Ancient Burial Mounds Provide Safe Havens for Grassland Specialist Plants in Transformed Landscapes—A Trait-Based Analysis

The Evolution of Functional Traits in Plants: Is the Giant Still Sleeping?

Vegetation management intensity and landscape diversity alter plant species richness, functional traits and community composition across European vineyards

Plant functional traits regulate soil bacterial diversity across temperate deserts.

Managed and wild pollinators often cohabit in both managed and natural ecosystems. The western honeybee, Apis mellifera, is the most widespread managed pollinator species. Due to its density and behaviour, it can potentially influence the foraging activity of wild pollinators, but the strength and direction of this effect are often context-dependent. Here, we observed plant–pollinator interactions in 51 grasslands, and we measured functional traits of both plants and pollinators. Using a multi-model inference approach, we explored the effects of honeybee abundance, temperature, plant functional diversity, and trait similarity between wild pollinators and the honeybee on the resource overlap between wild pollinators and the honeybee. Resource overlap decreased with increasing honeybee abundance only in plant communities with high functional diversity, suggesting a potential diet shift of wild pollinators in areas with a high variability of flower morphologies. Moreover, resource overlap increased with increasing trait similarity between wild pollinators and the honeybee. In particular, central-place foragers of family Apidae with proboscis length similar to the honeybee exhibited the highest resource overlap. Our results underline the importance of promoting functional diversity of plant communities to support wild pollinators in areas with a high density of honeybee hives. Moreover, greater attention should be paid to areas where pollinators possess functional traits similar to the honeybee, as they are expected to be more prone to potential competition with this species.

Simple SummaryIt is an important objective of ecological restoration to select suitable plant species in order to construct plant communities and achieve certain soil and water conservation capacities. Using species functional traits to construct a response-and-effect framework is a promising method for determining how species in changing environments will influence ecosystem functions. Here, we investigated plant functional traits, soil properties, and ecohydrological functions for the most common vegetation restoration types in mid-Yunnan, China, and used seven plant functional traits to identify seven plant functional effect types in relation to soil and water conservation capacity, and two plant functional response types to soil physicochemical properties. The results indicated that specific leaf area was the key trait not only for functional effect types, but also for functional response types. In addition, eight overlapping species between plant functional response types and functional effect types were selected as the key restoration species. These results provide a methodological guide for species selection for recovery, as well as a species inventory for the restoration of degraded ecosystems in this region.Great efforts have been made to improve the soil and water conservation capacity by restoring plant communities in different climatic and land-use types. However, how to select suitable species from local species pools that not only adapt to different site environments, but also achieve certain soil and water conservation capacities is a great challenge in vegetation restoration for practitioners and scientists. So far, little attention has been paid to plant functional response and effect traits related to environment resource and ecosystem functions. In this study, together with soil properties and ecohydrological functions, we measured the seven plant functional traits for the most common species in different restoration communities in a subtropical mountain ecosystem. Multivariate optimization analyses were performed to identify the functional effect types and functional response types based on specific plant traits. We found that the community-weighted means of traits differed significantly among the four community types, and the plant functional traits were strongly linked with soil physicochemical properties and ecohydrological functions. Based on three optimal effect traits (specific leaf area, leaf size, and specific root length) and two response traits (specific leaf area and leaf nitrogen concentration), seven functional effect types in relation to the soil and water conservation capacity (interception of canopy and stemflow, maximum water-holding capacity of litter, maximum water-holding capacity of soil, soil surface runoff, and soil erosion) and two plant functional response types to soil physicochemical properties were identified. The redundancy analysis showed that the sum of all canonical eigenvalues only accounted for 21.6% of the variation in functional response types, which suggests that community effects on soil and water conservation cannot explain the overall structure of community responses related to soil resources. The eight overlapping species between the plant functional response types and functional effect types were ultimately selected as the key species for vegetation restoration. Based on the above results, we offer an ecological basis for choosing the appropriate species based on functional traits, which may be very helpful for practitioners involved in ecological restoration and management.

Functional traits explaining plant responses to past and future climate changes

Plant functional diversity mediates indirect effects of land-use intensity on soil water conservation in the dry season of tropical areas

Plant diversity and functional traits form the core foundation of grassland ecosystem stability. However, rapid climate change poses a severe threat to biodiversity, making it imperative to clarify how these two factors mediate community responses to environmental changes across spatiotemporal scales. By integrating field surveys with laboratory analyses, we have investigated the spatiotemporal patterns of plant diversity and key functional traits within desert grasslands of the Ili River Basin. We found that: (1) Plant diversity in May and July was significantly higher than in September, with distinct seasonal dynamics observed across different plant community types; (2) During the main growing season, plant functional traits exhibited a marked increasing trend along the elevation gradient; (3) Both plant functional traits and diversity displayed a patchy mosaic distribution pattern, accompanied by significant spatial heterogeneity. High diversity values were predominantly located around Nilek and Huocheng counties, while low-value areas were distributed in Xinyuan and Gongliu counties. High-value areas for plant functional traits were concentrated in Nilek county, with low-value areas found in Xinyuan, Gongliu, and Huocheng counties. (4) Redundancy Analysis (RDA) and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) indicate that soil moisture content and soil nitrogen are the primary drivers of diversity variation, while soil carbon-to-nitrogen ratio and precipitation regulate functional trait variation. These findings demonstrate how plants adapt to environmental heterogeneity through coordinated changes in diversity and functional traits, offering a scientific basis for conserving and managing desert steppe ecosystems.

