scholarly journals Community-weighted mean traits but not functional diversity determine the changes in soil properties during wetland drying on the Tibetan Plateau

Solid Earth ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 137-147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Li ◽  
Howard E. Epstein ◽  
Zhongming Wen ◽  
Jie Zhao ◽  
Jingwei Jin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Soil Properties ◽  
Leaf Area ◽  
Functional Diversity ◽  
Functional Divergence ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Dry Matter Content ◽  
Weighted Mean ◽  
Functional Richness ◽  
Community Weighted Mean

Abstract. Climate change and human activities have caused a shift in vegetation composition and soil biogeochemical cycles of alpine wetlands on the Tibetan Plateau. The primary goal of this study was to test for associations between community-weighted mean (CWM) traits, functional diversity, and soil properties during wetland drying. We collected soil samples and investigated the aboveground vegetation in swamp, swamp meadow, and typical meadow environments. Four CWM trait values (specific leaf area is SLA, leaf dry matter content is LDMC, leaf area is LA, and mature plant height is MPH) for 42 common species were measured across the three habitats; three components of functional diversity (functional richness, functional evenness, and functional divergence) were also quantified at these sites. Our results showed that the drying of the wetland dramatically altered plant community and soil properties. There was a significant correlation between CWM of traits and soil properties, but not a significant correlation between functional diversity and soil properties. Our results further showed that CWM-LA, CWM-SLA, and CWM-LDMC had positive correlations with soil readily available nutrients (available nitrogen, AN; available phosphorus, AP), but negative correlations with total soil nutrients (soil organic carbon is SOC, total nitrogen is TN, and total phosphorus is TP). Our study demonstrated that simple, quantitative plant functional traits, but not functional diversity, are directly related to soil C and N properties, and they likely play an important role in plant–soil interactions. Our results also suggest that functional identity of species may be more important than functional diversity in influencing ecosystem processes during wetland drying.

scholarly journals Community-weighted mean traits but not functional diversity determine the changes of soil properties during wetland drying on the Tibetan Plateau

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Li ◽  
Howard E. Epstein ◽  
Zhongmin Wen ◽  
Jie Zhao ◽  
Jingwei Jin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Soil Properties ◽  
Leaf Area ◽  
Functional Diversity ◽  
Ground Vegetation ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Dry Matter Content ◽  
Weighted Mean ◽  
Functional Richness ◽  
Community Weighted Mean

Abstract. Climate change and human activities have caused a shift in vegetation composition and soil biogeochemical cycles of alpine wetlands on the Tibetan Plateau. The primary goal of this study was to test for associations between community-weighted mean (CWM) trait and functional diversity, and soil properties during wetland drying. We collected soil samples and investigated the above-ground vegetation in swamp, swamp meadow and typical meadow; four CWM trait values (specific leaf area, SLA; leaf dry matter content, LDMC; leaf area, LA; and mature plant height, MPH) for 42 common species were measured across the three habitats; three components of functional diversity (functional richness; functional evenness; and functional divergence) were also quantified in these sites. Our results showed that the drying of the wetland dramatically altered plant community and soil properties. There was a significant correlation between CWM of traits and soil properties, but not a significant correlation between functional diversity and soil properties. Our results further showed that CWM-LA, CWM-SLA and CWM-LDMC had positive correlations with soil readily available nutrients (available nitrogen, AN; available phosphorus, AP), but negative correlations with total soil nutrients (soil organic carbon, SOC; total nitrogen TN; and total phosphorus, TP). Our study demonstrated that simple, quantitative plant functional traits, but not functional diversity, are directly related to soil C / N properties, and likely play an important role in plant-soil interactions, and our results also suggest that functional identity of species may be more important than functional diversity in influencing ecosystem processes during wetland drying.

Linking functional diversity to ecological indicators: A tool to predict the anthropogenic effects on ecosystem functioning

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leticia Bonilla-Valencia ◽  
Silvia Castillo-Argüero ◽  
José Alejandro Zavala-Hurtado ◽  
Francisco Javier Espinosa-García ◽  
Roberto Lindig-Cisneros ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Functional Diversity ◽  
Plant Traits ◽  
Functional Divergence ◽  
Seed Mass ◽  
Ecosystem Processes ◽  
Ecological Indicators ◽  
Ecological Indicator ◽  
Dry Matter Content ◽  
Weed Species ◽  
Functional Richness

