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Chen Y, Ma J, Wang H, Xie T, Li Q, Shan L. Fine Root Traits across Different Root Orders and Their Associations with Leaf Traits in 15 Co-Occurring Plant Species from the Desert-Oasis Transition Zone in the Hexi Corridor, Gansu Province, China. PLANTS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2024; 13:2472. [PMID: 39273955 PMCID: PMC11396981 DOI: 10.3390/plants13172472] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2024] [Revised: 09/01/2024] [Accepted: 09/02/2024] [Indexed: 09/15/2024]
Abstract
Fine root traits embody trade-offs between resource acquisition and conservation in plants. Yet, the differentiation of these traits across root orders, the existence of a root economics spectrum (RES) spanning these orders, and their linkage with leaf traits remain underexplored. In this study, we analyzed the first three root orders and leaf traits of 15 co-occurring plant species, including ten herbs and five shrubs, from the desert-oasis transition zone of the Hexi Corridor. We measured twelve morphological and chemical traits to investigate the relationships between root and leaf traits. Our results revealed significant variation in root traits both among species and within species across different root orders. We identified RES that spanned root orders, with higher-order roots exhibiting more conservative traits and lower-order roots displaying traits aligned with resource acquisition. Additionally, leaf and fine root traits showed partially decoupled adaptive strategies, yet evidence also supported the existence of a leaf economics spectrum (LES) and a potentially two-dimensional whole plant economics spectrum (WPES). Our findings suggest synergistic resource allocation strategies between fine roots and the entire plant, emphasizing the importance of root order in understanding fine root structure, function, and their interactions with other plant organs. These insights advance the understanding of fine root traits and their integration within the broader plant economics spectrum. Nevertheless, the differences in fine root traits across root orders, the presence of a root economics spectrum (RES) spanning these orders, and the relationships between fine root and leaf traits remain underexplored. We examined the first three root orders and leaves of 15 co-occurring plant species (ten herbs and five shrubs) from the desert-oasis transition zone in the Hexi Corridor, measured twelve key morphological and chemical traits. We observed substantial variation in root traits among species and root orders within species. The root economics spectrum (RES) spanned across root orders, with higher-order roots positioned at the conservative end and lower-order roots at the acquisitive end of the "investment-return" strategy axis. Leaf and fine root traits of the 15 co-occurring plant species exhibited partially decoupled adaptive strategies. However, there was also evidence for the presence of a leaf economics spectrum (LES) and a whole plant economics spectrum (WPES), with the WPES potentially being two-dimensional. Furthermore, our findings suggest synergistic resource strategies between fine roots and the whole plant. Concurrently, the significant interspecific and intraspecific differences in fine root traits, combined with the presence of a root economics spectrum across root orders, underscore the critical importance of root order in studying fine root structure, function, and their associations with other plant organs. Our findings offer valuable insights for future research on fine root traits, the RES, and their integration with the whole plant economics spectrum.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yiming Chen
- College of Forestry, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China
| | - Jing Ma
- College of Forestry, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China
| | - Hongyong Wang
- College of Forestry, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China
| | - Tingting Xie
- College of Forestry, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China
| | - Quangang Li
- College of Forestry, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China
| | - Lishan Shan
- College of Forestry, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China
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Marcellus M, Goud EM, Swartz N, Brown E, Soper FM. Evolutionary history and root trait coordination predict nutrient strategy in tropical legume trees. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2024; 243:1711-1723. [PMID: 39005157 DOI: 10.1111/nph.19962] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2024] [Accepted: 06/27/2024] [Indexed: 07/16/2024]
Abstract
