Functional diversity, functional composition and functional β diversity drive aboveground biomass across different bioclimatic rangelands

Abstract Background: Community composition on fragmented forest remnants has been shown to diverge from their natural successional path, revealing an alternative state which has been known as retrogressive succession. Here we show the long-term monitoring of a small forest fragment concerning community structure, species richness, functional diversity and composition throughout 17 years to offer a means to generalize community performance under the impacts of forest fragmentation. Results: The adult tree community showed shifts on its functional composition: reduction in species’ maximum height and percentage of simple leaves, indicating an investment in resource-acquisitive and disturbance adapted traits. However, we also found a gradual increase in wood density throughout the years for the adult community. For the overall community, functional composition analysis indicated a gradual reduction in the percentage of simple leaves and a significant increase in aboveground biomass. The decrease in Hmax and simple leaves, especially for the adult tree community, are mostly related do microenvironmental conditions caused by edge effects, as desiccation and tree canopy damage.Conclusion: Our results show that natural regeneration is being negatively affected, except for aboveground biomass. Although these findings could have resulted from a transient dynamic, they constitute a warning to future conservation policies around the ecological integrity of small forest fragments.

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Context-dependency in biodiversity-multifunctionality relationships is driven by nitrogen availability and plant functional composition

10.1101/2020.08.17.254086 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Noémie A. Pichon ◽

Seraina L. Cappelli ◽

Santiago Soliveres ◽

Tosca Mannall ◽

Thu Zar Nwe ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Species Richness ◽

Plant Species ◽

Functional Diversity ◽

Experimental Studies ◽

Plant Species Richness ◽

Trophic Levels ◽

Context Dependency ◽

Composition Gradient ◽

Nitrogen Enrichment ◽

Functional Composition

SummaryThe ability of an ecosystem to deliver multiple functions at high levels (multifunctionality) typically increases with biodiversity but there is substantial variation in the strength and direction of biodiversity effects, suggesting context-dependency. However, the drivers of this context dependency have not been identified and understood in comparative meta-analyses or experimental studies. To determine how different factors modulate the effect of diversity on multifunctionality, we conducted a large grassland experiment with 216 communities, crossing a manipulation of plant species richness (1-20 species) with manipulations of resource availability (nitrogen enrichment), plant functional composition (gradient in mean specific leaf area [SLA] to manipulate abundances of fast vs. slow species), plant functional diversity (variance in SLA) and enemy abundance (fungal pathogen removal). We measured ten functions, above and belowground, related to productivity, nutrient cycling and energy transfer between trophic levels, and calculated multifunctionality. Plant species richness and functional diversity both increased multifunctionality, but their effects were context dependent. Species richness increased multifunctionality, but only when communities were assembled with fast growing (high SLA) species. This was because slow species were more redundant in their functional effects, whereas fast species tended to promote different functions. Functional diversity also increased multifunctionality but this effect was dampened by nitrogen enrichment, however, unfertilised, functionally diverse communities still delivered more functions than low diversity, fertilised communities. Our study suggests that a shift towards exploitative communities will not only alter ecosystem functioning but also the strength of biodiversity-functioning relationships, which highlights the potentially complex effects of global change on multifunctionality.

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Canopy Leaf Traits, Basal Area, and Age Predict Functional Patterns of Regenerating Communities in Secondary Subtropical Forests

Frontiers in Forests and Global Change ◽

10.3389/ffgc.2021.572864 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 4 ◽

Author(s):

Sandra Cristina Müller ◽

Rodrigo Scarton Bergamin ◽

Kauane Maiara Bordin ◽

Joice Klipel ◽

Milena Fermina Rosenfield

Keyword(s):

Functional Diversity ◽

Functional Traits ◽

Natural Regeneration ◽

Basal Area ◽

Leaf Traits ◽

Leaf Nitrogen ◽

Ecosystem Functions ◽

Secondary Forests ◽

Functional Composition ◽

Forest Age

Secondary forests originate from natural regeneration after fallow (succession) or restoration. Species assembly in these communities, which can affect ecosystem functions and successional trajectories, is very unpredictable. Trait-based trajectories can shed light on the recovery of ecosystem functions and enable predictions of how the regenerating communities will change with forest age. Regeneration communities are affected by initial conditions and also by canopy structure and functional traits that alter dispersers' attractiveness and coexistence mechanisms. Here we evaluated how community functional traits change over time and tested if functional diversity and composition of the established canopy, as well as the structure of the canopy and forest age, influence the functional structure of regenerating tree communities when compared to their reference forests. For this, we calculated dissimilarity in trait composition (community-weighted means) and in functional diversity of regenerating communities of each succession/restoration stand, using the tree stratum of nearby mature forests as baseline values. Functional trait information comprises leaf, wood density, and reproductive traits from tree species. Our community data contain information from natural successional forests and restoration sites, in the South-Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Predictor variables of functional dissimilarities were forest age, canopy structural variables, canopy functional composition, and functional diversity. Results showed leaf traits (leaf dry matter content, leaf nitrogen content, leaf nitrogen-phosphorus ratio) and seed mass varying with forest age. Canopy functional composition based on leaf traits and total basal area significantly predicted multiple trait functional dissimilarity between the regeneration component of secondary forests and their reference community values. Dissimilarity increased when the canopy was composed of species with more acquisitive traits. Difference in functional diversity was only influenced by forest age. Mid-stage secondary forests showed lower functional diversity than early-stage forests. Our results indicated the importance of canopy traits on the natural regeneration of secondary subtropical forests. If functional similarity with reference forests is a desired objective in order to recover ecosystem functions through natural regeneration, leaf functional traits of canopy trees that establish or are planted in degraded areas must be considered in the successional processes.

