Can bryophyte groups increase functional resolution in tundra ecosystems?

The relative contribution of bryophytes to plant diversity, primary productivity, and ecosystem functioning increases towards colder climates. Bryophytes respond to environmental changes at the species level, but because bryophyte species are relatively difficult to identify, they are often lumped into one functional group. Consequently, bryophyte function remains poorly resolved. Here, we explore how higher resolution of bryophyte functional diversity can be encouraged and implemented in tundra ecological studies. We briefly review previous bryophyte functional classifications and the roles of bryophytes in tundra ecosystems and their susceptibility to environmental change. Based on shoot morphology and colony organization, we then propose twelve easily distinguishable bryophyte functional groups. To illustrate how bryophyte functional groups can help elucidate variation in bryophyte effects and responses, we compiled existing data on water holding capacity, a key bryophyte trait. Although plant functional groups, can mask potentially high inter- and intraspecific variability, we found better separation of bryophyte functional group means compared to previous grouping systems regarding water holding capacity. This suggests that our bryophyte functional groups truly represent variation in the functional roles of bryophytes in tundra ecosystems. Lastly, we provide recommendations to improve monitoring of bryophyte community changes in tundra study sites.

Download Full-text

Aspectos ecofisiológicos para la conservación de ecosistemas tropicales contrastantes

Botanical Sciences ◽

10.17129/botsci.1599 ◽

2017 ◽

pp. 89

Author(s):

Aura Azócar ◽

Fermín Rada ◽

Carlos García-Nuñez

Keyword(s):

Water Stress ◽

Functional Groups ◽

Functional Group ◽

Environmental Changes ◽

Life Forms ◽

Plant Functional Groups ◽

Deciduous Tree ◽

Plant Responses ◽

Water Factor ◽

Temperature Water

<p>The identification of plant functional groups allows to evaluate plant properties as: recovering capacity, regeneration and resistence to environmental changes. It is possible to define plant functional groups in the seasonal savana and the high barren plateau taking in to account the ecophysiological plant responses to water stress and daily temperature-water rythmn, respectively. In the savana, although the wooden component is constituted by evergreen and deciduous tree species, they make only a functional group taking in to account their responses to water stress, this is similar in the herbaceous component. Results suggest that a change in environmental factors may generate a floristic replace without major changes in the system function.<br />However, in the high barren plateau, the different life forms also constitute different functional groups according to plant responses to temperature-water factor, suggesting that the substitution of any group will put in danger the preservation of this ecosystem.</p>

Download Full-text

The Significance of Aggregation Methods in Functional Group Modeling

Forests ◽

10.3390/f12111560 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (11) ◽

pp. 1560

Author(s):

Huan Zhang ◽

Herman H. Shugart ◽

Bin Wang ◽

Manuel Lerdau

Keyword(s):

Functional Groups ◽

Computational Models ◽

Functional Group ◽

Environmental Changes ◽

Deciduous Forest ◽

Global Climate ◽

Carbon Dynamics ◽

Global Scale ◽

Plant Ecology ◽

Basic Plant

The growth of forests and the feedbacks between forests and environmental changes are central issues in the planetary carbon cycle, global climate change, and basic plant ecology. A challenge to understanding both growth and feedbacks from local to global scales is that many critical metabolic processes vary among species. An innovation in solving this challenge is the recognition that species can be lumped into “functional groups” based on metabolic similarity, and these functional groups can then be studied in computational models that simulate ecosystem function. Despite the vast resources devoted to functional group studies and the progress made by them, an important logical and biological question has not been formally addressed, “How do the groupings alter the results of modeling studies?” To what extent do modeling results depend on the choices made in aggregating taxa into functional groups. Here, we consider the effects of using different aggregation strategies in simulating the carbon dynamics of a deciduous forest. Understanding the impacts that aggregation strategy has on efforts to simulate regional-to-global-scale forest dynamics offers insights into both ecosystem regulation and model function and addresses this central problem in the study of carbon dynamics.

