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Fang S, Ren J, Cadotte MW, Yuan Z, Hao Z, Wang X, Lin F, Fortunel C. Disturbance history, neighborhood crowding and soil conditions jointly shape tree growth in temperate forests. Oecologia 2024:10.1007/s00442-024-05570-7. [PMID: 38824461 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-024-05570-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2022] [Accepted: 05/19/2024] [Indexed: 06/03/2024]
Abstract
Understanding how different mechanisms act and interact in shaping communities and ecosystems is essential to better predict their future with global change. Disturbance legacy, abiotic conditions, and biotic interactions can simultaneously influence tree growth, but it remains unclear what are their relative contributions and whether they have additive or interactive effects. We examined the separate and joint effects of disturbance intensity, soil conditions, and neighborhood crowding on tree growth in 10 temperate forests in northeast China. We found that disturbance was the strongest driver of tree growth, followed by neighbors and soil. Specifically, trees grew slower with decreasing initial disturbance intensity, but with increasing neighborhood crowding, soil pH and soil total phosphorus. Interestingly, the decrease in tree growth with increasing soil pH and soil phosphorus was steeper with high initial disturbance intensity. Testing the role of species traits, we showed that fast-growing species exhibited greater maximum tree size, but lower wood density and specific leaf area. Species with lower wood density grew faster with increasing initial disturbance intensity, while species with higher specific leaf area suffered less from neighbors in areas with high initial disturbance intensity. Our study suggests that accounting for both individual and interactive effects of multiple drivers is crucial to better predict forest dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuai Fang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Management, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, China
- Key Laboratory of Terrestrial Ecosystem Carbon Neutrality, Liaoning, China
| | - Jing Ren
- CAS Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Management, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, China
- AMAP (Botanique et Modélisation de l'Architecture des Plantes et des Végétations), CIRAD, CNRS, INRAE, IRD, Université de Montpellier, Montpellier, France
| | - Marc William Cadotte
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Toronto-Scarborough, Toronto, ON, M1C 1A4, Canada
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, M5S 3B2, Canada
| | - Zuoqiang Yuan
- Research Center for Ecological and Environmental Sciences, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an, China
| | - Zhanqing Hao
- Research Center for Ecological and Environmental Sciences, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an, China
| | - Xugao Wang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Management, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, China
- Key Laboratory of Terrestrial Ecosystem Carbon Neutrality, Liaoning, China
| | - Fei Lin
- CAS Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Management, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, China.
- Key Laboratory of Terrestrial Ecosystem Carbon Neutrality, Liaoning, China.
| | - Claire Fortunel
- AMAP (Botanique et Modélisation de l'Architecture des Plantes et des Végétations), CIRAD, CNRS, INRAE, IRD, Université de Montpellier, Montpellier, France.
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Islam T, Hamid M, Nawchoo IA, Khuroo AA. Leaf functional traits vary among growth forms and vegetation zones in the Himalaya. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 906:167274. [PMID: 37741392 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.167274] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2023] [Revised: 09/20/2023] [Accepted: 09/20/2023] [Indexed: 09/25/2023]
Abstract
Compression of life zones along elevational gradients in mountains supports diverse vegetation types, and therefore offers ideal setting to study plant functional traits. Functional traits, the features that enable plants to live in varied environmental conditions, help in understanding ecological interactions, evolutionary adaptations, and predicting plant response to global change drivers. To date, little is known how the trait diversity varies across different growth forms and vegetation zones in mountains. Here, we aimed to investigate interspecific leaf trait variability among different growth forms and vegetation zones along a wide elevation gradient (2000-4200 m) in Kashmir Himalaya. We measured leaf functional traits (specific leaf area-SLA, leaf thickness - LT, leaf dry matter content -LDMC) of 76 plant species corresponding to three growth forms (trees, shrubs and herbs) and three vegetation zones (Himalayan dry temperate forests, subalpine forests and alpine grasslands). Our results revealed