Linkage of plant trait space to successional age and species richness in boreal forest understorey vegetation

Kumordzi, Bright B.; Bello, Francesco de; Freschet, Grégoire T.; Bagousse‐Pinguet, Yoann Le; Lepš, Jan; Wardle, David A.

doi:10.1111/1365-2745.12458

Cited by 36 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 86 publications

(245 reference statements)

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“…This could be for a number of reasons. For instance, the relatively low variation in soil properties within the field site may have led to species with similar traits occupying the available niche space (Kumordzi et al, 2015). Indeed, previous studies that have identified relationships between root traits and soil properties at a community level have done so across sites with strong divergence in plant traits and soil properties (Freschet et al, 2010;Legay et al, 2014;Pérez-Ramos et al, 2012).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Relationships between plant traits, soil properties and carbon fluxes differ between monocultures and mixed communities in temperate grassland

et al. 2019

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The use of plant traits to predict ecosystem functions has been gaining growing attention. Above‐ground plant traits, such as leaf nitrogen (N) content and specific leaf area (SLA), have been shown to strongly relate to ecosystem productivity, respiration and nutrient cycling. Furthermore, increasing plant functional trait diversity has been suggested as a possible mechanism to increase ecosystem carbon (C) storage. However, it is uncertain whether below‐ground plant traits can be predicted by above‐ground traits, and if both above‐ and below‐ground traits can be used to predict soil properties and ecosystem‐level functions. Here, we used two adjacent field experiments in temperate grassland to investigate if above‐ and below‐ground plant traits are related, and whether relationships between plant traits, soil properties and ecosystem C fluxes (i.e. ecosystem respiration and net ecosystem exchange) measured in potted monocultures could be detected in mixed field communities. We found that certain shoot traits (e.g. shoot N and C, and leaf dry matter content) were related to root traits (e.g. root N, root C:N and root dry matter content) in monocultures, but such relationships were either weak or not detected in mixed communities. Some relationships between plant traits (i.e. shoot N, root N and/or shoot C:N) and soil properties (i.e. inorganic N availability and microbial community structure) were similar in monocultures and mixed communities, but they were more strongly linked to shoot traits in monocultures and root traits in mixed communities. Structural equation modelling showed that above‐ and below‐ground traits and soil properties improved predictions of ecosystem C fluxes in monocultures, but not in mixed communities on the basis of community‐weighted mean traits. Synthesis . Our results from a single grassland habitat detected relationships in monocultures between above‐ and below‐ground plant traits, and between plant traits, soil properties and ecosystem C fluxes. However, these relationships were generally weaker or different in mixed communities. Our results demonstrate that while plant traits can be used to predict certain soil properties and ecosystem functions in monocultures, they are less effective for predicting how changes in plant species composition influence ecosystem functions in mixed communities.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Relationships between plant traits, soil properties and carbon fluxes differ between monocultures and mixed communities in temperate grassland

et al. 2019

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“…This may also explain the conflicting results obtained in recent studies. While some studies support equalizing mechanisms as drivers of community assembly (more trait overlap in species‐rich communities, for example, Le Bagousse‐Pinguet et al, ; Li et al, ), others better support niche theory (less trait overlap in species‐rich communities, for example, Siefert et al, ; Kumordzi et al, ) or neutral theory (no change, Bastias et al, ). These studies are, however, all focused on plant communities, communities that are typically richer than the ones presented here (3‐12 species per pond; e.g., Bastias et al, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intraspecific and interspecific trait variability in tadpole meta‐communities from the Brazilian Atlantic rainforest

Jordani

Mouquet

Casatti

et al. 2019

Ecology and Evolution

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A better understanding of species coexistence and community dynamics may benefit from more insights on trait variability at the individual and species levels. Tadpole assemblages offer an excellent system to understand the relative influence of intraspecific and interspecific variability on community assembly, due to their high phenotypic plasticity, and the strong influence that environmental variables have on their spatial distribution and individual performance. Here, we quantified the intraspecific and interspecific components of tadpoles’ trait variability in order to investigate their relative role in shaping tadpole communities. We selected eight functional traits related to microhabitat use, foraging strategies, and swimming ability. We measured these traits on 678 individuals from 22 species captured in 43 ponds in the Atlantic Forest. We used single‐ and multitrait analyses to decompose trait variability. To explore the action of external and internal filtering on community assembly, we used a variance decomposition approach that compares phenotypic variability at the individual, population, community and regional levels. On average, 33% of trait variability was due to within‐species variation. This decomposition varied widely among traits. We found only a reduced effect of external filtering (low variation in the height of the ventral fin within ponds in comparison to the total variation), whereas the internal filtering was stronger than expected. Traits related to the use of different microhabitats through the water column were generally less variable than traits related to swimming ability to escape of predators, with tail traits being highly variable within species. Our study highlights the importance of incorporating both intraspecific and interspecific, trait differences and of focusing on a diversity of traits related to both stabilizing niche and fitness differences in order to better understand how trait variation relates to species coexistence.

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“…We utilized the equation T IP/IC SES = [T IP/ICobserved – mean (T IP/ICexpected )]/sd (T IP/ICexpected ) (for further details see Kumordzi et al, 2015a). We then developed a large matrix that takes into account both species relative abundance and richness within the community.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Linking Changes to Intraspecific Trait Diversity to Community Functional Diversity and Biomass in Response to Snow and Nitrogen Addition Within an Inner Mongolian Grassland

2017

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In recent years, both the intraspecific and interspecific functional diversity (FD) of plant communities have been studied with new approaches to improve an understanding about the mechanisms underlying plant species coexistence. Yet, little is known about how global change drivers will impact intraspecific FD and trait overlap among species, and in particular how this may scale to impacts on community level FD and ecosystem functioning. To address this uncertainty, we assessed the direct and indirect responses of specific leaf area (SLA) among both dominant annual and subordinate perennial species to the independent and interactive effects of nitrogen and snow addition within the Inner Mongnolian steppe. More specifically, we investigated the consequences for these responses on plant community FD, trait overlap and biomass. Nitrogen addition increased the biomass of the dominant annual species and as a result increased total community biomass. This occurred despite concurrent decreases in the biomass of subordinate perennial species. Nitrogen addition also increased intraspecific FD and trait overlap of both annual species and perennial species, and consequently increased the degree of trait overlap in SLA at the community level. However, snow addition did not significantly impact intraspecific FD and trait overlap of SLA for perennial species, but increased intraspecific FD and trait overlap of annual species, of which scaled to changes in community level FD. We found that the responses of the dominant annual species to nitrogen and snow additions were generally more sensitive than the subordinate perennial species within the inner Mongolian grassland communities of our study. As a consequence of this sensitivity, the responses of the dominant species largely drove impacts to community FD, trait overlap and community biomass. In total, our study demonstrates that the responses of dominant species in a community to environmental change may drive the initial trajectories of change to community FD and functioning.

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Linkage of plant trait space to successional age and species richness in boreal forest understorey vegetation

Cited by 36 publications

References 86 publications

Relationships between plant traits, soil properties and carbon fluxes differ between monocultures and mixed communities in temperate grassland

Relationships between plant traits, soil properties and carbon fluxes differ between monocultures and mixed communities in temperate grassland

Intraspecific and interspecific trait variability in tadpole meta‐communities from the Brazilian Atlantic rainforest

Linking Changes to Intraspecific Trait Diversity to Community Functional Diversity and Biomass in Response to Snow and Nitrogen Addition Within an Inner Mongolian Grassland

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