Plants express diverse nutrient use and acquisition traits, but it is unclear how trait combinations at the species level are constrained by phylogeny, trait coordination, or trade-offs in resource investment. One trait - nitrogen (N) fixation - is assumed to correlate with other traits and used to define plant functional groups, despite potential confounding effects of phylogeny. We quantified growth, carbon metabolism, fixation rate, root phosphatase activity (RPA), mycorrhizal colonization, and leaf and root morphology/chemistry across 22 species of fixing and nonfixing tropical Fabaceae trees under common conditions. Belowground trait variation was high even among closely related species, and most traits displayed a phylogenetic signal, including N-fixation rate and nodule biomass. Across species, we observed strong positive correlations between physiological traits such as RPA and root respiration. RPA increased ~ fourfold per unit increase in fixation, supporting the debated hypothesis that N-fixers 'trade' N for phosphatases to enhance phosphorus acquisition. Specific root length and root N differed between functional groups, though for other traits, apparent differences became nonsignificant after accounting for phylogenetic nonindependence. We conclude that evolutionary history, trait coordination, and fixation ability contribute to nutrient trait expression at the species level, and recommend explicitly considering phylogeny in analyses of functional groupings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mia Marcellus
- Department of Biology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, H3A 1B1, Canada
| | - Ellie M Goud
- Department of Biology, Saint Mary's University, Halifax, NS, B3H 3C3, Canada
| | - Natalie Swartz
- Department of Biology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, H3A 1B1, Canada
| | - Emily Brown
- Department of Biology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, H3A 1B1, Canada
| | - Fiona M Soper
- Department of Biology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, H3A 1B1, Canada
- Bieler School of Environment, McGill University, Montreal, QC, H3A 1B1, Canada
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Liu S, Zheng J. Adaptive strategies based on shrub leaf-stem anatomy and their environmental interpretations in the eastern Qaidam Basin. BMC PLANT BIOLOGY 2024; 24:323. [PMID: 38658848 PMCID: PMC11040798 DOI: 10.1186/s12870-024-05026-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2023] [Accepted: 04/15/2024] [Indexed: 04/26/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Water stress seriously affects the survival of plants in natural ecosystems. Plant resistance to water stress relies on adaptive strategies, which are mainly based on plant anatomy with following relevant functions: (1) increase in water uptake and storage; (2) reduction of water loss; and (3) mechanical reinforcement of tissues. We measured 15 leaf-stem anatomical traits of five dominant shrub species from 12 community plots in the eastern Qaidam Basin to explore adaptive strategies based on plant leaf-stem anatomy at species and community levels. and their relationship with environmental stresses were tested. RESULTS Results showed that the combination of leaf-stem anatomical traits formed three types of adaptive strategies with the drought tolerance of leaf and stem taken as two coordinate axes. Three types of water stress were caused by environmental factors in the eastern Qaidam Basin, and the established adaptive strategy triangle could be well explained by these environmental stresses. The interpretation of the strategic triangle was as follows: (1) exploitative plant strategy, in which leaf and stem adopt the hydraulic efficiency strategy and safety strategy, respectively. This strategy is mostly applied to plants in sandy desert (i.e., Nitraria tangutorum, and Artemisia sphaerocephala) which is mainly influenced by drought stress; (2) stable plant strategy, in which both leaf/assimilation branches and stem adopt hydraulic safety strategy. This strategy is mostly applied to plants in salty desert (i.e., Kalidium foliatum and Haloxylon ammodendron) which aridity has little effect on them; and (3) opportunistic plant strategy, in which leaf and stem adopt hydraulic safety strategy and water transport efficiency strategy. This strategy is mostly applied to plants in multiple habitats (i.e., Sympegma regelii) which is mainly affected by coldness stress. CONCLUSION The proposed adaptive strategy system could provide a basis for elucidating the ecological adaptation mechanism of desert woody plants and the scientific management of natural vegetation in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.
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Affiliation(s)
- Siyu Liu
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Forest Resource Ecosystem Processes, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, China
| | - Jingming Zheng
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Forest Resource Ecosystem Processes, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, China.
