How to improve scaling from traits to ecosystem processes

Chacón‐Labella, Julia; Hinojo-Hinojo, Cesar; Bohner, Teresa; Castorena, Matiss; Violle, Cyrille; Vandvik, Vigdis; Enquist, Brian J.

doi:10.1016/j.tree.2022.10.007

Cited by 25 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 63 publications

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“…More studies will be needed to determine if, in general, plant chemical traits may be more likely to be phylogenetically conserved than other types of traits and if they capture functional clusters important for understanding how biodiversity regulates ecosystem processes. Our results suggest that plant chemical traits merit more attention than they have received to date and may illuminate recent debates in the literature on the merits of functional traits in driving ecosystem functioning (Chacón‐Labella et al, 2023; Hagan et al, 2023; van der Plas et al, 2020, 2023).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 64%

“…Ecology is in the midst of a search for the plant traits that best explain how and why species composition and biodiversity influence ecosystem functioning (Chacón‐Labella et al, 2023; Díaz et al, 2016; Hagan et al, 2023; Loreau, 2010; van der Plas et al, 2020, 2023; Walker et al, 2022). Such traits might be based on important aspects of plant physiology and morphology (Carmona et al, 2021; Reich, 2014), the mechanisms controlling competitive coexistence (Klausmeier et al, 2020; Kraft et al, 2015; Lehman & Tilman, 2000), or the processes that drive fluxes of matter and energy (Furey & Tilman, 2021; Loreau, 2010; Roscher et al, 2004, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Analyses of plant biodiversity experiments have suggested that greater plant functional trait diversity may cause greater primary productivity (Bongers et al, 2021; Clark et al, 2012; Roscher et al, 2012; Tilman et al, 1997; Tilman & Fornara, 2009; Weisser et al, 2017). However, it is not clear which functional traits are most relevant (Chacón‐Labella et al, 2023; van der Plas et al, 2020; Walker et al, 2022). Other analyses have suggested that phylogenetic diversity may be a better predictor of ecosystem functioning than plant species richness, perhaps because phylogeny may capture an ecologically relevant suite of as‐yet undetermined or difficult‐to‐measure underlying traits that promote niche complementarity (Cadotte, 2017; Cadotte et al, 2009; Huang et al, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Plant chemical traits define functional and phylogenetic axes of plant biodiversity

Furey

Tilman

2023

Ecology Letters

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To determine which types of plant traits might better explain ecosystem functioning and plant evolutionary histories, we compiled 42 traits for each of 15 perennial species in a biodiversity experiment. We used every possible combination of three traits to cluster species. Across these 11,480 combinations, clusters generated using tissue %Ca, %N and %K best mapped onto phylogeny. Moreover, for the 15 best combinations of three traits, 82% of traits were chemical, 16% morphological and 2% metabolic. The diversity‐dependence of ecosystem productivity was better explained by the %Ca, %N and %K clusters: compared to adding a new species at random, adding a species from an absent cluster/clade better‐explained gains in productivity. Species number impacted productivity only when all clusters were present. Our results suggest that tissue elemental chemistry might be more phylogenetically conserved and more strongly related to ecosystem functioning than commonly measured morphological and physiological traits, a possibility that merits exploration.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 64%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Plant chemical traits define functional and phylogenetic axes of plant biodiversity

Furey

Tilman

2023

Ecology Letters

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“…Organismal traits have long been understood to drive ecosystem functions such as elemental cycling ( 1 , 2 ). There is mounting evidence that heritable trait variation within species can mediate ecosystem processes at a magnitude comparable with that of trait variation between species (Fig.…”

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confidence: 99%

Rapid plant trait evolution can alter coastal wetland resilience to sea level rise

Vahsen

Blum

Megonigal

et al. 2023

Science

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Rapid evolution remains a largely unrecognized factor in models that forecast the fate of ecosystems under scenarios of global change. In this work, we quantified the roles of heritable variation in plant traits and of trait evolution in explaining variability in forecasts of the state of coastal wetland ecosystems. A common garden study of genotypes of the dominant sedge Schoenoplectus americanus , “resurrected” from time-stratified seed banks, revealed that heritable variation and evolution explained key ecosystem attributes such as the allocation and distribution of belowground biomass. Incorporating heritable trait variation and evolution into an ecosystem model altered predictions of carbon accumulation and soil surface accretion (a determinant of marsh resilience to sea level rise), demonstrating the importance of accounting for evolutionary processes when forecasting ecosystem dynamics.

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“…Assessing trait–environment relationships at the community level can aid in advancing our ability to estimate how communities respond to novel environmental conditions. The community‐weighted mean (CWM) values of a given trait shift via changes in the community composition (relative abundance of species) and individual trait expression (Chacón‐Labella et al ., 2022). It is commonly assumed that intraspecific shifts will have a smaller effect than abundance shifts on community mean trait values because interspecific variation exceeds intraspecific (Albert et al ., 2011; Siefert et al ., 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Are absorptive root traits good predictors of ecosystem functioning? A test in a natural temperate forest

Chen

Zhang

et al. 2023

New Phytologist

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Trait-based approaches provide a useful framework to predict ecosystem functions under intensifying global change. However, our current understanding of trait-functioning relationships mainly relies on aboveground traits. Belowground traits (e.g. absorptive root traits) are rarely studied although these traits are related to important plant functions.We analyzed four pairs of analogous leaf and absorptive root traits of woody plants in a temperate forest and examined how these traits are coordinated at the community-level, and to what extent the trait covariation depends on local-scale environmental conditions. We then quantified the contributions of leaf and absorptive root traits and the environmental conditions in determining two important forest ecosystem functions, aboveground carbon storage, and woody biomass productivity.The results showed that both morphological trait pairs and chemical trait pairs exhibited positive correlations at the community level. Absorptive root traits show a strong response to environmental conditions compared to leaf traits. We also found that absorptive root traits were better predictors of the two forest ecosystem functions than leaf traits and environmental conditions.Our study confirms the important role of belowground traits in modulating ecosystem functions and deepens our understanding of belowground responses to changing environmental conditions.

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How to improve scaling from traits to ecosystem processes

Cited by 25 publications

References 63 publications

Plant chemical traits define functional and phylogenetic axes of plant biodiversity

Plant chemical traits define functional and phylogenetic axes of plant biodiversity

Rapid plant trait evolution can alter coastal wetland resilience to sea level rise

Are absorptive root traits good predictors of ecosystem functioning? A test in a natural temperate forest

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