Mechanisms driving plant functional trait variation in a tropical forest

SummaryQuantifying the dimensions and magnitude of intraspecific root trait variation is key to understanding the functional trade-offs in the belowground plant strategies of tropical forest trees. Additionally, accurately measuring how belowground functional trait variation relates to soil environment and forest age is crucial to tropical forest modeling efforts.We sampled leaf and root morphologies from 423 juvenile trees of 72 species from 14 Angiosperm families along a 6.6 km transect that corresponded to an environmental gradient in decreasing soil fertility and texture with increasing forest age.We observed within-lineage conservative functional trait-shifts in root and leaf morphological traits along the transect. From secondary to primary forest, average leaf area increased 7 cm2and average root system diameter increased 0.4 mm. Mean specific leaf area decreased by 0.8 m2kg−1, specific root length decreased by 3.5 m kg−1, and root branching intensity decreased by 0.3 tips cm−1. Leaf thickness and root tissue density showed no change.We coupled trait measurements to a network of 164 1/16th-ha plots across a Chinese tropical forest reserve, to scale individual trait measurements up to the community-level, accounting for forest age.For most traits, intraspecific trait variation negatively covaried with species compositional turnover between plots in younger versus older forest to compound and create greater community-weighted differences in trait values than would be observed if intraspecific variation in traits with forest age was not accounted for.SummaryRoot morphologies are variable with local scale variation in soil fertility and texture. Accurately understanding broader (i.e. forest)-scale patterns in root functional traits, requires attention to underlying environmental variation in soil resources, which interacts with environmental filtering of plant communities.

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Plant Functional Trait Variation in Tropical Dry Forests: A Review and Synthesis

Tropical Dry Forests in the Americas ◽

10.1201/b15417-11 ◽

2013 ◽

pp. 147-158

Keyword(s):

Functional Trait ◽

Tropical Dry Forests ◽

Trait Variation ◽

Dry Forests ◽

Plant Functional Trait

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Faculty Opinions recommendation of Plant functional trait change across a warming tundra biome.

Faculty Opinions – Post-Publication Peer Review of the Biomedical Literature ◽

10.3410/f.734077082.793556989 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Benjamin Poulter

Keyword(s):

Functional Trait ◽

Plant Functional Trait

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Non-parametric methods reveal non-linear functional trait variation of lichens along environmental and fire age gradients

Journal of Vegetation Science ◽

10.1111/jvs.12286 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 26 (5) ◽

pp. 848-865 ◽

Cited By ~ 30

Author(s):

Peter R. Nelson ◽

Bruce McCune ◽

Carl Roland ◽

Sarah Stehn

Keyword(s):

Linear Functional ◽

Functional Trait ◽

Parametric Methods ◽

Trait Variation ◽

Non Linear ◽

Non Parametric

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Leaf Traits of Trees in Tropical Dry Evergreen Forests of Peninsular India

Ecologies ◽

10.3390/ecologies2030015 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 2 (3) ◽

pp. 268-284

Author(s):

Muthulingam Udayakumar ◽

Thangavel Sekar

Keyword(s):

Negative Relationship ◽

Leaf Traits ◽

Functional Trait ◽

Matter Content ◽

Evergreen Forest ◽

Leaf Life Span ◽

Dry Matter Content ◽

Evergreen Species ◽

Peninsular India ◽

Plant Functional Trait

A plant functional trait study was conducted to know the existing relationship between important leaf traits namely, specific leaf area (SLA), leaf dry matter content (LDMC), and leaf life span (LL) in tropical dry evergreen forest (TDEFs) of Peninsular India. Widely accepted methodologies were employed to record functional traits. The relationships between SLA and LDMC, LDMC and LL, and SLA and LL were measured. Pearson’s coefficient of correlation showed a significant negative relationship between SLA and LDMC, and SLA and LL, whereas a significant positive relationship was prevailed between LDMC and LL. The mean trait values (SLA, LDMC, and LL) of evergreens varied significantly from deciduous species. SLA had a closer relationship with LDMC than LL. Similarly, LL had a closer relationship with SLA than LDMC. Species with evergreen leaf habits dominated forest sites under study. Evergreen species dominate the study area with a high evergreen-deciduous ratio of 5.34:1. The S strategy score of trees indicated a relatively higher biomass allocation to persistent tissues. TDEFs occur in low elevation, semiarid environment, but with the combination of oligotrophic habitat, high temperature and longer dry season these forests were flourishing as a unique evergreen ecosystem in the drier environment. The relationships found between leaf traits were in concurrence with earlier findings. Trees of TDEFs survive on the poor-nutrient habitat with a low SLA, high LDMC, and LL. This study adds baseline data on key leaf traits to plant functional trait database of India.

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