Applying the economic concept of profitability to leaves

Abstract Economic principles can be extended to biological organisms as they optimize the use of resources, but their use in biology has been limited. We applied concepts from traditional economics to the main production unit of plants, the leaf. We quantified the profitability (profit/cost of inves...

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Autores principales:	Rafael Villar, Manuel Olmo, Pedro Atienza, Antonio J. Garzón, Ian J. Wright, Hendrik Poorter, Luis A. Hierro
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Nature Portfolio 2021
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/65ffdc4476f54a9787abc367a26a245a
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:65ffdc4476f54a9787abc367a26a245a2021-12-02T11:46:06ZApplying the economic concept of profitability to leaves10.1038/s41598-020-79709-w2045-2322https://doaj.org/article/65ffdc4476f54a9787abc367a26a245a2021-01-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-79709-whttps://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322Abstract Economic principles can be extended to biological organisms as they optimize the use of resources, but their use in biology has been limited. We applied concepts from traditional economics to the main production unit of plants, the leaf. We quantified the profitability (profit/cost of investment) of leaves from seven biomes worldwide and compared those to the profitability of companies. Here we demonstrate for the first time key similarities and differences between leaf and human economics. First, there was a weak, but positive relationship between profitability and size, both for leaves and companies. Second, environment has a strong effect on profitability, with high values in leaves from biomes with short growth periods and, for companies associated with innovation. Third, shorter longevity of productive units was related to higher profitability. In summary, by comparing economic behaviours of plants and humans there is potential to develop new perspectives on plant ecological strategies and plant evolution.Rafael VillarManuel OlmoPedro AtienzaAntonio J. GarzónIan J. WrightHendrik PoorterLuis A. HierroNature PortfolioarticleMedicineRScienceQENScientific Reports, Vol 11, Iss 1, Pp 1-10 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Rafael Villar Manuel Olmo Pedro Atienza Antonio J. Garzón Ian J. Wright Hendrik Poorter Luis A. Hierro Applying the economic concept of profitability to leaves
description	Abstract Economic principles can be extended to biological organisms as they optimize the use of resources, but their use in biology has been limited. We applied concepts from traditional economics to the main production unit of plants, the leaf. We quantified the profitability (profit/cost of investment) of leaves from seven biomes worldwide and compared those to the profitability of companies. Here we demonstrate for the first time key similarities and differences between leaf and human economics. First, there was a weak, but positive relationship between profitability and size, both for leaves and companies. Second, environment has a strong effect on profitability, with high values in leaves from biomes with short growth periods and, for companies associated with innovation. Third, shorter longevity of productive units was related to higher profitability. In summary, by comparing economic behaviours of plants and humans there is potential to develop new perspectives on plant ecological strategies and plant evolution.
format	article
author	Rafael Villar Manuel Olmo Pedro Atienza Antonio J. Garzón Ian J. Wright Hendrik Poorter Luis A. Hierro
author_facet	Rafael Villar Manuel Olmo Pedro Atienza Antonio J. Garzón Ian J. Wright Hendrik Poorter Luis A. Hierro
author_sort	Rafael Villar
title	Applying the economic concept of profitability to leaves
title_short	Applying the economic concept of profitability to leaves
title_full	Applying the economic concept of profitability to leaves
title_fullStr	Applying the economic concept of profitability to leaves
title_full_unstemmed	Applying the economic concept of profitability to leaves
title_sort	applying the economic concept of profitability to leaves
publisher	Nature Portfolio
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/65ffdc4476f54a9787abc367a26a245a
work_keys_str_mv	AT rafaelvillar applyingtheeconomicconceptofprofitabilitytoleaves AT manuelolmo applyingtheeconomicconceptofprofitabilitytoleaves AT pedroatienza applyingtheeconomicconceptofprofitabilitytoleaves AT antoniojgarzon applyingtheeconomicconceptofprofitabilitytoleaves AT ianjwright applyingtheeconomicconceptofprofitabilitytoleaves AT hendrikpoorter applyingtheeconomicconceptofprofitabilitytoleaves AT luisahierro applyingtheeconomicconceptofprofitabilitytoleaves
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Applying the economic concept of profitability to leaves

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