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Cusack DF, Christoffersen B, Smith-Martin CM, Andersen KM, Cordeiro AL, Fleischer K, Wright SJ, Guerrero-Ramírez NR, Lugli LF, McCulloch LA, Sanchez-Julia M, Batterman SA, Dallstream C, Fortunel C, Toro L, Fuchslueger L, Wong MY, Yaffar D, Fisher JB, Arnaud M, Dietterich LH, Addo-Danso SD, Valverde-Barrantes OJ, Weemstra M, Ng JC, Norby RJ. Toward a coordinated understanding of hydro-biogeochemical root functions in tropical forests for application in vegetation models. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2024; 242:351-371. [PMID: 38416367 DOI: 10.1111/nph.19561] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2023] [Accepted: 01/10/2024] [Indexed: 02/29/2024]
Abstract
Tropical forest root characteristics and resource acquisition strategies are underrepresented in vegetation and global models, hampering the prediction of forest-climate feedbacks for these carbon-rich ecosystems. Lowland tropical forests often have globally unique combinations of high taxonomic and functional biodiversity, rainfall seasonality, and strongly weathered infertile soils, giving rise to distinct patterns in root traits and functions compared with higher latitude ecosystems. We provide a roadmap for integrating recent advances in our understanding of tropical forest belowground function into vegetation models, focusing on water and nutrient acquisition. We offer comparisons of recent advances in empirical and model understanding of root characteristics that represent important functional processes in tropical forests. We focus on: (1) fine-root strategies for soil resource exploration, (2) coupling and trade-offs in fine-root water vs nutrient acquisition, and (3) aboveground-belowground linkages in plant resource acquisition and use. We suggest avenues for representing these extremely diverse plant communities in computationally manageable and ecologically meaningful groups in models for linked aboveground-belowground hydro-nutrient functions. Tropical forests are undergoing warming, shifting rainfall regimes, and exacerbation of soil nutrient scarcity caused by elevated atmospheric CO2. The accurate model representation of tropical forest functions is crucial for understanding the interactions of this biome with the climate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniela F Cusack
- Department of Ecosystem Science and Sustainability, Warner College of Natural Resources, Colorado State University, 1231 Libbie Coy Way, A104, Fort Collins, CO, 80523-1476, USA
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado, Balboa, 0843-03092, Panama
| | - Bradley Christoffersen
- School of Integrative Biological and Chemical Sciences, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Edinburg, TX, 78539, USA
| | - Chris M Smith-Martin
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, 55108, USA
| | | | - Amanda L Cordeiro
- Department of Ecosystem Science and Sustainability, Warner College of Natural Resources, Colorado State University, 1231 Libbie Coy Way, A104, Fort Collins, CO, 80523-1476, USA
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado, Balboa, 0843-03092, Panama
| | - Katrin Fleischer
- Department Biogeochemical Signals, Max-Planck-Institute for Biogeochemistry, Hans-Knöll-Straße 10, Jena, 07745, Germany
| | - S Joseph Wright
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado, Balboa, 0843-03092, Panama
| | - Nathaly R Guerrero-Ramírez
- Silviculture and Forest Ecology of Temperate Zones, Faculty of Forest Sciences and Forest Ecology, University of Göttingen, Gottingen, 37077, Germany
- Centre of Biodiversity and Sustainable Land Use (CBL), University of Göttingen, Gottingen, 37077, Germany
| | - Laynara F Lugli
- School of Life Sciences, Technical University of Munich, Freising, 85354, Germany
| | - Lindsay A McCulloch
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, 26 Oxford St., Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA
- National Center for Atmospheric Research, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Agency, 1850 Table Mesa Dr., Boulder, CO, 80305, USA
| | - Mareli Sanchez-Julia
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, 70118, USA
| | - Sarah A Batterman
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado, Balboa, 0843-03092, Panama
- Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Millbrook, NY, 12545, USA
- School of Geography, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK
| | - Caroline Dallstream
- Department of Biology, McGill University, 1205 Av. du Docteur-Penfield, Montreal, QC, H3A 1B1, Canada
| | - Claire Fortunel
- AMAP (Botanique et Modélisation de l'Architecture des Plantes et des Végétations), Université de Montpellier, CIRAD, CNRS, INRAE, IRD, Montpellier, 34398, France
| | - Laura Toro
