Background:

The use of tree species’ functional traits is a promising approach in forest restoration. However, some traits may change during ontogeny.

Questions:

Does intraspecific variation in functional traits occur between sapling and adult stages? Do groups of species can be delimited based on functional traits regardless of their ontogenetic stage?

Study sites and dates:

Cloud forest restoration, Veracruz, Mexico, 2016.

Methods:

Saplings and adults of eight native tree species in different age plantations were measured for leaf area (LA), specific leaf area (SLA), stomatal density (SD), foliar nutrient content (C, N, P) and relative growth rate (RGR). Wood density (WD) was measured for adults. Data were analyzed using linear mixed models and principal component analysis (PCA).

Results:

Overall, SLA was higher in saplings than in adults. A few species showed intraspecific variation for LA (three species), SD (three) and foliar N content (one). Species with high WD (Quercus spp.) and intermediate WD (e.g., Liquidambar styraciflua) tended to have lower LA and SLA, and higher SD. Species with low WD (e.g., Heliocarpus donnellsmithii) had high SLA, RGR, and N content. PCA highlighted that saplings and adults of a same species were close to each other within the ordination space.

Conclusions:

Intraspecific variation between saplings and adults was small for most traits (except SLA) in comparison to differences across species. Therefore species trait values (measured in individuals of any age) could be a useful tool to characterize groups of species during the forest restoration trajectory.