Diverse and divergent influences of phenology on herbaceous aboveground biomass across the Tibetan Plateau alpine grasslands

Functional traits reveal coastal vegetation assembly patterns in a short edaphic gradient in southern Brazil

PDF HTML阅读 XML下载 导出引用 引用提醒 嘉峪关草湖湿地植物功能群组成及其性状对不同生境的响应 DOI: 10.5846/stxb201811052396 作者: 作者单位: 作者简介: 通讯作者: 中图分类号: 基金项目: 国家自然科学基金项目（41861009） Responses of composition and functional traits of plant functional groups to different habitats in Jiayuguan Caohu Wetland Author: Affiliation: Fund Project: 摘要 | 图/表 | 访问统计 | 参考文献 | 相似文献 | 引证文献 | 资源附件 | 文章评论 摘要:植物功能群与生境的关系是生态学研究的重要内容，对于揭示植物的环境适应机制、群落构建机制、预测植被变化等具有重要意义。为研究局域尺度上干旱区湿地、沙漠、戈壁等生态系统功能群的环境适应机制，在嘉峪关草湖国家湿地公园内，基于植物功能性状数据，研究了荒漠区不同生境条件下的功能群组成和功能性状特性。结果表明：随着生境条件的改变，土壤含水量、含盐量、容重、pH值等土壤性质发生显著变化；植物的功能群组成和功能性状会发生适应性的变化，沼泽湿地生境内植被的功能性状以克隆、C4光合途径、根茎型等特征为主，盐沼湿地以叶片被蜡、叶茎肉质、CS策略等特征为主，沙丘生境以叶片具毛、风播、具增厚或增长的根、一年生、CR策略等特征为主，荒漠戈壁以叶片少、具增厚或增长的根、虫媒、地上芽等特征为主。局域尺度上，生境异质性尤其是土壤条件的异质性是影响植物群落组成和植物功能性状变化的重要环境因子。 Abstract:The relationship between plant functional groups and habitats is an important topic of the research of ecology. It can reveal the mechanism of plant environmental adaption, community construction, and can predict the changes of vegetation. In order to study adaption of the functional groups to different habitats in the arid area such as wetland, desert and gobi on a local scale, the composition and functional traits of functional groups in different habitats of desert areas were studied in Jiayuguan Caohu National Wetland Park based on the data of plant functional traits. The results showed that, with the change of habitat conditions, the soil water moisture, salt content, bulk density, pH value and other soil properties changed significantly. The composition of plant functional groups and functional traits changed adaptively. The functional traits of vegetation in the marsh wetland were mainly clonal plant, C4 photosynthetic pathway, and rhizomatous plant. The salt marsh wetland were mainly wax-coating, leaf or stem succulence, and CS strategy type. Dune habitats were with hairiness, thickened or long roots, annual, and CR strategy type, while Gobi with reduced leaves, thickened or long roots, entomophilous, and chamaephyte. On the local scale, habitat heterogeneity, especially soil heterogeneity, is an important environmental factor affecting the composition of plant communities and the changes of plant functional traits. 参考文献 相似文献 引证文献

<p indent="0mm">The vegetation community is one of the most critical factors determining grassland productivity. The diversity of functional traits at the community level is crucial for maintaining the structure and stability of grassland ecosystems. Therefore, understanding grassland community dynamics is essential for comprehending grassland productivity. Currently, a range of ecosystem process models are effectively simulated vegetation dynamics and predicting productivity. However, these process-based models in grasslands do not consider the complex community composition, often only differentiating between C3 and C4 plants. This limitation can lead to biased estimations and predictions of grassland productivity if the effect of plant functional trait diversity is not considered. This study constructed a grassland dynamic vegetation model based on plant functional traits, including different plant functional groups within the framework of the carbon-water-nitrogen cycling processes in grassland ecosystems. After validating the model with the long-term observations, we predicted the community change and the production potential under scenarios that alleviate water and nitrogen limitations. The simulated above- and below-ground biomass had RMSE values of <sc>19.48 g C m^‒2</sc> and <sc>97.31 g C m^‒2,</sc> respectively. The soil water content during the growing season had an <italic>R</italic>² of 0.689 compared to the observations. The modeling analysis showed that in the Hulunbeier meadow grassland, net primary productivity responded more rapidly to nitrogen alleviation than water alleviation. This is because functional groups responded differently to water and nitrogen resources. The portion of perennial tall grasses(PTG) significantly increased following nitrogen alleviation, while perennial tall forbs(PTF) were more sensitive to soil water alleviation than other plant functional groups. Therefore, fertilization can rapidly increase grass productivity by increasing the biomass of PTG, with a saturation threshold at <sc>20 g N m^‒2.</sc> However, long-term simulations indicated that the effects of water and nitrogen alleviation on improving grassland net primary productivity gradually weakened over time. In the equilibrium state, the enhancement of net primary productivity by water alleviation was greater than nitrogen alleviation. Additionally, water alleviation reduced interannual variability in grassland productivity. Across all scenarios, the high canopy functional group consistently dominated community biomass changes due to its competitive advantage in light acquisition. Based on the simulation results of grassland production potential, the net primary productivity of grasslands can reach <sc>427.1 g C m^‒2 yr^‒1</sc> under natural conditions. Simultaneous alleviation of both soil water and nitrogen resulted in a net primary production potential of <sc>1,323 g C m^‒2 yr^‒1.</sc> The modeled biomass and community dynamics in each scenario were consistent with field nutrient addition experiment, suggests that modeling grassland ecosystem processes based on plant functional traits can effectively estimate and predict grassland productivity. This model provides a new method to simulate interactions between functional groups and ecosystem biogeochemical cycles.