- Yale Applied Science Synthesis Program, The Forest School at the Yale School of the Environment, Yale University, New Haven, CT, 06511, USA
| | - Lucia Fuchslueger
- Centre for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science, University of Vienna, Vienna, 1030, Austria
| | - Michelle Y Wong
- Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Millbrook, NY, 12545, USA
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, 06511, USA
| | - Daniela Yaffar
- Functional Forest Ecology, Universität Hamburg, Barsbüttel, 22885, Germany
| | - Joshua B Fisher
- Schmid College of Science and Technology, Chapman University, 1 University Drive, Orange, CA, 92866, USA
| | - Marie Arnaud
- Institute of Ecology and Environmental Sciences (IEES), UMR 7618, CNRS-Sorbonne University-INRAE-UPEC-IRD, Paris, 75005, France
- School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences & BIFOR, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK
| | - Lee H Dietterich
- Department of Ecosystem Science and Sustainability, Warner College of Natural Resources, Colorado State University, 1231 Libbie Coy Way, A104, Fort Collins, CO, 80523-1476, USA
- U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Environmental Laboratory, Vicksburg, MS, 39180, USA
- Department of Biology, Haverford College, Haverford, PA, 19003, USA
| | - Shalom D Addo-Danso
- Forests and Climate Change Division, CSIR-Forestry Research Institute of Ghana, P.O Box UP 63 KNUST, Kumasi, Ghana
| | - Oscar J Valverde-Barrantes
- Department of Biological Sciences, International Center for Tropical Biodiversity, Florida International University, Miami, FL, 33199, USA
| | - Monique Weemstra
- Department of Biological Sciences, International Center for Tropical Biodiversity, Florida International University, Miami, FL, 33199, USA
| | - Jing Cheng Ng
- Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, 639798, Singapore
| | - Richard J Norby
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, 37996, USA
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Schmitt S, Hérault B, Derroire G. High intraspecific growth variability despite strong evolutionary legacy in an Amazonian forest. Ecol Lett 2023; 26:2135-2146. [PMID: 37819108 DOI: 10.1111/ele.14318] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2023] [Revised: 08/08/2023] [Accepted: 09/20/2023] [Indexed: 10/13/2023]
Abstract
Tree growth is key to species performance. However, individual growth variability within species remains underexplored for a whole community, and the role of species evolutionary legacy and local environments remains unquantified. Based on 36 years of diameter records for 7961 trees from 138 species, we assessed individual growth across an Amazonian forest. We related individual growth to taxonomy, topography and neighbourhood, before exploring species growth link to functional traits and distribution along the phylogeny. We found most variation in growth among individuals within species, even though taxonomy explained a third of the variation. Species growth was phylogenetically conserved up to the genus. Traits of roots, wood and leaves were good predictors of growth, suggesting their joint selection during convergent evolutions. Neighbourhood crowding significantly decreased individual growth, although much of inter-individual variation remains unexplained. The high intraspecific variation observed could allow individuals to respond to the heterogeneous environments of Amazonian forests.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sylvain Schmitt
- CNRS, UMR EcoFoG (Agroparistech, Cirad, INRAE, Université des Antilles, Université de la Guyane), Kourou, French Guiana
- CIRAD, UPR Forêts et Sociétés, Montpellier, France
- Forêts et Sociétés, Univ Montpellier, CIRAD, Montpellier, France
| | - Bruno Hérault
- Forêts et Sociétés, Univ Montpellier, CIRAD, Montpellier, France
- CIRAD, UPR Forêts et Sociétés, Yamoussoukro, Côte d'Ivoire
- Institut National Polytechnique Félix Houphouët-Boigny, INP-HB, Yamoussoukro, Côte d'Ivoire
| | - Géraldine Derroire
- Cirad, UMR EcoFoG (Agroparistech, CNRS, INRAE, Université des Antilles, Université de la Guyane), Kourou, French Guiana
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Weigelt A, Mommer L, Andraczek K, Iversen CM, Bergmann J, Bruelheide H, Freschet GT, Guerrero-Ramírez NR, Kattge J, Kuyper TW, Laughlin DC, Meier IC, van der Plas F, Poorter H, Roumet C, van Ruijven J, Sabatini FM, Semchenko M, Sweeney CJ, Valverde-Barrantes OJ, York LM, McCormack ML. The importance of trait selection in ecology. Nature 2023; 618:E29-E30. [PMID: 37380696 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06148-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2021] [Accepted: 04/28/2023] [Indexed: 06/30/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra Weigelt
- Systematic Botany and Functional Biodiversity, Institute of Biology, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany.
