Realized Niche Spaces and Functional Types: A Framework for Prediction of Compositional Change

Rutherford, M. C.; O’Callaghan, M.; Hurford, Jessie; Powrie, L.W.; Schulze, R. E.; Kunz, Robin; Davis, George W.; Hoffman, Margaret; Mack, F.

doi:10.2307/2845950

Cited by 23 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…A more important problem is the amount of time and effort that was needed to generate results for what is essentially a rather limited number of species. Such a programme, despite being a 'visionary initiative' (Rutherford et al, 1995), could never be carried out for all species.…”

Section: Approaches To Deriving Plant Functional Typesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plant functional types: an alternative to taxonomic plant community description in biogeography?

Duckworth¹,

Kent

Ramsay

2000

Progress in Physical Geography: Earth and Environment

120

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This article critically reviews the concept of plant functional types as an alternative to the traditional taxonomic species-based approach to plant community description in biogeography and ecology. Originally formulated in the last century, there has been an acceleration in interest in the concept over the last decade. Plant functional types are nonphylogenetic groupings of species that show close similarities in their response to environmental and biotic controls. Functional classifications often cut across taxonomic classifications and may be more meaningful in terms of plant response, in addition to overcoming certain problems associated with the traditional taxonomic species-based approach. Plant functional types are derived from traits based on species morphology, physiology and/or life history, depending on the aims and scale of the research. Whilst some traits can be measured in the field, others require more detailed laboratory measurement and experimentation. A trade-off exists between the time and efficiency gained from using simple traits and those requiring more elaborate analysis, although certain ‘key traits’ may act as easily measured surrogates for others. Practical applications of plant functional types in biogeography and ecology are also reviewed. Plant functional types can aid in the understanding of ecological processes, such as the assembly and stability of communities and succession, and facilitate the detection and prediction of response to environmental change at a range of scales. Despite its potential, the plant functional type approach is probably best viewed as a complementary approach to description using traditional taxonomy.

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Section: Approaches To Deriving Plant Functional Typesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plant functional types: an alternative to taxonomic plant community description in biogeography?

Duckworth¹,

Kent

Ramsay

2000

Progress in Physical Geography: Earth and Environment

120

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“…Functional classifications can be a priori systems, or be derived from a set of species and traits using a classification algorithm (Rutherford et al 1995, Condit et al 1996a, Díaz & Cabido 1997. In an a priori system the classification is rigid, whilst with a data-driven approach the number of PFTs and the traits shift according to the species used.…”

Section: Functional Group Responsementioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of global climate change on tropical forest biodiversity in Amazonia

Miles

Grainger

Phillips

2004

Global Ecology and Biogeography

117

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The candidate confirms that the work submitted is her own and that appropriate credit has been given where reference has been made to the work of others. i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSThe first thanks must go to the National Environment Research Council, who were kind enough to fund the first three years of this project. My supervisors Oliver Phillips and Alan Grainger deserve the strongest possible thanks for all their ideas, feedback and support. Thanks too to Steve Carver, a helpful member of the supervisory team in the first phase of the project. I am grateful for the constructive criticism of RSG members Mike Kirkby and Steve Compton.On the climate modelling side, Richard Betts and Peter Cox from Hadley Centre were supportive with advice, elucidation and most importantly, climate change scenario outputs. In the standard impact scenario (SIS), future population processes are simulated over 100 years, with changes in the variables governing cell suitability being applied annually according to anomalies from a selected GCM. The run is repeated for each species using anomalies of half that magnitude, as a reduced-impact scenario (RIS).

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“…Furthermore, a plant functional type approach allows for regional comparisons with the formation of a common language through which taxonomically distinct and complex systems can be effectively compared (Rutherford et al, 1995). On this basis it is recommended over a floristic approach in its ability to simplify the complexity of taxonomically diverse areas and thereby aiding global comparisons (Sala et al, 1999).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…However, it is this same variation that can in turn limit the scale of studies, often making them only locally relevant (Rutherford et al, 1995). This has led ecologists to look for a 'common currency' by simplifying this diversity through categorising plants on the basis of physiological and morphological affinities (Rutherford et al, 1995).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Grazing response in the vegetation communities of the Kamiesberg, South Africa: Adopting a plant functional type approach

Anderson

Hoffman

2011

Journal of Arid Environments

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Realized Niche Spaces and Functional Types: A Framework for Prediction of Compositional Change

Cited by 23 publications

References 30 publications

Plant functional types: an alternative to taxonomic plant community description in biogeography?

Plant functional types: an alternative to taxonomic plant community description in biogeography?

The impact of global climate change on tropical forest biodiversity in Amazonia

Grazing response in the vegetation communities of the Kamiesberg, South Africa: Adopting a plant functional type approach

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