Improved understanding of convergence and divergence in plant traits is one of ecology's central questions. An enhanced capacity to predict variation in leaf traits would be valuable for global change modeling. The counterpart researchers will examine leaf traits along regional- and intercontinental-scale climate and soil gradients. They will also synthesize global-scale data from forty sites by evaluating variation in leaf traits in relation to moisture and fertility gradients, functional groupings, and phylogeny and will develop predictive equations for traits as a function of climate, soils, and phylogeny. The Australian counterpart is Prof. Mark Westoby, School of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney.