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
| | - Liesje Mommer
- Plant Ecology and Nature Conservation Group, Department of Environmental Sciences, Wageningen University, Wageningen, the Netherlands
| | - Karl Andraczek
- Systematic Botany and Functional Biodiversity, Institute of Biology, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Colleen M Iversen
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Climate Change Science Institute and Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge, TN, USA
| | - Joana Bergmann
- Sustainable Grassland Systems, Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF), Paulinenaue, Germany
| | - Helge Bruelheide
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
- Institute of Biology/Geobotany and Botanical Garden, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle, Germany
| | - Grégoire T Freschet
- Theoretical and Experimental Ecology Station (SETE), National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), Moulis, France
| | - Nathaly R Guerrero-Ramírez
- Biodiversity, Macroecology and Biogeography, Faculty of Forest Sciences and Forest Ecology, University of Goettingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Jens Kattge
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
- Functional Biogeography, Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Jena, Germany
| | - Thom W Kuyper
- Soil Biology Group, Department of Environmental Sciences, Wageningen University, Wageningen, the Netherlands
| | | | - Ina C Meier
- Functional Forest Ecology, Department of Biology, University of Hamburg, Barsbüttel-Willinghusen, Germany
| | - Fons van der Plas
- Systematic Botany and Functional Biodiversity, Institute of Biology, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany
- Plant Ecology and Nature Conservation Group, Department of Environmental Sciences, Wageningen University, Wageningen, the Netherlands
| | - Hendrik Poorter
- Plant Sciences (IBG-2), Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany
- Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, North Ryde, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Catherine Roumet
- CEFE, Université de Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, Montpellier, France
| | - Jasper van Ruijven
- Plant Ecology and Nature Conservation Group, Department of Environmental Sciences, Wageningen University, Wageningen, the Netherlands
| | - Francesco Maria Sabatini
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
- Institute of Biology/Geobotany and Botanical Garden, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle, Germany
- Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum-University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Marina Semchenko
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
- Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Christopher J Sweeney
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
- Jealott's Hill International Research Centre, Syngenta, Bracknell, UK
| | - Oscar J Valverde-Barrantes
- Institute of Environment, Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA
| | - Larry M York
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Center for Bioenergy Innovation and Biosciences Division, Oak Ridge, TN, USA
| | - M Luke McCormack
- The Root Lab, Center for Tree Science, The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL, USA
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7
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Girard‐Tercieux C, Maréchaux I, Clark AT, Clark JS, Courbaud B, Fortunel C, Guillemot J, Künstler G, le Maire G, Pélissier R, Rüger N, Vieilledent G. Rethinking the nature of intraspecific variability and its consequences on species coexistence. Ecol Evol 2023; 13:e9860. [PMID: 36911314 PMCID: PMC9992775 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.9860] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2022] [Revised: 01/20/2023] [Accepted: 02/09/2023] [Indexed: 03/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Intraspecific variability (IV) has been proposed to explain species coexistence in diverse communities. Assuming, sometimes implicitly, that conspecific individuals can perform differently in the same environment and that IV increases niche overlap, previous studies have found contrasting results regarding the effect of IV on species coexistence. We aim at showing that the large IV observed in data does not mean that conspecific individuals are necessarily different in their response to the environment and that the role of high-dimensional environmental variation in determining IV has largely remained unexplored in forest plant communities. We first used a simulation experiment where an individual attribute is derived from a