 2006 leaves from six bamboo species (including Pleioblastus argenteostriatus, Pleioblastus chino var. hisauchii, Pleioblastus fortunei, Pleioblastus kongosanensis f. aureostriatus, Pleioblastus maculatus, and Pleioblastus viridistriatus) growing in Nanjing, China, and measured leaf sheath length (SL), leaf sheath fresh mass (SFM), leaf lamina length (LL), leaf lamina area (LA), and leaf lamina fresh mass (LFM). We used reduced major axis regression protocols to fit the scaling relationships between various measures of leaf lamina and leaf sheath. For each individual species and the pooled data of six species, allometric relationships were found in lamina (LFM vs. LA) and sheath (SFM vs. SL), respectively. We also found robust allometric relationships between leaf sheath and leaf lamina (LA vs. SL and LFM vs. SL). These results revealed the strong coupling among leaf traits in terms of morphology and mass, providing insights into the understanding of the physiological process of bamboo growth.