Combinations Of Functional Traits Research Articles

Deep biogeographic barriers explain divergent global vertebrate communities

Biogeographic history can lead to variation in biodiversity across regions, but it remains unclear how the degree of biogeographic isolation among communities may lead to differences in biodiversity. Biogeographic analyses generally treat regions as discrete units, but species assemblages differ in how much biogeographic history they share, just as species differ in how much evolutionary history they share. Here, we use a continuous measure of biogeographic distance, phylobetadiversity, to analyze the influence of biogeographic isolation on the taxonomic and functional diversity of global mammal and bird assemblages. On average, biodiversity is better predicted by environment than by isolation, especially for birds. However, mammals in deeply isolated regions are strongly influenced by isolation; mammal assemblages in Australia and Madagascar, for example, are much less diverse than predicted by environment alone and contain unique combinations of functional traits compared to other regions. Neotropical bat assemblages are far more functionally diverse than Paleotropical assemblages, reflecting the different trajectories of bat communities that have developed in isolation over tens of millions of years. Our results elucidate how long-lasting biogeographic barriers can lead to divergent diversity patterns, against the backdrop of environmental determinism that predominantly structures diversity across most of the world.

Climate change reshapes plant trait spectrum to explain biomass dynamics in an old-growth subtropical forest

Climate change leads to novel species interactions and continues to reshuffle ecological communities, which significantly declines carbon accumulation rates in mature forests. Still, little is known about the potential influence of multiple global change factors on long-term biomass dynamics and functional trait combinations. We used temporal demographic records spanning 26 years and extensive databases of functional traits to assess how old-growth subtropical forest biomass dynamics respond to various climatic change scenarios (extreme drought, subsequent drought, warming, elevated CO2 concentrations, and windstorm). We found that the initial severe drought, subsequent drought and windstorm events increased biomass loss due to tree mortality, which exceeded the biomass gain produced by survivors and recruits, ultimately resulting in more negative net biomass balances. These drought and windstorm events caused massive biomass loss due to tree mortality that tended towards acquisition species with high hydraulic efficiency, whereas biomass growth from survivors and recruits tended to consist of acquisition species with high hydraulic safety. Compensatory growth in this natural forest provided good explanation for the increase in biomass growth after drought and windstorm events. Notably, these dominant-species transitions reduced carbon storage and residence time, forming a positive carbon-climate feedback loop. Our findings suggest that climate changes could alter functional strategies and cause shifts in new dominant species, which could greatly reduce ecological functions and carbon gains of old-growth subtropical forests.

Effects of urban, peri-urban and rural land covers on plant functional traits around Bogotá, Colombia

AbstractThe Global South has suffered an accelerated population and urban growth. This has created multiple impacts at the regional level such as erosion, soil degradation and biodiversity loss, as well as temperature increase in the cities causing urban heat islands. Bogotá, the capital of Colombia, is one of the largest cities in the Global South and in the last five decades has undergone a rapid urban transition, impacting surrounding ecosystems. However, little is known about how urbanization affects the local flora. To understand how plants are responding and adapting to urbanization processes in the city of Bogotá, we used a land cover gradient of urban, peri-urban and rural areas, and four plant functional traits (leaf area [LA], specific leaf area [SLA], leaf dry matter content [LDMC] and wood density [WD]). We analyzed 16 species shared in at least two land covers. Although urban and peri-urban areas had higher temperatures and higher LDMC and lower SLA values than rural areas, there were no significant differences in functional traits between land covers. Some species showed significant changes between land covers, indicating that there is a species-specific response to urbanization. Considering the need for urban areas to prioritize species that promote cooling and exhibit resistance to stress, as well as the capacity to adapt to climate change, it is essential to include plants possessing different combinations of functional traits.

Functional traits and adaptive capacity of cloud forest Ternstroemia species in response to climatic variation

Tropical Mountain Cloud Forests (TMCFs) produce distinct climatic gradients that can both constrain and facilitate the presence of tree species and/or specific combinations of functional traits. Local climatic adaptation allows for maximum fitness under hydric stress, resulting in specific morphological adaptations to the TMCF tree species. In this study, we assessed the hypothesis that the functional traits of two uncommon TMCF species (Ternstroemia huasteca and T. sylvatica) would show similar morpho-anatomical adjustments to climate variation. Our research questions were: how do the Ternstroemia functional traits vary interspecifically between TMCFs? Which of these two species is the most climatically vulnerable? To answer these questions, we examined differences in wood anatomical traits and leaf vascular tissues between both species. For this, we assessed the effects of temperature, precipitation, and evapotranspiration on the functional traits of Ternstroemia in different TMCFs. Our analyses suggested that, not all climatic factors considered affected the functional traits of Ternstroemia at the same magnitude. These findings provide insights into the ecophysiological functional trait adaptation mechanisms in response to hydraulic deficit in TMCF understory tree species.