high-dimensional model, representing "perfect knowledge" of individual response to the environment, to illustrate how large observed IV can result from "imperfect knowledge" of the environment. Second, using growth data from clonal Eucalyptus plantations in Brazil, we estimated a major contribution of the environment in determining individual growth. Third, using tree growth data from long-term tropical forest inventories in French Guiana, Panama and India, we showed that tree growth in tropical forests is structured spatially and that despite a large observed IV at the population level, conspecific individuals perform more similarly locally than compared with heterospecific individuals. As the number of environmental dimensions that are well quantified at fine scale is generally lower than the actual number of dimensions influencing individual attributes, a great part of observed IV might be represented as random variation across individuals when in fact it is environmentally driven. This mis-representation has important consequences for inference about community dynamics. We emphasize that observed IV does not necessarily impact species coexistence per se but can reveal species response to high-dimensional environment, which is consistent with niche theory and the observation of the many differences between species in nature.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Adam T. Clark
- Institute of BiologyKarl‐Franzens University of GrazGrazAustria
| | - James S. Clark
- Nicholas School of the EnvironmentDuke UniversityDurhamNorth CarolinaUSA
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, INRAE, LESSEMSt‐Martin‐d'HèresFrance
| | | | - Claire Fortunel
- AMAP, Univ. Montpellier, CIRAD, CNRS, INRAE, IRDMontpellierFrance
| | - Joannès Guillemot
- Eco&Sols, Univ. Montpellier, CIRAD, INRAE, IRD, Institut AgroMontpellierFrance
| | | | - Guerric le Maire
- Eco&Sols, Univ. Montpellier, CIRAD, INRAE, IRD, Institut AgroMontpellierFrance
| | - Raphaël Pélissier
- AMAP, Univ. Montpellier, CIRAD, CNRS, INRAE, IRDMontpellierFrance
- Department of EcologyFrench Institute of PondicherryPuducherryIndia
| | - Nadja Rüger
- Department of EconomicsUniversity of LeipzigLeipzigGermany
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle‐Jena‐LeipzigLeipzigGermany
- Smithsonian Tropical Research InstituteBalboaPanama
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8
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Xu GQ, Kandlikar GS, Vaz MC. Evolutionary lability underlies drought adaptation of Australian shrubs along aridity gradients. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2022; 13:949531. [PMID: 36275606 PMCID: PMC9585297 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2022.949531] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2022] [Accepted: 09/14/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Leaf drought tolerance traits influence plant survival in water deficit conditions, and these traits are influenced by both the plant's evolutionary history and the environment in which the plant is currently growing. However, due to the substantial phenotypic plasticity in leaf traits, we still do not know to what degree variation in leaf traits is governed by species' phylogenetic history or by their environment. To explore this question, we re-examined a drought tolerance dataset from 37 native Australian shrub species with varying climate origins growing in a common garden located in Melbourne, Australia. We previously measured seven leaf morphophysiological traits, and here, we estimated how phylogenetically conserved these traits are. We quantified phylogeny and the strength of correlation between the morphological traits and physiological traits before and after accounting for shared phylogenetic history. We also evaluated the relationship between species' leaf traits and the climate of their native ranges. We present three main findings: (a) most leaf drought tolerance traits had weak phylogenetic signals, which is consistent with the convergent evolution of these traits. (b) There is weak but consistent coordination between distinct leaf drought tolerance traits, which can be masked due to species' phylogenetic histories. (c) Leaf drought tolerance traits show strong correlations with the climate of species' origins, and this relationship is only weakly impacted by phylogenetic signals. Therefore, the role of phylogeny on the coordination among leaf functional traits and their links to climate were limited. A better understanding of trait-environment relationships might be more pivotal than understanding the evolution of these traits for improving the predictions of species' response to climate change-type drought, especially for shrub species that span substantial aridity gradients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gui-Qing Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, China
