This cross site project has implications for evolutionary ecology and for scaling of ecophysiological relationships to canopy, ecosystem and regional scales. Convergence in leaf trait interrelationships among biomes and plant functional groups would have important evolutionary and ecological implications, but this possibility has been incompletely tested. Analyses to date indicate convergent evolution of the interrelationships among leaf traits across broad biogeographic gradients. Despite regional differences in climate, soils and evolutionary history among biomes, there are strong, general and repeatable interspecific relationships among leaf traits.
All relationships are similar in all biomes, although important differences also exist.