Functional diversity is related to the maintenance of processes and functions in ecosystems. However, there is a lack of a conceptual framework that highlights the application of functional diversity as an ecological indicator. Therefore, we present a new initiative for motivating the development of ecological indicators based on functional diversity. We are interested in showing the challenges and solutions associated with these indicators. We integrated species assemblage theories and literature reviews. We considered plant traits related to ecosystem processes and functions (specific leaf area, leaf dry matter content, wood density, phenology, and seed mass) to show the application of a selection of functional diversity metrics that can be used as ecological indicators (i.e., Community Weighted-Mean, Functional Divergence, Functional Richness and Functional Evenness). We caution that functional diversity as an ecological indicator can be misinterpreted if species composition is unknown. Functional diversity values can be overrepresented by weed species (species established in disturbed sites) and do not maintain original processes and functions in ecosystems. Therefore, we searched for evidence to demonstrate that weed species are ecological indicators of functional diversity changes. We found support for two hypotheses that explain the effect of weed species on ecosystem function: functional homogenization and functional transformation. Likewise, we showed the application of some tools that can help study the anthropogenic effect on functional indicators. This review shows that the paradigm of addressing the effects of disturbances on ecosystem processes by using functional diversity as an ecological indicator can improve environmental evaluation, particularly in areas affected by human activities.

scholarly journals Functional Divergence between Várzea and Igapó Forests: A Study of Functional Trait Diversity in the Colombian Orinoco Basin

Forests ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 1172
Author(s):  
Diana Bonilla ◽  
Ana M. Aldana ◽  
Sasha Cárdenas ◽  
Adriana Sanchez
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Functional Diversity ◽  
Functional Traits ◽  
Community Assembly ◽  
Forest Type ◽  
Functional Divergence ◽  
Dry Matter Content ◽  
Functional Richness ◽  
Flooded Forests ◽  
The Impact

Research Highlights: Functional diversity studies help to better understand how organisms respond to different environmental conditions. Conditions in tropical flooded forests are highly variable, including levels of nutrient availability, pH, and flood depth, but few studies have explored the impact of variation in these factors on plant functional diversity. Background and Objectives: In the Orinoco basin, as in the Amazon, floodplain forests have been classified into várzea (white-water rivers, with nutrient-rich soils) and igapó (black-water rivers, associated with nutrient-poor soils). We evaluated the functional diversity of plant species in várzea and igapó, as well as the influence of external and internal filters on the plant community assembly of each forest type, and compared our results with studies in the Amazon basin. Materials and Methods: Six functional traits were recorded in the várzea and igapó forests of the Colombian Orinoco basin (one-hectare plot for each forest type, with no replicates). We evaluated plant species diversity (richness, Fisher’s α, Shannon and Simpson indices), as well as functional diversity (functional richness, functional evenness, functional divergence, and functional dispersion) and the influence of external and internal filters, based on a comparison of variance at different organizational levels. Results: A high functional differentiation between várzea and igapó was found, as well as a high functional divergence within each forest type. We also observed a greater influence of internal filters on the community assembly of both forest types, compared to external filters. Functional traits such as wood density and leaf dry matter content, showed the same patterns as the várzea and igapó forests in the Amazon. Conclusions: Despite the low taxonomic and functional richness, there is high functional divergence within flooded forests. We also show that in forests under stress (e.g., from flooding), internal filters can be key in assembling communities and promote high functional divergence. Given that the functional diversity of the várzea and igapó in the Orinoco is largely unexplored, we highlight the need for more research for the effective conservation of these flooded forests.

scholarly journals The costs of ignoring species detectability on functional diversity estimation

The Auk ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 137 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Facundo Xavier Palacio ◽  
René E Maragliano ◽  
Diego Montalti
Keyword(s):  
Functional Diversity ◽  
Functional Divergence ◽  
Habitat Type ◽  
Species Traits ◽  
Bird Communities ◽  
Imperfect Detection ◽  
East Central ◽  
Functional Types ◽  
Functional Richness ◽  
Species Occupancy

Abstract Functional diversity (FD) approaches have been increasingly used to understand ecosystem functioning in bird communities. These approaches typically rely on the assumption that species are perfectly detected in the field, despite the fact that imperfect detection represents a ubiquitous source of bias in biodiversity studies. This may be notably important in FD studies, because detection may depend on the functional traits used to compute FD metrics. However, little effort has been devoted to account for imperfect detection in FD studies, and therefore the degree to which species traits and detectability affects FD remains poorly understood. We predict that observed FD metrics may either underestimate or overestimate detection-corrected FD, because FD has multiple independent dimensions with different data properties. We assessed whether detection was related to bird traits (body mass, diet, and foraging stratum), accounting for habitat type, season, and phylogeny. We then used a multi-species occupancy model to obtain detection-corrected FD metrics (functional richness [FRic], functional evenness [FEve], and functional divergence [FDiv]), and compared observed and detection-corrected FD estimates in bird communities from east-central Argentina. Some functional types of birds (raptors and insectivores) were more easily overlooked, whereas others (seed and leaf eaters) were more easily detected. Some observed FD metrics underestimated detection-corrected FD (FRic and FDiv), whereas some others (FEve) overestimated detection-corrected FD. Both observed and detection-corrected FRic revealed differences between seasons, but not between habitat types. However, detection-corrected FEve and FDiv showed differences between seasons, contrary to observed estimates. Our results indicate that failure to account for unequal ease of detecting species can lead to erroneous estimates of FD because some functional types of birds are more easily overlooked. We outline some guidelines to help ornithologists identifying under which circumstances detection may be a concern and warn against the indiscriminate use of FD metrics without accounting for species detection.

