Trait variation in juvenile plants from the soil seed bank of temperate forests in relation to macro‐ and microclimate

Abstract

AimThe soil seed bank is a key component of the biodiversity of plant communities, but various aspects of its functioning in temperate forest ecosystems are still unknown. We here adopted a trait‐based approach to investigate the effects of macro‐ and microclimatic gradients on the juvenile plant communities from the realized seed bank of two types of European temperate forest.LocationOak‐dominated forests in Italy and Belgium.MethodsWe analysed the variation of key functional traits (plant height, leaf area, leaf dry weight, specific leaf area and leaf number) of juvenile plants from the realised soil seed bank in relation to elevation (from 0 to 800 m a.s.l.), forest type (thinned and unthinned forest) and distance to the forest edge. We translocated soil samples from the forest core to the edge (and vice versa) and from high‐ to low‐elevation forests to test the effects of edge and warming respectively.ResultsTaller communities developed at the forest edge due to higher light availability and warmer temperatures. The translocation from the core to the edge did not significantly modify mean trait values. Instead, the shadier and cooler microclimate of the forest core reduced the mean leaf area, mean dry weight, height and leaf number in the communities realised from the edge soil. The translocation from high‐ to lowland forests led to increased values for all traits (except specific leaf area). Edge vs core trait variation was more driven by intraspecific variability, whereas the translocation from high‐ to low‐elevation forests caused trait changes mostly due to species turnover.ConclusionsGlobal warming might result in a functional shift of the understorey due to both an early filtering effect on the seedlings from soil seed banks and their adaptive trait adjustments to temperature increase. Furthermore, our study underpins the importance of edge vs core microclimate in driving the functional composition of the realised soil seed bank.

Using warming tolerances to predict understory plant responses to climate change

“…For example, some plant species can adapt to hot and dry conditions by reducing leaf area or developing thicker cuticles to keep moisture, or can reduce water use by growing deeper roots (Schenk & Jackson, 2002). Some may produce heat‐shock proteins to protect photosynthesis from heat stress, or can bloom earlier during the vegetation period as temperatures warm up (Gasperini et al., 2023; Larcher, 2003; McDowell et al., 2008). This might induce different and unpredictable species‐specific performance responses to increasing warming (Fauset et al., 2018; Leigh et al., 2017; Michaletz et al., 2015; Nievola et al., 2017).…”