Trait patterns of epiphytes compared to other plant life‐forms along a tropical elevation gradient

Costa, David Schellenberger; Zotz, Gerhard; Hemp, Andreas; Kleyer, Michael

doi:10.1111/1365-2435.13121

Cited by 30 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 79 publications

(103 reference statements)

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“…) contributes to the daunting challenge of defining general patterns and mechanisms of epiphyte distributions (Schellenberger Costa et al. ). Our two PCA analyses showed orthogonal axes defining community separation by elevation and the relative height of epiphyte attachment.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…1) contributes to the daunting challenge of defining general patterns and mechanisms of epiphyte distributions (Schellenberger Costa et al 2018). 1) contributes to the daunting challenge of defining general patterns and mechanisms of epiphyte distributions (Schellenberger Costa et al 2018).…”

Section: Concluding Remarks On Epiphyte Functional Compositionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…1) contributes to the daunting challenge of defining general patterns and mechanisms of epiphyte distributions (Schellenberger Costa et al 2018). Improved theory of epiphyte distributions will likely require more detailed knowledge of the ecophysiological idiosyncrasies of each functional group, including their unique responses to substrate structure, temperature, light, and water (Woods et al 2015, Ding et al 2016, M€ uller et al 2017, Schellenberger Costa et al 2018. The leaf mass-carbon spectrum axis was largely related to vertical structuring of four (FG3, FG5, FG6, FG7) out of our seven functional groups, and cannot be generalized to all other epiphyte species.…”

Section: Concluding Remarks On Epiphyte Functional Compositionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Zotz et al 1997). Improved theory of epiphyte distributions will likely require more detailed knowledge of the ecophysiological idiosyncrasies of each functional group, including their unique responses to substrate structure, temperature, light, and water (Woods et al 2015, Ding et al 2016, M€ uller et al 2017, Schellenberger Costa et al 2018.…”

Section: Concluding Remarks On Epiphyte Functional Compositionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Functional composition of epiphyte communities in the Colombian Andes

Agudelo

Benavides

Taylor

et al. 2019

Ecology

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We identify changes in the functional composition of vascular epiphytes along a tropical elevational gradient with the aim of quantifying the role of climate in determining the assembly of epiphyte communities. We measured seven leaf functional traits (leaf area, specific leaf area, leaf dry-matter content, leaf thickness, force to punch, stomatal density, and potential conductance index) in the 163 most abundant epiphyte species recorded across 10 sites located along an elevational gradient between 60 and 2,900 m above sea level in the Colombian Andes. We grouped the epiphyte species into seven hierarchical functional groups according to their most characteristic leaf traits. Along the elevational gradient, the two main independent leaf trait dimensions that distinguished community assemblages were defined primarily by leaf area-photosynthetic (LAPS) and mass-carbon (LMCS) gradients. Mean annual temperature was the main determinant of species position along LAPS. In contrast, local changes in specific leaf area due to variation in the epiphytes' relative height of attachment was the main determinant of their position along the LMCS. Our findings indicate that epiphytic plant leaves have evolved to optimize and enhance photosynthesis through a leaf area-based strategy and carbon acquisition through investments in construction costs of leaf area per unit of biomass that aim to regulate light capture and tissue development. Given that most studies of plant functional traits neglect vascular epiphytes, our quantification of the multiple dimensions of epiphyte leaf traits greatly augments our understanding of vascular plant function and adaptation to changing environments.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Concluding Remarks On Epiphyte Functional Compositionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Concluding Remarks On Epiphyte Functional Compositionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Concluding Remarks On Epiphyte Functional Compositionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Functional composition of epiphyte communities in the Colombian Andes

Agudelo

Benavides

Taylor

et al. 2019

Ecology

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“…Abundance data for CWM calculation were based on the data set collected by Einzmann & Zotz (2017) in 2012/13. As samples were collected for only a few individuals per species in the study region, the trait values used to calculate CWMs represent a "species mean" (Kleyer et al 2012), avoiding the very labour-intensive sampling of trait values in each plot (Schellenberger-Costa et al 2018). We regressed CWMs against the mean precipitation of the plots within each class.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Variation in root morphology of epiphytic orchids along small-scale and large-scale moisture gradients

2020

Self Cite

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Root morphology is expected to respond to environmental conditions. Two earlier studies reported predictable changes in the structure of the velamen radicum (common in monocotyledons) along rainfall gradients, which was expected from its assumed role in plant-water-relations. The present study expanded on this idea by analysing nine root traits that can be linked to root function, including velamen structure, along two moisture gradients of different spatial scales: 1) along the vertical gradient of a lowland forest in central Panama and 2) along a strong regional rainfall gradient in western Panama. All studied traits (e.g. velamen width, number of xylem poles, lignification of the exodermis) of the 45 orchid species showed substantial intraspecific and interspecific variation, but none of this (within forest) or very little of this (regional gradient) was related to the gradients. Only the community weighted means of velamen width, stele width and xylem pole number varied significantly with rainfall, with substantial effect sizes only found in the latter two traits. Our results clearly disagree with those of earlier publications, which did not include species abundance and/or rigorous statistics in their analyses. This discrepancy highlights that our understanding of the link between velamen form and function is still rudimentary.

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Functional Ecology of Vascular Epiphytes

Zotz

Hietz

Einzmann

2021

Annual Plant Reviews Online

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The epiphytic life form characterizes almost 10% of all vascular plants. Defined by their mechanical dependence throughout their life and their non‐parasitic relationship with the host, the term epiphyte describes a very heterogenous and taxonomically diverse group of plants. This article explores the functional ecology of this group, acknowledging from the start that our current knowledge is highly biased, e.g. with a strong focus on particular families like bromeliads or orchids. This bias goes along with a number of problematic and weakly founded generalizations in the literature. Our article covers a set of particularly important aspects of epiphyte ecology, e.g. germination, water and nutrient relationships, and biomechanical aspects of the epiphyte‐host relationship. Throughout our article, we describe ways for future research projects to reach a more comprehensive and representative understanding of the biological responses to the varying challenges of the arboreal habitat, and emphasize that the study of epiphytes should not only be of interest to the narrow expert: a comparison of the functional ecology of epiphytes and ground‐rooted terrestrials offers unique perspectives to understanding both evolutionary and ecological, phenotypic responses to the diverse habitats of vascular plants in general.

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Trait patterns of epiphytes compared to other plant life‐forms along a tropical elevation gradient

Cited by 30 publications

References 79 publications

Functional composition of epiphyte communities in the Colombian Andes

Functional composition of epiphyte communities in the Colombian Andes

Variation in root morphology of epiphytic orchids along small-scale and large-scale moisture gradients

Functional Ecology of Vascular Epiphytes

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