scholarly journals Traits, strategies, and niches of liana species in a tropical seasonal rainforest

Oecologia ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qi Liu ◽  
Frank J. Sterck ◽  
Jiao-Lin Zhang ◽  
Arne Scheire ◽  
Evelien Konings ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Functional Traits ◽  
Species Distribution ◽  
Species Distributions ◽  
Plant Functional Traits ◽  
Resource Acquisition ◽  
Plant Strategies ◽  
Local Conditions ◽  
Light Water ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Nutrient Use

AbstractPlant functional traits and strategies hold the promise to explain species distribution, but few studies have linked multiple traits to multiple niche dimensions (i.e., light, water, and nutrients). Here, we analyzed for 29 liana species in a Chinese tropical seasonal rainforest how: (1) trait associations and trade-offs lead to different plant strategies; and (2) how these traits shape species’ niche dimensions. Eighteen functional traits related to light, water, and nutrient use were measured and species niche dimensions were quantified using species distribution in a 20-ha plot combined with data on canopy gaps, topographic water availability, and soil nutrients. We found a tissue toughness spectrum ranging from soft to hard tissues along which species also varied from acquisitive to conservative water use, and a resource acquisition spectrum ranging from low to high light capture and nutrient use. Intriguingly, each spectrum partly reflected the conservative–acquisitive paradigm, but at the same time, the tissue toughness and the resource acquisition spectrum were uncoupled. Resource niche dimensions were better predicted by individual traits than by multivariate plant strategies. This suggests that trait components that underlie multivariate strategy axes, rather than the plant strategies themselves determine species distributions. Different traits were important for different niche dimensions. In conclusion, plant functional traits and strategies can indeed explain species distributions, but not in a simple and straight forward way. Although the identification of global plant strategies has significantly advanced the field, this research shows that global, multivariate generalizations are difficult to translate to local conditions, as different components of these strategies are important under different local conditions.

Plant Functional Traits and Their Trade-offs in Response to Grazing:A Review

2015 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 159
Author(s):  
Li Xiliang ◽  
Liu Zhiying ◽  
Hou Xiangyang ◽  
Wu Xinhong ◽  
Wang Zhen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Functional Traits ◽  
Plant Functional Traits ◽  
Trade Offs

scholarly journals Plant functional traits shape multiple ecosystem services, their trade‐offs and synergies in grasslands

2020 ◽  
Vol 57 (8) ◽  
pp. 1535-1550
Author(s):  
Mario Hanisch ◽  
Oliver Schweiger ◽  
Anna F. Cord ◽  
Martin Volk ◽  
Sonja Knapp
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Functional Traits ◽  
Plant Functional Traits ◽  
Trade Offs

scholarly journals Functional Traits and Adaptation Mechanisms of Eucalyptus Species in the Congo

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chrissy Garel Makouanzi Ekomono ◽  
Castella bath Shéba Vitel Loubassou ◽  
Mavie Parfait Mbama ◽  
Grace Jopaul Loubota Panzou ◽  
Philippe Vigneron
Keyword(s):  
Cluster Analysis ◽  
Leaf Area ◽  
Functional Traits ◽  
Specific Leaf Area ◽  
Growth Strategy ◽  
Eucalyptus Species ◽  
Local Conditions ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Provenance Test ◽  
Pointe Noire

Abstract Background: Adaptation is not only effective by considering the survival of plants, but also by taking into account the traits that support adaptation to environmental changing. Local adaptation occurs because different environmental factors impose different selective pressures across habitats. Understanding the ecophysiological mechanisms underlying survival and growth in plants is crucial for establishing the reasons trade-offs are associated with adaptation.Methods: A comparison provenance test of 29 species of Eucalyptus were used to understand the adaptation strategies on the coastal plains of Pointe-Noire, in the Republic of the Congo. Survival, growth traits and leaves functional traits was jointly measured. Climatic traits of the species origin areas were also studied. Cluster analysis was performed to group species according to their growth strategy.Results: The results suggest that species would be able to survive under current environmental change by adjusting their specific leaf area plasticity. The cluster analysis suggests a subdivision of the 29 species into four groups. The first cluster brings together E.pilularis and E.peltata, with the lowest growth and the lowest specific leaf area. This cluster contains two species totally unsuited to the local conditions of Pointe-Noire. The second cluster contains species with a wide variety of responses as to their growth strategy, and are able to adapt to the local conditions. The third cluster includes a species are specialized in acquiring high proportions of resources while investing very little in growth. The fourth cluster groups the species with a very slow strategy of acquiring and using resources. Leaf anatomy is quite responsive to climatic conditions. Conclusion: By evaluating all aspects of strategies, Eucalyptus species have shown great variation in their functionnal traits and this may explains their diverse ecological range.

