Plant Traits Rather than Species Richness Explain Ecological Processes in Subtropical Forests

Rosenfield, Milena Fermina; Müller, Sandra Cristina

doi:10.1007/s10021-019-00386-6

Cited by 37 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 74 publications

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“…Here, we found consistent influence of leaf attributes of the canopy on the functional composition of tree regenerating communities. Leaf functional traits of initial colonizers and/or of planted trees affect abiotic conditions-by altering shading patterns and nutrient content in litter and on the soil surface (Poorter, 2009;Rosenfield and Müller, 2020b;Teixeira et al, 2020)-and biotic interactions associated to competition for light and the use of soil resources (Kunstler et al, 2016;Muscarella et al, 2017). These conditions are relevant for mechanisms of tree establishment and growth and might be more relevant than the dispersal/arrival of individuals for the regeneration of secondary forests toward reference baseline values.…”

Section: Determinants Of Similarities In Functional Composition and Diversity Between Regenerating Trees And Reference Forestsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The similarity was greater both in terms of leaf traits and reproductive plus wood density traits, indicating a secondary forest trajectory toward the expected target in terms of the functional composition and, consequently, ecosystem functionality. The functional composition of forest communities is often associated with ecosystem processes and temporal dynamics, representing the effect of the attributes of the most abundant species (mass-ratio theory), instead of the variability of traits (niche complementarity hypothesis), on ecosystem functions (Garnier et al, 2004;Van der Sande et al, 2018;Bordin and Müller, 2019;Rosenfield and Müller, 2020b). Greater similarity with respect to functional composition in these secondary forests may indicate that important ecosystem functions associated with these traits, and encompassing different compartments of the system (e.g., nutrient cycling, trophic interactions), may be recovering as well (Rosenfield and Müller, 2020a).…”

Section: Determinants Of Similarities In Functional Composition and Diversity Between Regenerating Trees And Reference Forestsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Canopy Leaf Traits, Basal Area, and Age Predict Functional Patterns of Regenerating Communities in Secondary Subtropical Forests

Müller¹,

Bergamin²,

Bordin³

et al. 2021

Front. For. Glob. Change

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Secondary forests originate from natural regeneration after fallow (succession) or restoration. Species assembly in these communities, which can affect ecosystem functions and successional trajectories, is very unpredictable. Trait-based trajectories can shed light on the recovery of ecosystem functions and enable predictions of how the regenerating communities will change with forest age. Regeneration communities are affected by initial conditions and also by canopy structure and functional traits that alter dispersers' attractiveness and coexistence mechanisms. Here we evaluated how community functional traits change over time and tested if functional diversity and composition of the established canopy, as well as the structure of the canopy and forest age, influence the functional structure of regenerating tree communities when compared to their reference forests. For this, we calculated dissimilarity in trait composition (community-weighted means) and in functional diversity of regenerating communities of each succession/restoration stand, using the tree stratum of nearby mature forests as baseline values. Functional trait information comprises leaf, wood density, and reproductive traits from tree species. Our community data contain information from natural successional forests and restoration sites, in the South-Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Predictor variables of functional dissimilarities were forest age, canopy structural variables, canopy functional composition, and functional diversity. Results showed leaf traits (leaf dry matter content, leaf nitrogen content, leaf nitrogen-phosphorus ratio) and seed mass varying with forest age. Canopy functional composition based on leaf traits and total basal area significantly predicted multiple trait functional dissimilarity between the regeneration component of secondary forests and their reference community values. Dissimilarity increased when the canopy was composed of species with more acquisitive traits. Difference in functional diversity was only influenced by forest age. Mid-stage secondary forests showed lower functional diversity than early-stage forests. Our results indicated the importance of canopy traits on the natural regeneration of secondary subtropical forests. If functional similarity with reference forests is a desired objective in order to recover ecosystem functions through natural regeneration, leaf functional traits of canopy trees that establish or are planted in degraded areas must be considered in the successional processes.

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Section: Determinants Of Similarities In Functional Composition and Diversity Between Regenerating Trees And Reference Forestsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Determinants Of Similarities In Functional Composition and Diversity Between Regenerating Trees And Reference Forestsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Canopy Leaf Traits, Basal Area, and Age Predict Functional Patterns of Regenerating Communities in Secondary Subtropical Forests

Müller¹,

Bergamin²,

Bordin³

et al. 2021

Front. For. Glob. Change

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“…Como potencial explicação, mecanismos relacionados à complementaridade de nicho sugerem que o aumento dos valores de biodiversidade implica em uma maior variação entre espécies, permitindo o uso mais eficiente dos recursos disponíveis e, consequentemente, maiores níveis de produtividade e ciclagem de nutrientes (Loreau 1998. Embora diversos estudos indiquem uma relação entre o número de espécies e processos ecológicos, acredita-se que não é exatamente a quantidade de espécies a responsável por essa relação, mas sim as características que esses diferentes organismos apresentam , Hooper et al 2005, Díaz et al 2007, Rosenfield & Müller 2020.…”

Section: Funcionamento Dos Ecossistemasunclassified

Ecologia funcional como ferramenta para planejar e monitorar a restauração ecológica de ecossistemas

Rosenfield

Müller

2020

Oecol. Aust.