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Species Pool Functional Diversity Plays a Hidden Role in Generating β-Diversity

The American Naturalist ◽

10.1086/696978 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 191 (5) ◽

pp. E159-E170 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Christopher J. Patrick ◽

Bryan L. Brown

Keyword(s):

Functional Diversity ◽

Species Pool ◽

Β Diversity

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Functional composition and diversity of leaf traits in subalpine versus alpine vegetation in the Apennines

AoB Plants ◽

10.1093/aobpla/plaa004 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (2) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Angela Stanisci ◽

Alessandro Bricca ◽

Valentina Calabrese ◽

Maurizio Cutini ◽

Harald Pauli ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Functional Diversity ◽

Functional Traits ◽

Resource Use ◽

Leaf Traits ◽

Growing Season ◽

Plant Functional Traits ◽

High Mountain ◽

Maximum Height ◽

Dry Matter Content ◽

Functional Composition

Abstract Mediterranean high mountain grasslands are shaped by climatic stress and understanding their functional adaptations can contribute to better understanding ecosystems’ response to global change. The present work analyses the plant functional traits of high-elevation grasslands growing in Mediterranean limestone mountains to explore, at the community level, the presence of different plant strategies for resource use (conservative vs. acquisitive) and functional diversity syndromes (convergent or divergent). Thus, we compared the functional composition and diversity of the above-ground traits related to resource acquisition strategies of subalpine and alpine calcareous grasslands in the central Apennines, a mountain region characterized by a dry-summer Mediterranean climate. We used georeferenced vegetation plots and field-measured plant functional traits (plant maximum height, specific leaf area and leaf dry matter content) for the dominant species of two characteristic vegetation types: the subalpine Sesleria juncifolia community and the alpine Silene acaulis community. Both communities are of particular conservation concern and are rich in endemic species for which plant functional traits are measured here for the first time. We analysed the functional composition and diversity using the community-weighted mean trait index and the functional diversity using Rao’s function, and we assessed how much the observed pattern deviated from a random distribution by calculating the respective standardized effect sizes. The results highlighted that an acquisitive resource use strategy and relatively higher functional diversity of leaf traits prevail in the alpine S. acaulis community, optimizing a rapid carbon gain, which would help overcome the constraints exerted by the short growing season. The divergent functional strategy underlines the co-occurrence of different leaf traits in the alpine grasslands, which shows good adaptation to a microhabitat-rich environment. Conversely, in the subalpine S. juncifolia grassland, a conservative resource use strategy and relatively lower functional diversity of the leaf traits are likely related to a high level resistance to aridity over a longer growing season. Our outcomes indicate the preadaptation strategy of the subalpine S. juncifolia grassland to shift upwards to the alpine zone that will become warmer and drier as a result of anthropogenic climate change.

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Effects of fragmentation on functional diversity associated with aboveground biomass in a high Andean forest in Colombia

Landscape Ecology ◽

10.1007/s10980-018-0719-8 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 33 (11) ◽

pp. 1851-1864 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Slendy Rodríguez-Alarcón ◽

Nelly Rodríguez-Eraso ◽

Ivanov Pineda-Rincón ◽

René López-Camacho

Keyword(s):

Functional Diversity ◽

Aboveground Biomass

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Tree crown complementarity links positive functional diversity and aboveground biomass along large-scale ecological gradients in tropical forests

The Science of The Total Environment ◽

10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.11.342 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 656 ◽

pp. 45-54 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Arshad Ali ◽

Si-Liang Lin ◽

Jie-Kun He ◽

Fan-Mao Kong ◽

Jie-Hua Yu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Tropical Forests ◽

Functional Diversity ◽

Aboveground Biomass ◽

Large Scale ◽

Ecological Gradients ◽

Tree Crown ◽

Positive Functional

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The meaning of functional trait composition of food webs for ecosystem functioning

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences ◽

10.1098/rstb.2015.0268 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 371 (1694) ◽

pp. 20150268 ◽

Cited By ~ 60

Author(s):

Dominique Gravel ◽

Camille Albouy ◽

Wilfried Thuiller

Keyword(s):