scholarly journals Global change in the functional diversity of marine fisheries exploitation over the past 65 years

2020 ◽  
Vol 287 (1933) ◽  
pp. 20200889 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isaac Trindade-Santos ◽  
Faye Moyes ◽  
Anne E. Magurran
Keyword(s):  
Functional Diversity ◽  
Functional Divergence ◽  
Marine Ecosystem ◽  
Temporal Trends ◽  
Functional Trait ◽  
Marine Fisheries ◽  
Large Marine Ecosystems ◽  
The Past ◽  
Functional Richness ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Trends

Overexploitation is recognized as one of the main threats to global biodiversity. Here, we report a widespread change in the functional diversity of fisheries catches from the large marine ecosystems (LMEs) of the world over the past 65 years (1950 to 2014). The spatial and temporal trends of functional diversity exploited from the LMEs were calculated using global reconstructed marine fisheries catch data provided by the Sea Around Us initiative (including subsistence, artisanal, recreational, industrial fisheries, and discards) and functional trait data available in FishBase. Our analyses uncovered a substantial increase in the functional richness of both ray-finned fishes (80% of LMEs) and cartilaginous species (sharks and rays) (75% of LMESs), in line with an increase in the taxonomic richness, extracted from these ecosystems. The functional evenness and functional divergence of these catches have also altered substantially over the time span of this study, with considerable geographic variation in the patterns detected. These trends show that global fisheries are increasingly targeting species that play diverse roles within the marine ecosystem and underline the importance of incorporating functional diversity in ecosystem management.

Community assembly processes along a sub-Mediterranean elevation gradient: analyzing the interdependence of trait community weighted mean and functional diversity

Plant Ecology ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 220 (12) ◽  
pp. 1139-1151 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandro Bricca ◽  
Luisa Conti ◽  
Maria Federico Tardella ◽  
Andrea Catorci ◽  
Marco Iocchi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Functional Diversity ◽  
Community Assembly ◽  
Elevation Gradient ◽  
Weighted Mean ◽  
Community Weighted Mean

scholarly journals Direct and indirect facilitation affect community productivity through changes in functional diversity in an alpine system

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiangtai Wang ◽  
Richard Michalet ◽  
Lihua Meng ◽  
Xianhui Zhou ◽  
Shuyan Chen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Functional Diversity ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Plant Traits ◽  
Taxonomic Diversity ◽  
Lateral Spread ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Dry Matter Content ◽  
Primary Role ◽  
Indirect Facilitation

Abstract Background and Aims Facilitation is an important ecological process for plant community structure and functional composition. Although direct facilitation has accrued most of the evidence so far, indirect facilitation is ubiquitous in nature and it has an enormous potential to explain community structuring. In this study, we assess the effect of direct and indirect facilitation on community productivity via taxonomic and functional diversity. Methods In an alpine community on the Tibetan Plateau, we manipulated the presence of the shrub Dasiphora fruticosa and graminoids in a fenced meadow and a grazed meadow to quantify the effects of direct and indirect facilitation. We measured four plant traits: height, lateral spread, specific leaf area (SLA) and leaf dry matter content (LDMC) of forbs; calculated two metrics of functional diversity [range of trait and community-weighted mean (CWM) of trait]; and assessed the responses of functional diversity to shrub facilitation. We used structural equation modelling to explore how shrubs directly and indirectly drove community productivity via taxonomic diversity and functional diversity. Key Results We found stronger effects from herbivore-mediated indirect facilitation than direct facilitation on productivity and taxonomic diversity, regardless of the presence of graminoids. For functional diversity, the range and CWM of height and SLA, rather than lateral spread and LDMC, generally increased due to direct and indirect facilitation. Moreover, we found that the range of traits played a primary role over taxonomic diversity and CWM of traits in terms of shrub effects on community productivity. Conclusions Our study reveals that the mechanism of shrub direct and indirect facilitation of community productivity in this alpine community is expanding the realized niche (i.e. expanding range of traits). Our findings indicate that facilitators might increase trait dispersion in the local community, which could alleviate the effect of environmental filters on trait values in harsh environments, thereby contributing to ecosystem functioning.

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