Download Full-text

Responses of Alpine Grassland Plant Functional Groups To Environmental Changes In The Altunshan At North Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

10.21203/rs.3.rs-1007187/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Ailin Zhang ◽

Shixin Wu ◽

Fanjiang Zeng ◽

Yong Jiang ◽

Ruzhen Wang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Functional Groups ◽

Environmental Changes ◽

Community Diversity ◽

Alpine Grassland ◽

Plant Functional Groups ◽

Tibet Plateau ◽

Individual Plant ◽

Hydrothermal Conditions ◽

Positive Correlation ◽

Qinghai Tibet Plateau

Abstract Purpose: In grassland ecosystems, plant functional group (PFG) is an important bridge connecting individual plant to community system. Grassland ecosystem is the main ecosystem type on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, so the change of community structure of grassland vegetation.Methods: The Altun Mountains in the northern part of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau were used as the study area to investigate the PFGs of a high-altitude (> 3700m) grassland in desert areas and their response to temperature and moisture.Results: The main functional groups were forbs and grasses, and the importance values (IV) accounted for more than 50%. Plant species diversity of the community was influenced by the functional groups of legumes IV, and the increase of legumes would promote the increase of plant community diversity. The C, N, P of plant communities were mainly influenced by forbs and grasses, and the relationship between forbs and C, N, P was opposite to that of grasses. There was a positive correlation between forbs and soil TP; a negative correlation between grasses and soil TP; a positive correlation between legumes with soil SOC and TN; and a positive correlation between sedge and soil SOC. However, under the influence of different hydrothermal conditions, forbs and grasses as dominant functional groups had stronger correlation with community and soil nutrients. Conclusions: This indicated that the PFGs with the largest proportion in the community had the greatest influence on the community. This provides a basis for the study of alpine grassland community development and ecosystem function under alpine grassland.

Download Full-text

Phytoplankton functional groups as environmental indicators at a high neotropical mountain reservoir in Colombia

Revista de la Academia Colombiana de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales ◽

10.18257/raccefyn.1326 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Cristian Hakspiel-Segura ◽

Betsy Paola Barrios-Galván ◽

Gabriel Pinilla-Agudelo

Keyword(s):

Functional Groups ◽

Suspended Solids ◽

Functional Group ◽

Environmental Changes ◽

Environmental Variability ◽

Environmental Indicators ◽

Mixing Conditions ◽

Chlorella Sp ◽

Phytoplankton Functional Groups ◽

Selection Of

Phytoplankton is a fundamental productive component of lentic ecosystems, which also directly reflects environmental variability. This study evaluated the dynamics of phytoplankton in response to the monthly variability of physicochemical properties of a neotropical high Andes reservoir, El Neusa, from July to October 2004. Samples were collected and analyzed for taxonomic identification to species or the lowest possible level and categorized in functional groups (FGs). A total of 111 species of phytoplankton belonging to nine classes and 20 FGs were recorded. Among these phytoplankton classes, Chlorophyceae (36 species), Euglenophyceae (13 species), Bacillariophyceae, (14 species), and Conjugatophyceae (25 species) were the most species-rich and highest in abundance. The overall phytoplankton abundance was largest in August (8.5×104 ±2.7 ×104 ind.L-1) and September (8.9×104 ±4.6×104 ind.L-1); however, the distribution of phytoplankton classes was not statistically different among sampling sites (Friedman-ANOVA; p>0.01) Chlorella sp. (2.4×104 ±2.0×104 ind.L-1), and Chloromonas grovei (2.5×104 ±4.4×103 ind.L-1), belonging to functional group X1, were dominant, representing together between 54% and 78% of the average monthly abundance. Simple correlations and multivariate analysis between physicochemical variables and phytoplankton revealed that conductivity, pH, and total suspended solids had a key influence on the distribution of both dominant species and FGs. These analyses indicated that hydrological (precipitation and runoff) and water stability (stratification and mixing) conditions determined environmental changes and the selection of phytoplankton functional groups. The main features of the dominant FGs and the trophic state of El Neusa were also discussed.