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A ecologia funcional tem se mostrado uma ferramenta importante em diversos estudos ecológicos. Atributos funcionais respondem a filtros ambientais e influenciam propriedades e funções ecossistêmicas, podendo ser aplicados em estudos ecológicos voltados à restauração de ecossistemas. No presente estudo apresentamos como a ecologia funcional pode ser aplicada no âmbito da ecologia da restauração, desde o planejamento até o monitoramento dos projetos, com foco no funcionamento dos ecossistemas. O estudo primeiramente contextualiza a teoria ecológica associada à interligação entre as disciplinas de ecologia da restauração, funcionamento de ecossistemas e ecologia funcional. Em seguida, apresentamos os resultados de uma pesquisa bibliográfica sistemática e descrevemos como a ecologia baseada em atributos funcionais tem sido aplicada no planejamento e monitoramento de projetos de restauração. Na fase de planejamento, a ecologia funcional auxilia na escolha das espécies com base em suas características, levando em conta as condições ambientais e os potenciais filtros para o desenvolvimento das espécies, bem como as metas propostas para o projeto de restauração. Na fase de monitoramento, os atributos podem ser empregados na avaliação da funcionalidade do ecossistema, dadas as relações entre atributos e processos ecológicos. Concluímos indicando que é importante focar não só na composição florística das comunidades, mas principalmente na manutenção e restauração das funções ecossistêmicas, especialmente frente ao cenário de mudanças climáticas e de uso do solo. A interligação entre restauração ecológica e funcionamento dos ecossistemas (objetivo comum em projetos de restauração) pode ser viabilizada através de abordagens baseadas em atributos funcionais, aumentando a efetividade na aplicação de recursos e o sucesso das ações de restauração. palavras-chave: atributos funcionais; funcionamento de ecossistemas; ecologia da restauração; processos ecológicos. functional EcologY as a tool for planning and monitoring EcosYstEms rEstoration: Functional ecology is an important tool in several ecological studies. Functional traits respond to environmental filters and influence ecosystem properties and functions, enabling its application in ecological studies associated with ecosystem restoration. In the present study we present how functional ecology can be applied in restoration ecology, from the planning to the monitoring phases of the project, with the focus on ecosystem functioning. First, the study contextualizes the ecological theory related to the integration of the disciplines of restoration ecology, ecosystem functioning and functional ecology. From that, we present the results of a systematic review of the literature and describe how trait-based ecology has been applied in the planning and monitoring phases of restoration projects. In the planning phase functional ecology helps Rosenfield & Müller | 551

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“…Thus, at the community level, functional traits have popularly been used to infer community shifts in plant resourceacquisition strategies across environmental gradients (e.g., environmental ltering, community assembly, Escudero and Valladares, 2016). For example, in tropical forests, functional diversity accounts for differences in forest productivity more so than taxonomic diversity (van der Sande et al 2018), richness (Rosen eld and Müller, 2020), or forest dynamics in space and time, especially regarding forest succession (Letcher et al 2015, Lohbeck et al 2012, Muscarella et al 2016a, Hogan et al 2018. Moreover, it is far easier to infer plant community dynamics or plant-environment relationships from a functional trait perspective than through changes in individual species or community (i.e., multivariate) demographics (Poorter et al 2018a, Poorter et al 2018b).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intraspecific trait variation and species functional turnover in successional tropical forests: assessing gap-filling for community weighted means

Hogan¹,

Xu²,

Baraloto³

2021

Preprint

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Accounting for intraspecific trait variation (ITV) is central to plant ecology and crucial for vegetation modeling efforts. ITV can be substantial; however, it remains unclear how ITV influences community-weighted mean (CWM) trait estimates. We use leaf and root trait data from 423 trees of 72 species from 15 Angiosperm families in combination with community data from 164 small plots comprising 582 species to evaluate the contribution of ITV to CWMs, comparing unlogged, primary forest to selectively-logged and clear-cut secondary forest. We examine the effect of gap-filling missing trait values via phylogenetic generalized linear modeling (PhyloPars) on CWMs. For six of seven traits, ITV negatively covaried with species turnover to generate larger CWM differences than observed if ITV was not integrated. For example, plot average CWM specific leaf area was 10.7 and 10.4 m2 kg− 1 for primary and secondary forest, not accounting for ITV, but shifted to 9.8 and 11.1 m2 kg− 1 after doing so. Specific root length showed a similar trend. Our results from 72-species assemblages were supported by the results from the gap-filled analysis using the entire community, where the contribution of ITV to CWMs ranged from 25 to 75%, with nearly all trait variation due to forest type attributable to ITV. Therefore, CWM trait estimates became more-conservative with forest age, whereas ITV for many traits showed an acquisitive shift, and because of negative covariation between ITV and species turnover, forest age-related CWM differences increased. Differences were unaffected, if not strengthened, by gap-filling incomplete functional trait matrices.

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Plant Traits Rather than Species Richness Explain Ecological Processes in Subtropical Forests

Cited by 37 publications

References 74 publications

Canopy Leaf Traits, Basal Area, and Age Predict Functional Patterns of Regenerating Communities in Secondary Subtropical Forests

Canopy Leaf Traits, Basal Area, and Age Predict Functional Patterns of Regenerating Communities in Secondary Subtropical Forests

Ecologia funcional como ferramenta para planejar e monitorar a restauração ecológica de ecossistemas

Intraspecific trait variation and species functional turnover in successional tropical forests: assessing gap-filling for community weighted means

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