Table 2 Principal components analyses of global leaf trait data
All species Trees* Shrubs Herbs* Grasses*
The principal axis or component explained 74.4% of variation in the total data set. LL and LMA were negatively correlatedwith this primary axis of variation while the other traits were positively correlatedwith
it, both in the total data set and in data subsets defined by growth form or functional group. The same directionality of trait loadings and similarly high percentage of variance was explained by the principal
axis with species grouped by site temperature, rainfall or altitude, or with sites grouped into major biome type following Fig. 1 (data not shown), demonstrating the broad generality of the coordinated
spectrum of leaf economics. All data were log10-transformed before analyses.
*Pmass excluded due to too few data.
†Pmass and LL excluded due to few data. C3, C4 indicate species with C3 and C4 photosynthetic pathways, respectively.