Detecting functional rarity in a hyperdiverse Amazonian dung beetle assemblage

The functional space of an ecological community is not evenly filled by its species. Instead, it is usually divided into areas of high species density, where species with common combinations of functional traits are grouped into species rich clusters, while lower density areas are filled with species poor clusters or isolated species with uncommon or unique combinations of traits. Species whose functional traits differ from those of the rest of the community are expected to play distinct ecological roles and over-contribute to ecosystem functionality. Sampling methods used to characterize arthropod assemblages usually target subsets of the community and filter species based on their functional traits, reducing the probability of detecting species with uncommon combinations of functional traits. Consideration of these species is particularly important for characterizing the functional structure and resilience of ecological communities inhabiting threatened ecosystems such as lowland Amazonian rainforests, in which dung beetles play multiple ecological roles and are commonly used as ecological indicators. In this study, we characterize the functional structure of a diverse Amazonian dung beetle assemblage using five different sampling methods (dung- and carrion-baited pitfalls, dung-baited aerial traps, flight interception traps, and visual transects) and 18 different functional traits. Our main objective is to assess the suitability of these methods for the detection of the functional volume of the assemblage and of species with uncommon or unique combinations of functional traits that are expected to support vulnerable ecosystem functions. We found that, although dung-baited pitfalls (DPF) detected the highest species richness and proportion of the functional volume, they did not detect 30 species out of 103 and over 20% of the functional volume of the assemblage. The additional sampling methods captured more species with uncommon combinations of functional traits than expected by chance, some of which were trophic specialists not attracted to DPFs. The use of complementary sampling methods resulted in a better characterization of the functional structure of dung beetle communities inhabiting both terra firme and floodplain Amazonian rainforests and revealed functional resilience and rare species playing ecological roles overlooked by DPFs. The consideration of these species is of great importance given the threats that tropical rainforests face worldwide.

Woody plant functional traits and phylogenetic signals correlate with urbanization in remnant forest patches.

Exploring the alterations in functional traits of urban remnant vegetation offers a more comprehensive perspective on plant assembly within the context of urbanization. While plant functional traits are influenced by both environmental gradients and the evolutionary history of plant species, the specific mechanisms by which urbanization mediates the combination of functional traits and the evolutionary history of remnant vegetation remain unclear. To examine the relationship between functional traits and phylogenies of remnant vegetation and urbanization, we classified the woody plant species surveyed in 72 sample plots in nine remnant forest patches in Guiyang, China, into four groups (urban, rural, middle and general groups) according to their location under different levels of urbanization and measured nine functional traits of these species. The phylogenetic signals of each functional trait of the four species groups were then quantified based on Blomberg's K. Furthermore, we analysed the correlations between functional traits and species abundance using phylogenetic generalized least squares. The results showed that significant phylogenetic signals were detected in more functional traits of the urban group than other groups. Thirteen and three significant relationships between functional traits and species abundance were detected for tree and shrub species after removing phylogenies. Tall tree species were more abundant in the urban group, while the general group favoured the species with adaptable traits (low height and high leaf area and C/N). Overall, we demonstrate that urbanization drove shifts in plant functional traits in remnant forests after combining the phylogenetic patterns.

Context‐dependent evolution of high trophic position drives functional disparity in subterranean crustaceans

