Inequality Measure of Leaf Area Distribution for a Drought-Tolerant Landscape Plant
Measuring the inequality of leaf area distribution per plant (ILAD) can provide a useful tool for quantifying the influences of intra- and interspecific competition, foraging behavior of herbivores, and environmental stress on plants’ above-ground architectural structures and survival strategies. De...
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MDPI AG
2023-08-01
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| Series: | Plants |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/12/17/3143 |
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| author | Lichao Huang David A. Ratkowsky Cang Hui Johan Gielis Meng Lian Weihao Yao Qiying Li Liuyue Zhang Peijian Shi |
| author_facet | Lichao Huang David A. Ratkowsky Cang Hui Johan Gielis Meng Lian Weihao Yao Qiying Li Liuyue Zhang Peijian Shi |
| author_sort | Lichao Huang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Measuring the inequality of leaf area distribution per plant (ILAD) can provide a useful tool for quantifying the influences of intra- and interspecific competition, foraging behavior of herbivores, and environmental stress on plants’ above-ground architectural structures and survival strategies. Despite its importance, there has been limited research on this issue. This paper aims to fill this gap by comparing four inequality indices to measure ILAD, using indices for quantifying household income that are commonly used in economics, including the Gini index (which is based on the Lorenz curve), the coefficient of variation, the Theil index, and the mean log deviation index. We measured the area of all leaves for 240 individual plants of the species <i>Shibataea chinensis</i> Nakai, a drought-tolerant landscape plant found in southern China. A three-parameter performance equation was fitted to observations of the cumulative proportion of leaf area vs. the cumulative proportion of leaves per plant to calculate the Gini index for each individual specimen of <i>S. chinensis</i>. The performance equation was demonstrated to be valid in describing the rotated and right shifted Lorenz curve, given that >96% of root-mean-square error values were smaller than 0.004 for 240 individual plants. By examining the correlation between any of the six possible pairs of indices among the Gini index, the coefficient of variation, the Theil index, and the mean log deviation index, the data show that these indices are closely related and can be used interchangeably to quantify ILAD. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T23:15:53Z |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2223-7747 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T23:15:53Z |
| publishDate | 2023-08-01 |
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| record_format | Article |
| series | Plants |
| spelling | doaj.art-ef3cff4831764103a741f7c9a48e8d922023-11-19T08:41:55ZengMDPI AGPlants2223-77472023-08-011217314310.3390/plants12173143Inequality Measure of Leaf Area Distribution for a Drought-Tolerant Landscape PlantLichao Huang0David A. Ratkowsky1Cang Hui2Johan Gielis3Meng Lian4Weihao Yao5Qiying Li6Liuyue Zhang7Peijian Shi8Tourism and Air Service College, Guizhou Minzu University, Guiyang 550025, ChinaTasmanian Institute of Agriculture, University of Tasmania, Hobart 7001, TS, AustraliaCentre for Invasion Biology, Department of Mathematical Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch 7602, South AfricaDepartment of Biosciences Engineering, University of Antwerp, B-2020 Antwerp, BelgiumBamboo Research Institute, College of Ecology and Environment, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, ChinaBamboo Research Institute, College of Ecology and Environment, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, ChinaBamboo Research Institute, College of Ecology and Environment, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, ChinaKey Laboratory of Bio-Resource and Eco-Environment of Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064, ChinaBamboo Research Institute, College of Ecology and Environment, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, ChinaMeasuring the inequality of leaf area distribution per plant (ILAD) can provide a useful tool for quantifying the influences of intra- and interspecific competition, foraging behavior of herbivores, and environmental stress on plants’ above-ground architectural structures and survival strategies. Despite its importance, there has been limited research on this issue. This paper aims to fill this gap by comparing four inequality indices to measure ILAD, using indices for quantifying household income that are commonly used in economics, including the Gini index (which is based on the Lorenz curve), the coefficient of variation, the Theil index, and the mean log deviation index. We measured the area of all leaves for 240 individual plants of the species <i>Shibataea chinensis</i> Nakai, a drought-tolerant landscape plant found in southern China. A three-parameter performance equation was fitted to observations of the cumulative proportion of leaf area vs. the cumulative proportion of leaves per plant to calculate the Gini index for each individual specimen of <i>S. chinensis</i>. The performance equation was demonstrated to be valid in describing the rotated and right shifted Lorenz curve, given that >96% of root-mean-square error values were smaller than 0.004 for 240 individual plants. By examining the correlation between any of the six possible pairs of indices among the Gini index, the coefficient of variation, the Theil index, and the mean log deviation index, the data show that these indices are closely related and can be used interchangeably to quantify ILAD.https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/12/17/3143coefficient of variationGini indexlandscape plantLorenz curveTheil index |
| spellingShingle | Lichao Huang David A. Ratkowsky Cang Hui Johan Gielis Meng Lian Weihao Yao Qiying Li Liuyue Zhang Peijian Shi Inequality Measure of Leaf Area Distribution for a Drought-Tolerant Landscape Plant Plants coefficient of variation Gini index landscape plant Lorenz curve Theil index |
| title | Inequality Measure of Leaf Area Distribution for a Drought-Tolerant Landscape Plant |
| title_full | Inequality Measure of Leaf Area Distribution for a Drought-Tolerant Landscape Plant |
| title_fullStr | Inequality Measure of Leaf Area Distribution for a Drought-Tolerant Landscape Plant |
| title_full_unstemmed | Inequality Measure of Leaf Area Distribution for a Drought-Tolerant Landscape Plant |
| title_short | Inequality Measure of Leaf Area Distribution for a Drought-Tolerant Landscape Plant |
| title_sort | inequality measure of leaf area distribution for a drought tolerant landscape plant |
| topic | coefficient of variation Gini index landscape plant Lorenz curve Theil index |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/12/17/3143 |
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