Sampling intraspecific variability in leaf functional traits: Practical suggestions to maximize collected information.

The choice of the best sampling strategy to capture mean values of functional traits for a species/population, while maintaining information about traits' variability and minimizing the sampling size and effort, is an open issue in functional trait ecology. Intraspecific variability (ITV) of functional traits strongly influences sampling size and effort. However, while adequate information is available about intraspecific variability between individuals (ITV) and among populations (ITV), relatively few studies have analyzed intraspecific variability within individuals (ITV).