Leaf and stem economics spectra drive diversity of functional plant traits in a dynamic global vegetation model.

Functional diversity is critical for ecosystem dynamics, stability and productivity. However, dynamic global vegetation models ( DGVMs) which are increasingly used to simulate ecosystem functions under global change, condense functional diversity to plant functional types ( PFTs) with constant parameters. Here, we develop an individual- and trait-based version of the DGVM LPJmL (Lund-Potsdam-Jena managed Land) called LPJmL- flexible individual traits ( LPJmL- FIT) with flexible individual traits) which we apply to generate plant trait maps for the Amazon basin. LPJmL- FIT incorporates empirical ranges of five traits of tropical trees extracted from the TRY global plant trait database, namely specific leaf area ( SLA), leaf longevity ( LL), leaf nitrogen content ( N_area), the maximum carboxylation rate of Rubisco per leaf area ( [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]