Abstract Species performance depends on the concerted interplay of their functional traits. Natural selection acts on the performance of the species and influences entire suits of interdependent functional traits, thereby driving the evolution of functional diversity (FD) within a clade. In a given habitat, interdependent functional traits are expected to integrate into only a few adaptive combinations. When a clade diversifies in different habitats, the FD within habitats (herein called α‐FD) diversifies in response to local selections, while between the habitats, alternative adaptive combinations of interdependent traits that are specific to the habitat emerge. This multivariate selection leads to two hypotheses. First, realized α‐FD within one habitat represents only a small fraction of the variation of functional traits, and second, realized FDs across habitats (hereafter called β‐FD) are equal to or greater than would be in the absence of the interdependence of functional traits. We tested these hypotheses using 185 species of the highly diverse subterranean amphipod genus Niphargus living in three habitats: river interstitial, cave lakes, and cave streams. We (i) explored integration of functional traits related to locomotion and feeding biology and tested (ii) if realized α‐FD within each habitat is lower than it would be without trait interdependence, and (iii) if realized β‐FD in pairwise comparisons of habitats is higher than it would be without trait interdependence. In all three habitats, the length of the appendages as a proxy of the locomotion speed was positively correlated with the trophic position of the species. On the contrary, the body shape correlations were habitat dependent: species in high trophic positions were slender, stout or invariant in shape in interstitial, cave streams and cave lakes, respectively. Using null models, we show that only a fraction of functional trait combinations was realized in each habitat, whereas β‐FD between habitats was equal to or greater than the null expectations. The results indicate preserved potential for diversification in species within and between habitats. This potential can be realized through hybridization and can drive diversification in adaptive radiations. Moreover, this perspective on the evolution of FD is compatible with several central ecological and evolutionary concepts, such as adaptive landscape or ecological niche theory. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

Spatial patterns and climatic factors influence the branch xylem anatomical traits of Reaumuria soongarica in the desert region of northwestern China

The xylem is the water transport tissue of vascular plants, and its structure is closely related to the efficiency and safety of water transport. Studying how xylem anatomical traits and related functional traits vary with environmental gradients is important for understanding plant responses to environmental changes and ecological adaptation strategies. In this study, ten populations of the dominant shrub Reaumuria soongarica were selected along a west-east transect using an aridity index (AI, the ratio of annual precipitation to annual potential evapotranspiration) ranging from 0.02 to 0.09 in the desert region of northwest China. Based on AI, the sampling sites were divided into arid regions (0.05 ≤ AI < 0.2) and hyper-arid regions (AI < 0.05). Pearson correlation analysis, linear mixed models, and plant trait networks were used to analyze the spatial variation characteristics and climatic factors of 12 traits in three categories, including xylem anatomical traits, hydraulic functional traits, and mechanical strength. The results were as follows: (1) Vessel diameter contributing 95% hydraulic conductivity (D95) and wood density (WD) significantly differed between arid and hyper-arid regions, whereas the other traits were not significantly different. (2) Mean temperature of the driest quarter was one of the most important climatic factors driving the most trait variation. With the increase in AI and the precipitation of the driest quarter, D95 and the vessel grouping index (Vg) significantly increased, but not WD. The mean temperature of the driest quarter was significantly negatively correlated with D95 and WD but not significantly correlated with Vg. (3) Correlations between most traits were significant, but Vg was not significantly correlated with all other traits. Theoretical hydraulic conductivity was significantly positively correlated with the vulnerability index, indicating a trade-off between the efficiency and safety of the xylem hydraulic system. (4) Coordination among multiple traits differed at the transect and regional climate levels, and the number of edges of the trait network of hyper-arid regions was more than that of arid regions. Moreover, network analyses showed that mean vessel diameter and theoretical hydraulic conductivity are central traits in arid and hyper-arid regions, respectively, because of the number and strength of the relationships with other traits, which could be the important predictor of related hydraulic functions and associations. In conclusion, the xylem anatomical structure of R. soongarica can adapt to changing environments by different combinations of functional traits. Plant trait networks provide a novel approach for exploring the adaptation strategies of desert shrubs along environmental gradients with future climate change.

Adaptations to the stressful combination of serpentine soils and Mediterranean climate drive plant functional groups and trait richness.

Plant functional traits (FTs) are important for understanding plant ecological strategies (e.g., drought avoidance), especially in the nutrient-poor soils of serpentine ecosystems. In the Mediterranean areas, such ecosystems are characterized by climatic factors (e.g., summer drought) that exert a filtering effect. In our study, we analyzed 24 species with varying serpentine affinity, from strictly serpentine plants to generalist plants, from two ultramafic shrublands in southern Spain, considering four FTs: plant height (H), leaf area (LA), specific leaf area (SLA), and stem specific density (SSD). Additionally, we also identified the species' dominant strategies to avoid drought and those strategies' relationship to serpentine affinity. We used principal component analysis to identify combinations of FTs, and cluster analysis to define Functional Groups (FGs). We defined eight FGs, which suggests that such Mediterranean serpentine shrublands are composed of species with wide-ranging of FTs. Indicator traits explained 67-72% of the variability based on four strategies: (1) lower H than in other Mediterranean ecosystems; (2) middling SSD; (3) low LA; and (4) low SLA due to thick and/or dense leaves, which contribute to long leaf survival, nutrient retention, and protection from desiccation and herbivory. Generalist plants had higher SLA than obligate serpentine plants, whereas the obligate serpentine plants showed more drought avoidance mechanisms than the generalists. Although most plant species inhabiting Mediterranean serpentine ecosystems have shown similar ecological adaptations in response to the Mediterranean environment, our results suggest that serpentine obligate plant species could present greater resilience to climate change. Given greater number and more pronounced drought avoidance mechanisms in these species compared with generalists, and the high number of FGs identified, the serpentine plants have shown adaptation to severe drought.

