Figure 2

Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) with JASP (Jeffreys’s Amazing Statistics Program) software (A free and Open Lience) “SEM package” (JASP 0.14.1) were used for evaluation of causal relationship among leaf morphological, physiological, chemical and stoichiometry traits in the temperate forest ecosystem. Square nodes indicate manifest variables, circular nodes indicate latent variables, and triangular nodes indicate constant variables (intercepts). Directed edges (single-headed) indicate one variable having an effect on another variable i.e. linear regression parameters and bidirectional edges indicate (co)variances (correlation “r”) between two variables, and the circular curved arrows represent the variance of a variable. The path coefficients represent standardized partial regression coefficients. Dashed line indicates weak relationship, thicker line strong relationship and numbers in brackets are regression coefficients. Morphological; LA = leaf area, cm²; SLA = specific leaf area, cm² g⁻¹; LDMC = leaf dry matter content, %; Chemical; LCC = leaf carbon content, %; LNC = leaf nitrogen content, %; LPC = leaf phosphorus content, %; Physiological; LWC = leaf water content, %; Chl = chlorophyll, mg g⁻¹; A = photosynthetic rate, μmol CO₂ m⁻² s⁻¹; Gs = stomatal conductance, mol H₂O m⁻² s⁻¹; E = transpiration rate, mmol H₂O m⁻² s⁻¹; Stoichiometry; Leaf C/N and Leaf N/P. The R² value for LCC, LNC, LPC, E, and Chl was 0.25; 0.32; 0.17, 0.07, and 0.02 with respective latent factor. The latent factors are morphological traits (MPH) (LA + SLA + LDMC), chemical traits (CHE) (LCC + LNC + LPC) and physiological (PHY) (Chl + A + E + Gs); and regressions are CHE vs MPH and PHY vs MPH and CHE; and the residual covariances were LDMC vs SLA and LCC vs LPC.