Download Full-text

Morphological and biochemical responses of Sphagnum mosses to environmental changes

10.1101/2020.10.29.360388 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Anna Sytiuk ◽

Regis Céréghino ◽

Samuel Hamard ◽

Frédéric Delarue ◽

Ellen Dorrepaal ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Environmental Conditions ◽

Environmental Changes ◽

Species Turnover ◽

Vascular Plant ◽

Morphological Characteristics ◽

Enzymatic Activities ◽

Water Holding Capacity ◽

Biochemical Traits ◽

Hydrological Changes ◽

Water Holding

Abstract•Background and AimsSphagnum mosses are vital for peatland carbon (C) sequestration, although vulnerable to environmental changes. For averting environmental stresses such as hydrological changes, Sphagnum mosses developed an array of morphological and anatomical peculiarities maximizing their water holding capacity. They also produce plethora of biochemicals that could prevent stresses-induced cell-damages but these chemicals remain poorly studied. We aimed to study how various anatomical, metabolites, and antioxidant enzymes vary according to Sphagnum taxonomy, phylogeny and environmental conditions.•MethodsWe conducted our study in five Sphagnum-dominated peatlands distributed along a latitudinal gradient in Europe, representing a range of local environmental and climate conditions. We examined the direct and indirect effects of latitudinal changes in climate and vegetation species turnover on Sphagnum anatomical (cellular and morphological characteristics) and biochemical (spectroscopical identification of primary and specialized metabolites, pigments and enzymatic activities) traits.•Key resultsWe show that Sphagnum traits were not driven by phylogeny, suggesting that taxonomy and/or environmental conditions prevail on phylogeny in driving Sphagnum traits variability. We found that moisture conditions were important determinants of Sphagnum anatomical traits, especially those related to water holding capacity. However, the species with the highest water holding capacity also exhibited the highest antioxidant capacity, as showed by the high flavonoid and enzymatic activities in their tissues. Our study further highlighted the importance of vascular plants in driving Sphagnum biochemical traits. More particularly, we found that Sphagnum mosses raises the production of specific compounds such as tannins and polyphenols known to reduce vascular plant capacity when herbaceous cover increases.•ConclusionsOur findings show that Sphagnum anatomical and biochemical traits underpin Sphagnum niche differentiation through their role in specialization towards biotic stressors, such as plant competitors, and abiotic stressors, such as hydrological changes, which are important factors governing Sphagnum growth.

Download Full-text

Impact of Grazing Intensity on Plant Functional Groups richness, Biomass and Diversity in Hulunbuir Meadow Steppe, China

10.1101/2021.05.24.445414 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

YOUSIF ZAINELABDEEN

Keyword(s):

Species Richness ◽

Functional Groups ◽

Aboveground Biomass ◽

Functional Group ◽

Grazing Intensity ◽

Livestock Grazing ◽

Community Diversity ◽

Plant Functional Groups ◽

Tall Grass ◽

Plant Functional Group

Livestock grazing is one of the major human activities that cause a change in plant community structure and composition. We studied the effect of different grazing intensities (light, moderate, heavy, and no grazing) on aboveground biomass, species richness, and plant functional group (PFG) diversity. The light, moderate, heavy, and no grazing treatments correspond to 0.23, 0.46, 0.92, and 0.00 Animal Units ha-1 respectively. A total of 78 species classified into eight PFGs (perennial tall grass, perennial short grass, shrubs, legumes, Liliaceae herb, annual/biennial plant, perennial tall forbs and perennial short forbs) were identified. We found that the total species richness increased under light and moderate grazing intensity. However, the responses of each PFG to grazing differed. As grazing intensity increased, so did the richness of short species (perennial short grass, perennial short grass and legume) in the community. The richness of shrub is unaffected by grazing. With increasing grazing intensity, the aboveground biomass of perennial tall grass and perennial tall forbs decreased significantly, while that of annual/biennial plant functional groups increased. The community diversity and evenness of annual/biennial plants increased significantly with grazing intensity. We concluded that heavy grazing has negative impacts on plant functional group richness and aboveground biomass.

Download Full-text

Near-infrared spectroscopy calibration strategies to predict multiple nutritional parameters of pasture species from different functional groups

10.1101/2021.07.31.454175 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Karen L. M. Catunda ◽

Amy A. Churchill ◽

Sally A. Power ◽

Ben D. Moore

Keyword(s):