Food Web ◽

Food Webs ◽

Functional Diversity ◽

Ecosystem Functioning ◽

Functional Trait ◽

Plant Ecology ◽

Functional Composition ◽

Top Down ◽

Bottom Up ◽

Functional Trait Diversity

There is a growing interest in using trait-based approaches to characterize the functional structure of animal communities. Quantitative methods have been derived mostly for plant ecology, but it is now common to characterize the functional composition of various systems such as soils, coral reefs, pelagic food webs or terrestrial vertebrate communities. With the ever-increasing availability of distribution and trait data, a quantitative method to represent the different roles of animals in a community promise to find generalities that will facilitate cross-system comparisons. There is, however, currently no theory relating the functional composition of food webs to their dynamics and properties. The intuitive interpretation that more functional diversity leads to higher resource exploitation and better ecosystem functioning was brought from plant ecology and does not apply readily to food webs. Here we appraise whether there are interpretable metrics to describe the functional composition of food webs that could foster a better understanding of their structure and functioning. We first distinguish the various roles that traits have on food web topology, resource extraction (bottom-up effects), trophic regulation (top-down effects), and the ability to keep energy and materials within the community. We then discuss positive effects of functional trait diversity on food webs, such as niche construction and bottom-up effects. We follow with a discussion on the negative effects of functional diversity, such as enhanced competition (both exploitation and apparent) and top-down control. Our review reveals that most of our current understanding of the impact of functional trait diversity on food web properties and functioning comes from an over-simplistic representation of network structure with well-defined levels. We, therefore, conclude with propositions for new research avenues for both theoreticians and empiricists.

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Above- and Belowground Plant Functional Composition Show Similar Changes During Temperate Forest Swamp Succession

Frontiers in Plant Science ◽

10.3389/fpls.2021.658883 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

Yu-Kun Hu ◽

Xu Pan ◽

Xu-Yan Liu ◽

Zhi-Xi Fu ◽

Man-Yin Zhang

Keyword(s):

Functional Diversity ◽

Soil Ph ◽

Community Assembly ◽

Temperate Forest ◽

Dry Matter ◽

Fine Root ◽

Root Traits ◽

Matter Content ◽

Dry Matter Content ◽

Functional Composition

Plant functional composition, defined by both community-weighted mean (CWM) traits and functional diversity, can provide insights into plant ecological strategies and community assembly. However, our understanding of plant functional composition during succession is largely based on aboveground traits. Here we investigated community-level traits and functional diversity for six pairs of analogous leaf and fine root traits of understory plants in a temperate forest swamp during succession with a decrease in soil pH and nutrient availability. CWMs of traits related to resource acquisition (including specific leaf area, specific root length, leaf N, leaf P, root N, and root P) decreased with succession, whereas those related to resource conservation (leaf dry matter content, root dry matter content, leaf tissue density, leaf C, and root C) increased along the forest swamp successional gradient. Multi-trait functional dispersion (FDis) of both leaf and fine root traits tended to decrease along the successional gradient, but functional richness and evenness were highest at the middle successional stage. Moreover, FDis of individual plant traits except N showed the same pattern as multi-trait FDis. Soil pH and nutrient availability were the main drivers of successional changes in both CWM traits and FDis. The changes of community-level traits along succession indicated a shift from acquisitive to conservative strategy of understory plants during forest swamp succession. Similar trends in leaf and fine root functional diversity along succession may indicate above- and belowground functional diversity are coordinated during the processes of plant community assembly. These findings of linkages between above- and belowground plant functional composition have important implications for plant community dynamics and assembly rules.

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Temporal heterogeneity affects the process of succession but not its direction in abandoned croplands in a semi-arid area of northwest China

10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-12288 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Fujiang Hou ◽

An Hu ◽

Shenghua Chang ◽

Xianjiang Chen

Keyword(s):

Functional Diversity ◽

Aboveground Biomass ◽

Functional Divergence ◽

Wiener Index ◽

Northwest China ◽

Temporal Heterogeneity ◽

Slow Increase ◽

Artemisia Capillaris ◽

Semi Arid ◽

Functional Evenness

Spatial heterogeneity has been widely used in the study of succession in abandoned croplands worldwide, and it is often accompanied by time heterogeneity. However, the effect of temporal heterogeneity on succession dynamics over decades is not well understood. Here, we used croplands with same history in northwest China that were abandoned in 1998, 1999, and 2000 and continuously monitored vegetation characteristics for ten years. Croplands were left undisturbed throughout the study. Non-metric multidimensional scaling was used to interpret changes in the plant community, and taxonomic and functional diversity measures were compared in three treatment over time. Our results show that the directions of succession in all three croplands were similar, from single superior community (Salsolacollina Pall.) with higher aboveground biomass to multi-superior community (Artemisia capillaris Thunb., Stipa bungeana Trin., Lespedeza davurica (Laxm.) Schindl, Heteropappus altaicus (Willd.) Novopokr) with lower aboveground biomass. Taxonomic and functional diversity increased rapidly in the first 4&#8211;6 years, followed by a slow increase, decrease or stabilization. Temporal heterogeneity had no effect on species richness after the 7th year, on the Shannon-Wiener index, species evenness, modified functional attribute diversity, or functional divergence after the 8th year, or functional evenness after 5th year. We conclude that temporal heterogeneity can affect the process of secondary succession but has no effect on the direction of community succession. Our findings provide evidence for using temporal heterogeneity to study succession in abandoned croplands in semi-arid areas.&#160;

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