The LHS scheme uses three fundamental plant traits that reflect important trade-offs controlling plant ecological strategies :
Specific Leaf Area (SLA): Light-capturing area deployed per unit dry mass, reflecting the trade-off between rapid resource acquisition and leaf longevity
Height: Canopy height at maturity, expressing the amount of growth attempted between disturbances and competitive ability for light
Seed Mass: Reflecting the trade-off between seed number and individual seed provisioning, affecting dispersal capacity and seedling survival
All three axes are log-scaled as they are approximately lognormally distributed between species. The 3D visualisation allows researchers to explore species clustering and relationships within the LHS strategy space, facilitating the identification of functional groups and ecological patterns.
LHS_plot(
data,
group = NULL,
show_cube = TRUE,
colors = c("#30123BFF", "#4777EFFF", "#1BD0D5FF", "#62FC6BFF", "#D2E935FF",
"#FE9B2DFF", "#DB3A07FF", "#7A0403FF"),
cube_angle = 60
)Invisibly returns the scatterplot3d object, which can be used for
adding additional graphical elements to the plot if needed.
A data frame containing LHS analysis results with the following required columns:
Natural logarithm of specific leaf area
Natural logarithm of canopy height at maturity
Natural logarithm of seed mass
Typically this would be the output from the LHS() function. Row names should
represent species names or identifiers.
Character string specifying the column name to use for grouping points by colour.
If NULL (default), all points will be plotted in the same colour. Common choices
include "LHS_strategy" to colour by the eight LHS strategy types (e.g., "S-S-S",
"L-L-L") or any other categorical variable in the dataset.
Logical indicating whether to display the 3D cube frame around the plot.
Default is TRUE, which helps with spatial orientation and depth perception.
Character vector of colours to use for different groups. Should contain at least as many colours as there are levels in the grouping variable. Default provides a viridis-inspired colour palette with 8 colours suitable for the 8 LHS strategy types. If only one group is plotted, only the first colour will be used.
Numeric value specifying the viewing angle for the 3D plot in degrees. Default is 60. Values between 40-80 typically provide good visualisation perspectives.
This function creates a three-dimensional scatter plot to visualise the LHS (Leaf-Height-Seed) plant ecological strategy scheme proposed by Westoby (1998). The plot displays species positions in the three-dimensional LHS space defined by log-transformed specific leaf area (SLA), canopy height at maturity, and seed mass.
The function creates a 3D scatter plot using the scatterplot3d package, with
log-transformed trait values on each axis. When grouping is specified, the plot includes
an automated legend positioned to the right of the main plot area.
The three axes represent the core dimensions of the LHS ecological strategy space:
X-axis: log(SLA) - reflects the leaf economics spectrum from resource-conservative to resource-acquisitive strategies
Y-axis: log(Height) - represents the plant size spectrum and competitive ability for light capture
Z-axis: log(Seed Mass) - indicates the seed size spectrum affecting dispersal and establishment success
The function automatically handles layout management when legends are displayed, ensuring optimal use of plotting space.
Westoby, M. (1998). A leaf-height-seed (LHS) plant ecology strategy scheme. Plant and Soil, 199, 213–227.
Yang, J., Wang, Z., Zheng, Y., & Pan, Y. (2022). Shifts in plant ecological strategies in remnant forest patches along urbanization gradients. Forest Ecology and Management, 524, 120540.
data(PFF)
pff <- PFF[, c("SLA", "Height", "SeedMass")]
rownames(pff) <- PFF$species
head(pff)
result <- LHS(pff)
head(result)
LHS_plot(result)
LHS_plot(result, group = "LHS_strategy", show_cube = TRUE)
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