In autumn, temperate herbs begin to senesce and gradually shed their litter. However, surprisingly large amounts of dead biomass remain standing, that is, marcescent. The consequences of marcescence for the decomposition of biomass once it finally reaches the soil are largely unknown. Here, we aimed to determine whether marcescence affects subsequent litter decomposition in the organic layer to such an extent that its mass loss and chemistry are distinguishable from those of directly shed biomass. We further aimed to disentangle the role of plant functional traits and groups (forbs vs. grasses) concerning the marcescence effect on decomposition. To this end, we sampled the living, marcescent and shed senescent biomass of 39 herbaceous plant species grown in a common garden experiment, determined plant functional traits and incubated the marcescent and shed plant tissues in the field in an allochthonous organic layer for 6 months. We determined the mass loss, C and N contents, chemical composition and microbial community structure of the decomposed tissues. Our results show that marcescent tissues decomposed more slowly than directly shed tissues (mass loss 37.3% vs. 63.2% for forbs, 43.5% vs. 45.5% for grasses), likely due to more favourable conditions for decomposition in the organic layer. These were reflected in a significantly higher microbial colonization of shed (~333 and 708 μg biomass C g−1 for forbs and grasses, respectively) than marcescent tissue (~189 and 543 μg biomass C g−1 for forbs and grasses, respectively) even after 6 months in the organic layer. Moreover, higher relative contributions of aliphatics and polyphenolics in shed tissues indicated a more advanced stage of decomposition. Notably, marcescent tissues of forbs, with a more complex growth architecture (being composed of stems [marcescent] and leaves [shed]), decomposed substantially more slowly than directly shed tissues. In contrast, differences in decomposition between marcescent and shed tissues of grasses, with a more uniform growth architecture, were substantially less pronounced. These findings highlight that marcescence in the temperate herbaceous flora can strongly affect litter decomposition and thus C and nutrient cycling through temperate ecosystems, but that the extent to which marcescence affects decomposition depends on plant functional group.

Plant functional traits have an essential role in community formation and ecosystem function. Unlike natu-ral ecosystems, agroecosystems are affected by natural conditions and human management. Plant (i.e., crop)functional traits in the agroecosystems are thus shaped by natural and human selection. We reviewed the development of functional trait research, focusing on crop functional traits, research methods of agroecosystems based on traits, and the application of functional traits in agriculture. We then elaborated on the effect of domestication on crop trait trade-offs, the relationship between community functional structure and agroecosystem services, and the application of functional traits in weed management, cover cropping, and intercropping systems. Future research directions of crop functional traits include enriching the types of agroecosystems and crop species in studies, buil-ding up a crop functional trait database, and focusing on agroecosystem multifunctionality.

Urban plants provide various ecosystem services and biodiversity for human well-being. It is necessary to examine the plant species and functional traits composition and the influencing factors. In this study, a field survey was conducted using the tessellation-randomized plot method to assess the plant species and functional traits variability in greenspaces across eight land use types (LUTs) in the built-up areas of Beijing, China. Results showed that the woody plants in the built-up areas of Beijing comprised 85 non-native species (57%), 21 pollen-allergenic species (14%), and 99 resistant species (67%). Residential areas, community parks and institutional areas had higher woody plant species richness than other LUTs. Native and extralimital native species were more widespread than exotic species. Proportions of species with resistances were low except for cold- and drought-resistance; consequently, a high intensity of management and maintenance is essential for survival of plants in this urban area. Caution should be exerted in selecting plant species with resistance to harsh conditions in different LUTs. Housing prices, distances from the urban center, years since the establishment of LUTs and greening rate were strongly correlated with the plant functional traits and species diversity. Urban forest managers should consider plant functional traits and LUT-specific strategies to maximize both forest and human health.