Stressors Reveal Ecosystems' Hidden Characteristics

Abstract

Vegetation responds dynamically to local microclimates at both short and long time scales via mechanisms ranging from physiological behaviors, such as stomatal closure, to acclimation and adaptation. These responses influence the carbon, water, and energy cycles directly and are therefore crucial to understanding and predicting Earth system responses to a changing climate. Several recent studies have demonstrated that differences in microclimate can induce structural and functional acclimations, and potentially adaptations, within the same ecosystem. Such microclimate divergence can be caused by variability in slopes, disturbance history, or even localized resource availability. Ecosystem stressors such as low soil water availability, limited photoperiod, or high vapor pressure deficit have been shown to reveal the large impact of the subtle differences within these systems such as the number of sun versus shade leaves or differences in whole-plant water acquisition and use. These findings highlight the linkages between plant canopy structure and ecosystem function, alongside the need for comprehensive analyses of vegetation within the broader context of its environment. This commentary addresses some of the key implications of ecosystem stress responses and accompanying acclimations across three ecosystem types for ecosystem ecology, plant physiology, ecohydrology and trait-based modeling of vegetation-climate dynamics.

The role of the intraspecific variability of hydraulic traits for modelling the plant water use in different European forest ecosystems

“…From an ecosystem perspective, simplifying hydraulic traits into single plant functional types has additional repercussions. Matheny (2021) highlighted the importance of incorporating flexible traits based on prevalent environmental stressors since tree species' sensitivity to water stress is determined by their plasticity to the environment (Haberstroh & Werner, 2022). This plasticity is exemplified by the different k max values in Fagus sylvatica and Quercus ilex in this manuscript, and the reported variability of xylem specific conductance reported across many orders of magnitude for each species (e.g., Bär et al, 2018;Carevic et al, 2014;Charra-Vaskou et al, 2012;Choat et al, 2012;David et al, 2007;Limousin et al, 2010;Lübbe et al, 2022;Martínez-Vilalta et al, 2002;Tomasella et al, 2019).…”

The Role of the Intraspecific Variability of Hydraulic Traits for Modeling the Plant Water Use in Different European Forest Ecosystems

“…From an ecosystem perspective, simplifying hydraulic traits into single PFTs has additional repercussions. Matheny (2021) highlighted the importance of incorporating flexible traits based on prevalent environmental stressors since tree species' sensitivity to water stress is determined by their plasticity to the environment (Haberstroh & Werner, 2022). This plasticity is exemplified by the different k max values in F. sylvatica and Q. ilex in this manuscript, and the reported variability of xylem specific conductance reported across many orders of magnitude for each species (e.g., Bär et al., 2018; Carevic et al., 2014; Charra‐Vaskou et al., 2012; Choat et al., 2012; David et al., 2007; Limousin et al., 2010; Lübbe et al., 2022; Martínez‐Vilalta et al., 2002; Tomasella et al., 2019).…”

Influence of Leaf Area Index Inversion and the Light Transmittance Mechanism in the Apple Tree Canopy

“…Light transmittance has a direct impact on plant growth, development, and photosynthesis in the canopy. It is also crucial for understanding the structure and function of plant leaves and the ecological and physiological processes in plant ecosystems [2]. Measurement of light transmission is primarily instrumental, involving considerable time, labor, and subjectivity.…”