Leaf Functional Traits of Zanthoxylum planispinum ‘Dintanensis’ Plantations with Different Planting Combinations and Their Responses to Soil

Leaf structural and physiological traits, nutrients, and other functional properties reflect the ability of plants to self-regulate and adapt to the environment. Species diversity can positively affect plant growth by improving the habitat, and offers mutual interspecies benefits. Therefore, optimizing the types of plants grown in a specific area is conducive to achieving sustainable development goals for plant growth. In this study, companion planting of Zanthoxylum planispinum ‘dintanensis’ (hereafter Z. planispinum) with Prunus salicina Lindl., Sophora tonkinensis Gagnep., Arachis hypogaea L. and Lonicera japonica Thunb. was investigated, along with a monoculture Z. planispinum plantation. The effect of different planting combinations on the adaptive mechanisms of Z. planispinum and its response to the soil was explored. These results revealed that Z. planispinum preferred the slow growth strategy of small specific leaf area, high leaf water content, and high chlorophyll content after combination with P. salicina. Conversely, after combination with S. tonkinensis, Z. planispinum exhibited a fast growth strategy. Combination with A. hypogaea enabled Z. planispinum to adopt a transition from slow to fast growth. Z. planispinum regulated its economy of growth through multiple functional trait combinations, indicating that planting combinations impacted its adaptive strategies. The adaptability of Z. planispinum in combination with P. salicina, L. japonica, A. hypogaea and S. tonkinensis decreased in turn, with only the adaptability of Z. planispinum + S. tonkinensis lower than that of the pure forest. Leaf functional traits were jointly influenced by soil water content, microbial biomass carbon (MBC), MB nitrogen (N), MB phosphorus (P), available N, total P and available calcium (C:N:P). The main contributors were soil water content, the different component levels and stoichiometry of elements and the MB. The results demonstrated that companion planting can promote or inhibit the growth of Z. planispinum by adjusting its functional traits.

