Plant Geography Upon the Basis of Functional Traits: An Example from Eastern North American Trees

Swenson, Nathan G.; Weiser, Michael D.

doi:10.1890/09-1743

Cited by 1 publication

(3 citation statements)

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“…The global effect of precipitation on SM was weak, which contradicts results of studies at broad geographic scales in which precipitation was tested against traits alone, without the possible interactions with other drivers (Moles et al, 2014;Swenson et al, 2012;Swenson & Weiser, 2010). Nevertheless, models fitted at biome scale revealed that in boreal and tropical forests the effect of annual precipitation on SM was positive.…”

Section: Seed Masscontrasting

confidence: 63%

“…Seed mass was the most consistent trait across scale and biomes and responded best to the energy gradient. The literature attributing heavier seeds to the warmest temperatures is vast (Malhado et al, 2015;Moles et al, 2014;Šímová et al, 2015;Simpson et al, 2016;Swenson et al, 2012;Swenson & Weiser, 2010;Wieczynski et al, 2019). Our global and temperate models validated a positive relationship of SM with mean annual temperature but only to a certain point, after which it declined.…”

Section: Seed Massmentioning

confidence: 54%

“…This effect may be due to other protection mechanisms to drought cavitation in seasonal tropical forests, such as leaf shedding during the dry season. These interactions between annual means and seasonality could explain the mixed results reported in the literature, with reports of higher values of WD in areas with high rainfall (Ordoñez et al, 2009;Swenson et al, 2012;Swenson & Weiser, 2010;Zhang et al, 2011), in arid environments (Cornwell & Ackerly, 2009;Swenson & Enquist, 2007) or at average precipitation regimes (Wiemann & Williamson, 2002). In boreal forests, higher precipitation allowed for more conservative strategies, which may be associated with a lower risk of forest fires.…”

Section: Wood Densitymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Global patterns and environmental drivers of forest functional composition

Bouchard,

Searle,

Drapeau

et al. 2023

Global Ecol Biogeogr

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AimTo determine the relationships between the functional trait composition of forest communities and environmental gradients across scales and biomes and the role of species relative abundances in these relationships.LocationGlobal.Time periodRecent.Major taxa studiedTrees.MethodsWe integrated species abundance records from worldwide forest inventories and associated functional traits (wood density, specific leaf area and seed mass) to obtain a data set of 99,953 to 149,285 plots (depending on the trait) spanning all forested continents. We computed community‐weighted and unweighted means of trait values for each plot and related them to three broad environmental gradients and their interactions (energy availability, precipitation and soil properties) at two scales (global and biomes).ResultsOur models explained up to 60% of the variance in trait distribution. At global scale, the energy gradient had the strongest influence on traits. However, within‐biome models revealed different relationships among biomes. Notably, the functional composition of tropical forests was more influenced by precipitation and soil properties than energy availability, whereas temperate forests showed the opposite pattern. Depending on the trait studied, response to gradients was more variable and proportionally weaker in boreal forests. Community unweighted means were better predicted than weighted means for almost all models.Main conclusionsWorldwide, trees require a large amount of energy (following latitude) to produce dense wood and seeds, while leaves with large surface to weight ratios are concentrated in temperate forests. However, patterns of functional composition within‐biome differ from global patterns due to biome specificities such as the presence of conifers or unique combinations of climatic and soil properties. We recommend assessing the sensitivity of tree functional traits to environmental changes in their geographic context. Furthermore, at a given site, the distribution of tree functional traits appears to be driven more by species presence than species abundance.

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Section: Seed Masscontrasting

confidence: 63%