high trait variability across the regional species pool studied. We found significant variation in leaf functional traits among the different growth forms, with higher values of LT and LDMC recorded for woody species than herbaceous ones. Among different vegetation zones, the SLA was found to be significantly higher at lower to middle elevations, while the other leaf traits (LT and LDMC) showed an opposite trend. Across all the vegetative zones, we also found a negative correlation between SLA and the other leaf traits, and the latter showed a positive trait-trait correlation. Overall, our study contributes to a deeper understanding of trait-trait, trait-growth form and trait-vegetation zone relationships. Our findings suggest that the variation in leaf functional traits among different growth forms seems to be a trade-off mechanism between resource acquisition and leaf construction, and also help in identifying species' adaptive functional traits that are critical for plant survival in the face of ongoing climate change in the Himalaya.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tajamul Islam
- Centre for Biodiversity & Taxonomy, Department of Botany, University of Kashmir, Srinagar 190006, Jammu and Kashmir, India; Plant Reproductive Biology, Genetic Diversity and Phytochemistry Research Laboratory, Department of Botany, University of Kashmir, Srinagar 190006, Jammu and Kashmir, India
| | - Maroof Hamid
- Centre for Biodiversity & Taxonomy, Department of Botany, University of Kashmir, Srinagar 190006, Jammu and Kashmir, India
| | - Irshad A Nawchoo
- Plant Reproductive Biology, Genetic Diversity and Phytochemistry Research Laboratory, Department of Botany, University of Kashmir, Srinagar 190006, Jammu and Kashmir, India
| | - Anzar Ahmad Khuroo
- Centre for Biodiversity & Taxonomy, Department of Botany, University of Kashmir, Srinagar 190006, Jammu and Kashmir, India.
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Long L, Lv L, Qiu J, Sun D, Wei S, Wan X, Gao C. Comprehensive evaluation of fruit quality for premium Wangmo Castanea mollissima plants. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0295691. [PMID: 38085713 PMCID: PMC10715654 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0295691] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2023] [Accepted: 11/23/2023] [Indexed: 12/18/2023] Open
Abstract
In this study, the fruit phenotype and quality of 32 superior Wangmo Castanea mollissima plants (designated GM1 to GM32) were examined to identify the trait characteristics of different cluster groups and germplasms with excellent comprehensive performance. The goal was to provide a theoretical basis and research foundation for collecting high-quality germplasm resources and breeding superior cultivars of Wangmo C. mollissima. Ten fruit phenotypic traits and 13 quality traits were measured and analyzed in these 32 superior Wangmo C. mollissima plants. Cluster analysis and principal component analysis (PCA) were used to perform a comprehensive evaluation. Extremely significant positive correlations (P<0.01) were observed for 15 pairs of fruit phenotypic and quality traits, and significant positive correlations (P<0.05) were observed for 16 pairs of traits. Highly significant negative correlations (P<0.01) were observed for 4 pairs of fruit phenotypic and quality traits, and significant negative correlations (P<0.05) were observed for 15 pairs. The plants were divided into three groups by cluster analysis: the first group had large fruits and good fruit quality, the second group had small fruits and poor fruit quality, and the third group had medium-sized fruits with a high starch content. Four principal components were extracted from the 23 traits by PCA, contributing 76.23% of the variance. The ten plants with the highest comprehensive quality were GM32, GM31, GM29, GM1, GM8, GM17, GM10, GM30, GM3 and GM28. The results of this study provide a reference for the development and utilization of Wangmo C. mollissima germplasm resources.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li Long
- Institute for Forest Resources and Environment of Guizhou, Key Laboratory of Forest Cultivation in Plateau Mountain of Guizhou Province, College of Forestry, Guizhou University, Guiyang, 550025, China
| | - Lingling Lv
- Institute for Forest Resources and Environment of Guizhou, Key Laboratory of Forest Cultivation in Plateau Mountain of Guizhou Province, College of Forestry, Guizhou University, Guiyang, 550025, China
| | - Jie Qiu
- Institute for Forest Resources and Environment of Guizhou, Key Laboratory of Forest Cultivation in Plateau Mountain of Guizhou Province, College of Forestry, Guizhou University, Guiyang, 550025, China
| | - Dongchan Sun
- Institute for Forest Resources and Environment of Guizhou, Key Laboratory of Forest Cultivation in Plateau Mountain of Guizhou Province, College of Forestry, Guizhou University, Guiyang, 550025, China
| | - Shangfeng Wei