scholarly journals A plant economics spectrum of litter decomposition among coexisting fern species in a sub-tropical forest

2019 ◽  
Vol 125 (1) ◽  
pp. 145-155
Author(s):  
Dunmei Lin ◽  
Shufang Yang ◽  
Pengpeng Dou ◽  
Hongjuan Wang ◽  
Fang Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tropical Forest ◽  
Litter Decomposition ◽  
Functional Traits ◽  
Fine Roots ◽  
Plant Functional Traits ◽  
Resource Acquisition ◽  
Seed Plants ◽  
Decomposition Rates ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Fern Species

Abstract Background and Aims The plant economics spectrum theory provides a useful framework to examine plant strategies by integrating the co-ordination of plant functional traits along a resource acquisition–conservation trade-off axis. Empirical evidence for this theory has been widely observed for seed plants (Spermatophyta). However, whether this theory can be applied to ferns (Pteridophyta), a ubiquitous and ancient group of vascular plants, has rarely been evaluated so far. Methods We measured 11 pairs of plant functional traits on leaves and fine roots (diameter <2 mm) on 12 coexisting fern species in a sub-tropical forest. Litterbags of leaves and roots were placed in situ and exposed for 586 d to measure decomposition rates. The variation of traits across species and the co-ordination among traits within and between plant organs were analysed. Finally, the influence of the traits on decomposition rates were explored. Key Results Most leaf and root traits displayed high cross-species variation, and were aligned along a major resource acquisition–conservation trade-off axis. Many fern traits co-varied between leaves and fine roots, suggesting co-ordinated responses between above- and below-ground organs. Decomposition rates of leaves were significantly higher than those of fine roots, but they were significantly and positively correlated. Finally, our results highlight that the decomposition of both leaves and roots was relatively well predicted by the leaf and root economics spectra. Conclusions Our results support the existence of an acquisition–conservation trade-off axis within ferns and indicate that traits have important ‘afterlife’ effects on fern litter decomposition. We conclude that the plant economics spectrum theory that is commonly observed across seed plants can be applied to ferns species, thereby extending the generality of this theory to this ancient plant lineage in our study site. Our study further suggests that the evolutionary and ecological basis for the relationships among key economics traits appears to be similar between ferns and seed plants. Future studies involving larger data sets will be required to confirm these findings across different biomes at larger spatial scales.

Economic trade-offs of hydrophytes and neighbouring terrestrial herbaceous plants based on plant functional traits

2017 ◽  
Vol 22 ◽  
pp. 11-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lixia Zhang ◽  
Di Ma ◽  
Jinshi Xu ◽  
Jiaxin Quan ◽  
Han Dang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Functional Traits ◽  
Plant Functional Traits ◽  
Herbaceous Plants ◽  
Trade Offs

scholarly journals Digging into the roots: understanding direct and indirect drivers of ecosystem service trade-offs in coastal grasslands via plant functional traits

2021 ◽  
Vol 193 (S1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Miguel A. Cebrián-Piqueras ◽  
Juliane Trinogga ◽  
Anastasia Trenkamp ◽  
Vanessa Minden ◽  
Martin Maier ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Functional Traits ◽  
Environmental Gradients ◽  
Plant Functional Traits ◽  
Forage Production ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Leaf Economics Spectrum ◽  
Ecosystem Properties ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Leaf Economics

AbstractRecent empirical and theoretical approaches have called for an understanding of the processes underpinning ecosystem service provision. Environmental gradients have shown effects on key plant functional traits that subsequently explain ecosystem properties of several systems. However, little is known concerning how associations between plant functional traits, including both below- and aboveground plant components, predict ecosystem properties and independently measured final ecosystem services. Here, we modeled (1) the responses of the leaf and plant economics spectrum, Plant size axis, and root growth to environmental gradients and (2) how associations between plant functional traits explain trade-offs and synergies between multiple ecosystem properties and final services. Forty-four plots were studied in a coastal marsh landscape of the German North Sea Coast. We used a partial least square structural equation model approach to test the hypothesized model. We found (1) a negative covariation between plant traits pertaining to a size axis and traits explaining both plant growth (roots and stems) and the leaf economics spectrum; (2) this trade-off responded significantly to the land use gradient and nutrient availability, which were both strongly driven by the groundwater gradient; (3) this trade-off explained an initial major trade-off between carbon stocks, at one extreme of the axis, and both the habitat value to conserve endangered plants and forage production for meat and dairy products at the other extreme. However, a secondary trade-off between nature conservation value and forage production, explained by a trade-off between leaf economics spectrum and plant growth in response to the land use intensity gradient, was also found.

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