重庆主城河岸带植物群落功能性状与土壤理化性质的关系

PDF HTML阅读 XML下载 导出引用 引用提醒 重庆主城河岸带植物群落功能性状与土壤理化性质的关系 DOI: 10.5846/stxb202202160368 作者: 作者单位: 作者简介: 通讯作者: 中图分类号: 基金项目: 重庆市科技兴林项目（2021-9）；西南大学生命科学学院科学基金项目（20212005406201）；宁夏回族自治区重点研发计划项目（2020BFG03006）；中央林业改革发展资金科技推广示范项目（渝林科推2020-2） The relationship between plant functional traits and soil physicochemical properties in the riparian zones of downtown Chongqing 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:基于功能性状视角开展植物群落与环境关系的研究有助于揭示植物的适应策略。然而，目前关于城市河岸带植物群落功能性状的研究较少。为此选取10项植物功能性状指标和14项土壤理化性质指标，探究重庆主城3种生境类型河岸带（自然型河岸带（NRZ）、农耕主导型河岸带（FRZ）和开发建设主导型河岸带（BRZ））植物群落功能性状与土壤因子特征及互作机制。结果表明：（1）与NRZ生境相比，FRZ生境中的土壤速效磷、速效钾和氧化还原电位和BRZ生境中的土壤含水量显著偏高（P<0.05）；FRZ和BRZ生境中的土壤pH值和全磷含量显著偏高，而土壤有机质、全钾和全氮含量显著偏低（P<0.05）。（2）与NRZ生境相比，FRZ生境中的比根长和比根表面积显著较高，茎干物质含量和叶干物质含量显著较低；BRZ生境中仅茎干物质含量显著较低（P<0.05）。（3）冗余分析结果表明，影响各生境类型河岸带植物群落功能性状的土壤因子不同，NRZ生境为土壤容重、含水量和硝态氮，FRZ生境为土壤铵态氮、全磷和有机质，BRZ生境则是土壤含水量、温度和速效磷。研究发现与自然状态相比，农业和建筑类型的人为干扰导致重庆主城河岸带生境发生改变，植物群落通过权衡功能性状组合的策略提高对生境变化的适应性。 Abstract:Studying the relationship between plants and the environment through plant functional traits is of help to reveal plants' adaptation strategies. At present, most researches on the relationship between plant functional traits and environmental factors have mainly focused on the terrestrial ecosystems. Very few similar studies have been carried out in the riparian ecosystems. Riparian vegetation is a prerequisite for riparian ecosystems to function properly, while maintaining healthy watercourse and landscape connectivity. Therefore, our study selected 10 plant functional trait indices and 14 soil physiochemical property indices to explore plant community functional traits, soil factor characteristics and interaction mechanisms of three habitat types (natural riparian zone (NRZ), farming riparian zone (FRZ) and building riparian zone (BRZ)) within the riparian zones of downtown Chongqing. The results showed that:(1) compared with the NRZ habitat, the soil available phosphorus, available potassium and redox potential in the FRZ habitat and the soil moisture in the BRZ habitat were significantly higher (P<0.05). The soil pH value and total phosphorus content were significantly higher in FRZ and BRZ habitats, while soil organic matter, total potassium and total nitrogen content were significantly lower (P<0.05). (2) In comparison to the NRZ habitats, the specific root length and specific root surface area in the FRZ habitats were significantly higher, and the stem dry matter content and leaf dry matter content were significantly lower. Only the stem dry matter content was significantly lower in the BRZ habitats (P<0.05). (3) The results of redundancy analysis showed that the soil factors which affected the functional traits of riparian plant communities in different habitat types were different. For the NRZ habitats, the influencing factors were soil bulk density, soil moisture and nitrate nitrogen. For the FRZ habitats, the influencing factors were soil ammonium nitrogen, total phosphorus and organic matter. For the BRZ habitats, the influencing factors were soil moisture, soil temperature, and available phosphorus. This study found that in comparison to the natural riparian state, the anthropogenic disturbance of agriculture and structural engineering related projects led to changes in the riparian habitats of downtown Chongqing, and that the plant community improved its adaptability to various habitats through trade-off combinations of functional traits. 参考文献 相似文献 引证文献

Flood regimes alter the role of landform and topographic constraint on functional diversity of floodplain forests

Understanding patterns of species coexistence is a fundamental challenge in ecology. The physical environment is believed to play an important role, influencing patterns of dispersal and biotic interactions across space and time. Floodplain forest species are presumed to interact strongly with their environment, as evidenced by pronounced spatial variation in forest composition associated with flood‐driven abiotic constraints. Questions of how, and to what degree, fine‐scale heterogeneity interacts with broad‐scale hydrogeomorphology to influence patterns of functional composition remain unresolved. We examined how functional diversity (i.e. richness and range of functional traits) and ecological strategies (i.e. functional trait combinations) of floodplain forest communities varied across regional and local gradients of flooding in a northern temperate region of the United States of America. We found functional diversity of woody overstory species varied across hydrogeomorphic settings and that different settings altered associations between functional diversity and both the relative elevation above and proximity to rivers. Ecological strategies shifted over local gradients of relative elevation and distance to channel with different magnitudes and directions depending on the broader hydrogeomorphic context. We found evidence that interactions among flood regimes and landform position impose different levels of functional constraint. These results indicate patterns of community assembly are not easily discerned from landform type or position alone, but rather from filtering that operates and interacts with biota over multiple spatial scales. Our results imply that it is important to characterize flood dynamics in ways that can be clearly linked to ecological processes and that treatment of floodplain landforms as transferable units across river‐valley segments is problematic, even within a single basin.

Functional response traits and altered ecological niches drive the disassembly of cloud forest bird communities in tropical montane countrysides.