Functional Groups ◽

Near Infrared ◽

Functional Group ◽

Quality Parameters ◽

Nutritional Composition ◽

Plant Functional Groups ◽

Severe Drought ◽

C4 Grasses ◽

Near Infrared Reflectance ◽

Nutritional Parameters

Near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) has been used by the agricultural industry as a high-precision technique to quantify nutritional chemistry in plants both rapidly and inexpensively. The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of NIRS calibrations in predicting the nutritional composition of ten pasture species that underpin livestock industries in many countries. These species comprised a range of functional diversity (C3 legumes; C3/C4 grasses; annuals/perennials) and origins (tropical/temperate; introduced/native) that grew under varied environmental conditions (control and experimentally induced warming and drought) over a period of more than 2 years (n = 2,622). A maximal calibration set including 391 samples was used to develop and evaluate calibrations for all ten pasture species (global calibrations), as well as for subsets comprised of the plant functional groups. We found that the global calibrations were appropriate to predict the six key nutritional quality parameters studied for our pasture species, with the highest accuracy found for ash (ASH), crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fibre and acid detergent fibre (ADF), and the lowest for ether extract (EE) and acid detergent lignin parameters. The plant functional group calibrations for C3 grasses performed better than the global calibrations for ASH, CP, ADF and EE parameters, whereas for C3 legumes and C4 grasses the functional group calibrations performed less well than the global calibrations for all nutritional parameters of these groups. Additionally, our calibrations were able to capture the range of variation in forage quality caused by future climate scenarios of warming and severe drought.

Download Full-text

Exploring the effect of oxygen-containing functional groups on the water-holding capacity of lignite

Journal of Molecular Modeling ◽

10.1007/s00894-018-3653-4 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 24 (6) ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Jie Liu ◽

Xiangang Jiang ◽

Yu Cao ◽

Chen Zhang ◽

Guangyao Zhao ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Functional Groups ◽

Water Holding Capacity ◽

Effect Of Oxygen ◽

Water Holding

Download Full-text

Kualitas Fisik Daging Ayam Broiler yang Diberi Minyak Buah Merah dalam Pakan Komersial

Jurnal Ilmu dan Teknologi Peternakan Tropis ◽

10.33772/jitro.v6i1.5806 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 6 (1) ◽

pp. 20

Author(s):

Abdul Rahman Ollong ◽

Rizki Arizona ◽

Rusli Badaruddin

Keyword(s):

Moisture Content ◽

Broiler Chickens ◽

Broiler Chicken ◽

Ph Value ◽

Cooking Loss ◽

Water Holding Capacity ◽

Broiler Meat ◽

Fruit Oil ◽

Water Holding ◽

Range Test

ABSTRAKPenelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui pengaruh penambahan minyak buah merah (MBM) pada pakan terhadap kualitas fisik daging ayam broiler. Seratus ekor ayam broiler umur sehari (DOC) ditempatkan pada lima kelompok perlakuan pakan yang berbeda, yaitu: P1 (pakan kontrol/tanpa penambahan minyak), P2 (2% MBM), P3 (4% MBM), P4 (6% MBM) dan P5 (6% Minyak kelapa sawit). Setiap kelompok perlakuan terdiri dari empat ulangan masing-masing dengan lima ekor. Ayam broiler dipelihara selama 35 hari. Rancangan yang digunakan adalah Rancangan Acak Lengkap (RAL) dengan analisis variansi pola searah dan diuji lanjut dengan Duncan’s New Multiple Range Test (DMRT). Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa semua variable yang diamati menunjukkan adanya pengaruh nyata (P<0,05) terhadap perlakuan yang diberikan. Dari hasil penelitian ini dapat disimpulkan bahwa penggunaan minyak buah merah (MBM) dalam pakan mampu memberikan pengaruh terhadap pH Daging, Daya Ikat Air (DIA), susut masak dan keempukan daging ayam broiler.Kata kunci : daging ayam broiler, daya ikat air, keempukan daging, pH daging, susut masakABSTRACT The experiment was conducted to study the effect of red fruit oil (RFO) onphysical quality of broiler chicken. One hundred day old chicken (DOC) were placed in four groups of different treatments, of from levels of RFO (P1 (diet without addition of RFO), P2 (2% RFO), P3 (4% RFO) and P4 (6% RFO) and P5 (6% Palm oil)). The treatment group consisted of fivereplications with five birds each. Broiler chickens were reared for 35 days. Statistical analysis used Completely Randomized Design (CRD) and followed by Duncan’s New Multiple Range Test (DMRT). The results showed that the pH value, moisture content, water holding capacity, and cooking loss was significant differences. It could be concluded that the addition of red fruit oil in the diet give effect of broiler chicken meat.Keywords: broiler meat, cooking loss, moisture content, pH value, water holding capacity

Download Full-text