Other traits
LMA moderately increased with elevation (F1,127=8.4,p =0.004, r2=0.06), as did leaf thickness
(F1,127 =5.8, p =0.017,
r2adj=0.04): Including the CAM plants
in the analysis—all lowland plants with very high LMA and thick
leaves—rendered these relationship non-significant. Leaf size
decreased with elevation (F1,132=10.0, p =0.002,
r2=0.07), also when the CAM plants were included. As
expected, opposite patterns were found with increasing site temperature.
Other functional traits (density, LDMC, and leaf length: width ratio)
did not change significantly with elevation. Likewise, there was no
change in the thermal time constant (τ) with elevation. CAM plants fell
on the extremes of the distributions of most functional traits, τ, and
heat tolerance, but there were insufficient CAM or C4plants to develop separate models for species with different
photosynthetic pathways. Analyses of trait correlations and phylogenetic
controlled least square means models therefore focused on
C3 plants alone.