Anthropogenic disturbance contributes to global change by reshaping the ecological niche space available to biological communities. Quantifying the range of functional response traits required for species persistence is central towards understanding the mechanisms underlying community disassembly in disturbed landscapes. We used intensive field surveys of cloud forest bird communities across seven replicate landscapes undergoing agricultural conversion in the Peruvian Andes to examine how a suite of 16 functional response traits related to morphology, diet, foraging behaviour and environmental niche breadth predict (1) species-specific abundance changes in countryside habitats compared to forest and (2) differential changes to the ecological niche space occupied by communities. Our analyses relied on (1) hierarchical distance sampling models to examine the functional predictors of abundance change across the agricultural land use gradient while accounting for imperfect detection and (2) n-dimensional hypervolumes to quantify the expansion and contraction of ecological niche space in countryside habitats. Key traits related to increased abundance in early successional and mixed-intensity agricultural areas included (1) morphological adaptations to dense understorey habitats, (2) plant-based diets (flowers, fruit and seeds) and (3) broad elevational range limits and habitat breadth. Species occupying mixed and high-intensity agricultural land use regimes had mean elevational range limits 20%-60% wider than species found within forests. Collectively, ecological niche space expanded within agricultural habitats for traits related to diet and environmental niche breadth, while contracting for foraging and dispersal traits. Such changes were driven by species with unique functional trait combinations. Our results reveal the dynamic changes to ecological niche space that underly community structure in disturbed landscapes and highlight how increased niche breadth can ameliorate disturbance sensitivity for generalist species. We emphasize that functional traits can be used to predict changes in community structure across disturbance gradients, allowing insights into specific mechanisms underlying community disassembly beyond emergent patterns of functional diversity. By identifying key functional trait groups that align with different countryside habitats, we demonstrate how conservation practitioners can contribute to the retention of avian functional diversity in agricultural landscapes throughout the world.

Ruderals naturalize, competitors invade: Varying roles of plant adaptive strategies along the invasion continuum

Abstract It is increasingly recognized that the factors facilitating plant invasions depend on the stage along the introduction–naturalization–invasion continuum. Adaptative strategies, that is, combinations of functional traits that represent overall fitness in the face of one or more selection pressures, have shown promise in explaining plant invasions. However, whether adaptive strategy patterns change with stages of plant invasion is not yet known. Using the Pladias Database of the Czech Flora and Vegetation, we explored how Grime's adaptive strategies (competitors, stress‐tolerators, ruderals; CSR) and introduction pathways (deliberate vs. accidental) relate to plant invasion along the introduction–naturalization–invasion continuum. Phylogenetically corrected ANOVAs showed that naturalized species (referring to non‐invasive naturalized species in this study) were mostly R‐selected, whereas invasive species tended to be C‐selected. The results of phylogenetic regression analysis further confirmed that across the deliberately and accidentally introduced species, R‐ and C‐selection were positively related to naturalization and invasion success respectively. We also found that deliberate introduction was negatively related to naturalization success and grid‐cell occupancy of naturalized species, likely due to the different CSR strategies of deliberately and accidentally introduced aliens. Our study provides empirical evidence that different adaptive strategies are associated with species that have reached different invasion stages and confirms the usefulness of the CSR strategy framework for understanding plant invasion. This has implications for predicting and preventing potential high‐impact invaders. For example, our results show that naturalized C‐selected species have a higher probability of becoming invasive than naturalized R‐selected species. Therefore, management actions are essential to prevent further introductions and spread of competitors. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

Nurse-target functional match explains plant facilitation strength

Functional trait combinations underlie assembly rules of plant communities. In harsh environments, facilitation is widespread but its strength varies greatly between pairs of interacting nurse-target plants. Here, we investigated whether functional traits of potential nurse and target species can jointly predict the sign and strength of their interactions. In order to estimate the facilitation strength for 60 nurse-target species combinations, we conducted field experiments in a seasonally dry tropical forest. We estimated eight key functional traits (canopy diameter, leaf C:N, leaf ∂C13, specific leaf area, number of months without leaves, wood density, hydraulic diameter and root volume) for 20 potential mature nurse species established under field conditions. For three target species, four key functional traits were estimated for seedlings grown in greenhouse conditions (total dry biomass, plant water content, root:shoot ratio, and apical growth rate). Our results showed that facilitation strength can be explained by the interaction between nurse and target traits. Facilitation increased when low SLA nurses interacted with targets investing in apical growth, thus acquisitive targets are benefited by the greater availability of resources left by conservative nurses. Facilitation also increased when nurses with lower values of leaf ∂C13 interacted with high root:shoot ratio targets, so early release of light and soil resources due to nurse earlier leaf loss benefits drought resistant targets. Besides, root volume of the nurse promoted facilitation, probably due to improvements on soil conditions. Functional trait match can shed light on plant community assembly rules and help promote ecosystem restoration and management.