- Institute for Forest Resources and Environment of Guizhou, Key Laboratory of Forest Cultivation in Plateau Mountain of Guizhou Province, College of Forestry, Guizhou University, Guiyang, 550025, China
| | - Xianqin Wan
- Institute for Forest Resources and Environment of Guizhou, Key Laboratory of Forest Cultivation in Plateau Mountain of Guizhou Province, College of Forestry, Guizhou University, Guiyang, 550025, China
| | - Chao Gao
- Institute for Forest Resources and Environment of Guizhou, Key Laboratory of Forest Cultivation in Plateau Mountain of Guizhou Province, College of Forestry, Guizhou University, Guiyang, 550025, China
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Wang H, Yang J, Xie T, Ma L, Niu F, He C, Shan L. Variation and association of leaf traits for desert plants in the arid area, northwest China. Ecol Evol 2023; 13:e9946. [PMID: 36969926 PMCID: PMC10037433 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.9946] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2022] [Revised: 03/06/2023] [Accepted: 03/13/2023] [Indexed: 03/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Characterizing variation and association of plant traits is critical for understanding plant adaptation strategies and community assembly mechanisms. However, little is known about the leaf trait variations of desert plants and their association with different life forms. We used principal component analysis, Pearson's correlation, phylogenetic independent contrasts, linear mixed model, and variance decomposition to explore the variation and association of 10 leaf traits in 22 desert plants in the arid area of northwest China. We found that: (1) the contribution of interspecific variation to the overall variation was greater than the intraspecific variation of all the studied leaf traits; (2) intraspecific and interspecific variation in leaf traits differed among life forms. Some leaf traits, such as tissue density of shrubs and specific leaf area of herbs, exhibited greater intraspecific than interspecific variation, while other traits exhibited the inverse; (3) desert shrubs corroborate the leaf economic spectrum hypothesis and had a fast acquisitive resource strategy, but herbs may not conform to this hypothesis; (4) there were trade‐offs between leaf traits, which were mediated by phylogeny. Overall, our results suggest that interspecific variation of leaf traits significantly contributes to the total leaf traits variation in desert plants. However, intraspecific variation should not be overlooked. There are contrasts in the resource acquisition strategies between plants life forms. Our results support understanding of the mechanisms underlying community assembly in arid regions and suggest that future works may focus on the variation and association of plant traits at both intra‐ and interspecific scales.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hongyong Wang
- College of ForestryGansu Agricultural UniversityLanzhouChina
| | - Jie Yang
- Pingliang institute of soil and water conservation SciencePingliangChina
| | - Tingting Xie
- College of ForestryGansu Agricultural UniversityLanzhouChina
| | - Li Ma
- College of ForestryGansu Agricultural UniversityLanzhouChina
| | - Furong Niu
- College of ForestryGansu Agricultural UniversityLanzhouChina
| | - Cai He
- Wuwei Academy of ForestryWuweiChina
| | - Lishan Shan
- College of ForestryGansu Agricultural UniversityLanzhouChina
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Abstract
A plant functional trait study was conducted to know the existing relationship between important leaf traits namely, specific leaf area (SLA), leaf dry matter content (LDMC), and leaf life span (LL) in tropical dry evergreen forest (TDEFs) of Peninsular India. Widely accepted methodologies were employed to record functional traits. The relationships between SLA and LDMC, LDMC and LL, and SLA and LL were measured. Pearson’s coefficient of correlation showed a significant negative relationship between SLA and LDMC, and SLA and LL, whereas a significant positive relationship was prevailed between LDMC and LL. The mean trait values (SLA, LDMC, and LL) of evergreens varied significantly from deciduous species. SLA had a closer relationship with LDMC than LL. Similarly, LL had a closer relationship with SLA than LDMC. Species with evergreen leaf habits dominated forest sites under study. Evergreen species dominate the study area with a high evergreen-deciduous ratio of 5.34:1. The S strategy score of trees indicated a relatively higher biomass allocation to persistent tissues. TDEFs occur in low elevation, semiarid environment, but with the combination of oligotrophic habitat, high temperature and longer dry season these forests were flourishing as a unique evergreen ecosystem in the drier environment. The relationships found between leaf traits were in concurrence with earlier findings. Trees of TDEFs survive on the poor-nutrient habitat with a low SLA, high LDMC, and LL. This study adds baseline data on key leaf traits to plant functional trait database of India.
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