Particulate matter and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon uptake in relation to leaf surface functional traits in Mediterranean evergreens: Potentials for air phytoremediation

We explored relationships between particulate matter (PM) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAHs) leaf concentrations, uptake rates and leaf surface functional traits in four Mediterranean evergreen trees (Chamaerops humilis, Citrus × aurantium, Magnolia grandiflora, and Quercus ilex) during a dry month. Pollutant leaf concentration at different dates and uptake rate were correlated. We quantified PM by gravimetric analysis, PAHs were extracted from intact and dewaxed leaves and analyzed by GC-MS, and cuticle thickness, number and surface of stomata (Ns and SS) and trichomes (Nt and St) were determined by optical microscopy. Infrared spectroscopy was used to investigate the leaves surfaces composition and assess esterification index (E). Studied species were characterized by unique combinations of functional traits and pollutant uptake capacities. PM10 uptake scaled positively with SS, St and upper cuticle thickness (Tc,u) across species. PM2.5 uptake scaled positively with Tc,u, and thicker cuticles were also associated with greater shares of uptake of hydrophobic PM fractions. Uptakes of different fractions of PAH were generally weakly related to different leaf functional traits, except for some correlations with E and SS. We conclude that both plant surface morphological and chemical leaf traits influence PM and PAH retention, unveiling their potential role in air phytoremediation.

Assessing the vulnerability of plant functional trait strategies to climate change

AbstractAimOur ability to understand how species may respond to changing climate conditions is hampered by a lack of high‐quality data on the adaptive capacity of species. Plant functional traits are linked to many aspects of species life history and adaptation to environment, with different combinations of trait values reflecting alternate strategies for adapting to varied conditions. If the realized climate limits of species can be partially explained by plant functional trait combinations, then a new approach of using trait combinations to predict the expected climate limits of species trait combinations may offer considerable benefits.LocationAustralia.Time periodCurrent and future.MethodsUsing trait data for leaf size, seed mass and plant height for 6,747 Australian native species from 27 plant families, we model the expected climate limits of trait combinations and use future climate scenarios to estimate climate change impacts based on plant functional trait strategies.ResultsFunctional trait combinations were a significant predictor of species climate niche metrics with potentially meaningful relationships with two rainfall variables (R2 = .36 &amp; .45) and three temperature variables (R2 = .21, .28, .30). Using this method, the proportion of species exposed to conditions across their range that are beyond the expected climate limits of their trait strategies will increase under climate change.Main conclusionsOur new approach, called trait strategy vulnerability, includes three new metrics. For example, the climate change vulnerability (CCV) metric identified a small but important proportion of species (4.3%) that will on average be exposed to conditions beyond their expected limits for summer temperature in the future. These potentially vulnerable species could be high priority targets for deeper assessment of adaptive capacity at the genomic or physiological level. Our methods can be applied to any suite of co‐occurring plants globally.

典型喀斯特区不同植被恢复方式苔藓功能性状及其对土壤因子的响应

PDF HTML阅读 XML下载 导出引用 引用提醒 典型喀斯特区不同植被恢复方式苔藓功能性状及其对土壤因子的响应 DOI: 10.5846/stxb202112043430 作者: 作者单位: 作者简介: 通讯作者: 中图分类号: 基金项目: 国家自然科学基金联合基金（U20A2011）；国家自然科学基金重点项目（41930652）；国家自然科学基金（32001231） Functional traits of bryophytes and their response and adaptation to soil factors in different vegetation restoration methods in a typical karst area Author: Affiliation: Fund Project: Joint Funds of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (U20A2011), Key Program of National Natural Science Foundation of China (41930652), National Natural Science Foundation of China (32001231) 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:苔藓功能性状反映了苔藓对生长环境的响应与适应，对其所在土壤表层的功能特性具有重要指示意义。但喀斯特地区植被恢复初期苔藓功能性状与土壤因子关系还缺乏深入认识。以典型喀斯特峰丛洼地人工林、牧草和人工林+牧草3种植被恢复方式下苔藓为研究对象，分析了苔藓功能性状及其与土壤因子的关系。结果表明：（1）苔藓单位面积冠层质量（CMA）、冠层密度（CD）、生物量和饱和吸水量在牧草地有最大值。苔藓冠层高度在牧草地显著低于人工林和人工林+牧草，且牧草地苔藓营养元素含量较低。（2）人工林和人工林+牧草表层土壤（0-2 cm）养分含量和土壤含水量（SWC）较高，牧草地表层土壤养分含量和SWC较低。（3）冗余分析表明，苔藓营养性状（营养元素含量及化学计量比）与土壤因子主要呈正相关关系，而CMA、CD及生物量关联指标与土壤因子主要呈负相关关系，土壤交换性镁和SWC是影响苔藓功能性状的主要土壤因子。研究结果表明，苔藓通过不同的性状组合适应不同植被类型生境，其中牧草地更适宜苔藓拓殖和生长，可考虑将苔藓应用于牧草地对喀斯特退化生态系统进行修复。 Abstract:Functional traits of bryophytes reflect the response and adaption of bryophytes to the habitat, which is important to indicate the functional characteristics of the surface soil. However, the relationship between bryophyte functional traits and soil factors is not well understood at the early stage of vegetation restoration in karst areas. Thus, we studied bryophyte functional traits of three vegetation restoration methods (artificial forest[AF], forage grassland[FG] and a combination of artificial forest and forage grassland[FF]) and their relationships with soil factors in a typical karst depression. The results showed that:(1) according to principal component analysis, the first principal component mainly showed the nutritional traits of bryophytes, and the second principal component mainly showed the canopy traits and biomass of bryophytes. And the first axis in FF was significantly different from that in AF, and the second axis in FG was significantly different from that in AF and FF. The highest canopy mass per area (CMA), canopy density (CD), bryophyte biomass and saturated water adsorption content were all observed in FG. But the canopy heights of bryophytes in FG were significantly lower than AF and FF, and the nutrient concentrations of bryophytes in FG were lower than those in AF and FF. (2) Soil nutrients (e.g., soil organic carbon, total nitrogen, available potassium, exchangeable calcium, exchangeable magnesium, ammonium, nitrate, and total inorganic nitrogen) and soil water content (SWC) in AF and FF were higher in surface soil (0-2 cm), while soil nutrients and SWC in surface soil were lower in FG. (3) According to the redundancy analysis, the nutritional traits (e.g., nutrient concentrations and stoichiometric ratios) of bryophytes were mainly positively correlated with soil factors, while CMA, CD, bryophyte biomass and related indicators were mainly negatively correlated with soil factors. And the exchangeable magnesium and SWC were the main soil factors affecting functional traits of bryophytes. The results showed that bryophytes could adapt to the habitat with different combinations of functional traits under different vegetation types. And FG was more suitable for bryophytes colonization and growth, and bryophytes could be applied with FG for the restoration of degraded karst ecosystems. 参考文献 相似文献 引证文献

Rare and common species contribute disproportionately to the functional variation within tropical forests

Understanding how functional traits and functional entities (FEs, i.e., unique combinations of functional traits) are distributed within plant communities can contribute to the understanding of vegetation properties and changes in species composition. We utilized investigation data on woody plants (including trees, shrubs and lianas) from 17 1-ha plots across six old-growth tropical forest types on Hainan island, China. Plant species were categorized as common (>1 individuals/ha) and rare species (≤1 individuals/ha) according to their abundance to determine how they contributed to different ecosystem functions. First, we assessed the differences in traits between common and rare species, and second, we examined functional redundancy, functional over-redundancy, and functional vulnerability for common and rare species of the forests. We found that both common species and rare species in each of the forest types were placed into just a few FEs, leading to functional over-redundancy and resulting in functional vulnerability. Rare species tended to have different trait values than those of common species, and were differently distributed among FEs, indicating different contributions to ecosystem functioning. Our results highlighted the disproportionate contribution of rare species in all of the studied forests. Rare species are more likely than common species to possess unique FEs, and thus, they have a disproportionately large contribution to community trait space. The loss of such species may impact the functioning, redundancy, and resilience of tropical forests.

Resistance of plant communities to invasion by tall fescue: An experimental study combining species diversity, functional traits and nutrient levels

The grass Festuca arundinacea is often planted for slope stabilisation in South Korea, and is spreading widely beyond the introduction sites. This study used a functional group approach to examine the resistance of plant combinations to invasion by F. arundinacea based on the limiting similarity and diversity-resistance hypotheses, and to elucidate the process of colonisation. The study simulated the environment of construction sites and surrounding areas that might be encountered by expanding populations of F. arundinacea. The role of nutrient condition in the ranking of functional group competitive ability was also examined. Twelve native plant species were categorised into three functional groups using combinations of functional traits. Pairwise (one-to-one competition), multiple (four different neighbouring species) and monoculture experimental settings were designed using two nutrient levels. The Relative Competition Index was used to interpret the competitive effect of neighbouring species on F. arundinacea. Species of the same functional group as F. arundinacea were unable to resist invasion, but annual plants with niche preemption ability could outcompete it. Competitive relationships between native plants and F. arundinacea were explained partially by functional group identity but were inconsistent with the limiting similarity hypothesis and the diversity-interaction. Unforeseen interactions within the artificial communities also produced unexpected effects. In designing artificial plant communities, it is necessary to consider functional traits that reflect the species characteristic of particular periods and indirect effects that modify the interaction between other species.