| | - Gaurav S. Kandlikar
- Division of Biological Sciences and Division of Plant Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, United States
| | - Marcel C. Vaz
- Wilkes University, Institute for Environmental Science and Sustainability, Wilkes-Barre, PA, United States
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9
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Weemstra M, Roumet C, Cruz-Maldonado N, Anthelme F, Stokes A, Freschet GT. Environmental variation drives the decoupling of leaf and root traits within species along an elevation gradient. ANNALS OF BOTANY 2022; 130:419-430. [PMID: 35405006 PMCID: PMC9486920 DOI: 10.1093/aob/mcac052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2022] [Accepted: 04/06/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS Plant performance is enhanced by balancing above- and below-ground resource uptake through the intraspecific adjustment of leaf and root traits. It is assumed that these organ adjustments are at least partly coordinated, so that analogous leaf and root traits broadly covary. Understanding the extent of such intraspecific leaf-root trait covariation would strongly contribute to our understanding of how plants match above- and below-ground resource use strategies as their environment changes, but comprehensive studies are lacking. METHODS We measured analogous leaf and root traits from 11 species, as well as climate, soil and vegetation properties along a 1000-m elevation gradient in the French Alps. We determined how traits varied along the gradient, to what extent this variation was determined by the way different traits respond to environmental cues acting at different spatial scales (i.e. within and between elevations), and whether trait pairs covaried within species. KEY RESULTS Leaf and root trait patterns strongly diverged: across the 11 species along the gradient, intraspecific leaf trait patterns were largely consistent, whereas root trait patterns were highly idiosyncratic. We also observed that, when compared with leaves, intraspecific variation was greater in root traits, due to the strong effects of the local environment (i.e. at the same elevation), while landscape-level effects (i.e. at different elevations) were minor. Overall, intraspecific trait correlations between analogous leaf and root traits were nearly absent. CONCLUSIONS Our study suggests that environmental gradients at the landscape level, as well as local heterogeneity in soil properties, are the drivers of a strong decoupling between analogous leaf and root traits within species. This decoupling of plant resource acquisition strategies highlights how plants can exhibit diverse whole-plant acclimation strategies to modify above- and below-ground resource uptake, improving their resilience to environmental change.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - C Roumet
- CEFE, University of Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, Montpellier, France
| | - N Cruz-Maldonado
- AMAP, INRAE, CIRAD, IRD, CNRS, University of Montpellier, Montpellier, France
| | - F Anthelme
- AMAP, INRAE, CIRAD, IRD, CNRS, University of Montpellier, Montpellier, France
| | - A Stokes
- AMAP, INRAE, CIRAD, IRD, CNRS, University of Montpellier, Montpellier, France
| | - G T Freschet
- Station d’Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale, CNRS, 2 route du CNRS, 09200 Moulis, France
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10
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Pierick K, Link RM, Leuschner C, Homeier J. Elevational trends of tree fine root traits in species‐rich tropical Andean forests. OIKOS 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.08975] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Kerstin Pierick
- Plant Ecology and Ecosystems Research, Univ. of Goettingen Göttingen Germany
| | - Roman M. Link
- Ecophysiology and Vegetation Ecology, Julius‐von‐Sachs‐Inst. of Biological Sciences, Univ. of Würzburg Würzburg Germany
| | - Christoph Leuschner
- Plant Ecology and Ecosystems Research, Univ. of Goettingen Göttingen Germany
- Centre for Biodiversity and Sustainable Land Use, Univ. of Goettingen Göttingen Germany
| | - Jürgen Homeier
- Plant Ecology and Ecosystems Research, Univ. of Goettingen Göttingen Germany
- Centre for Biodiversity and Sustainable Land Use, Univ. of Goettingen Göttingen Germany
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11
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Sanaphre-Villanueva L, Pineda-García F, Dáttilo W, Pinzón-Pérez LF, Ricaño-Rocha A, Paz H. Above- and below-ground trait coordination in tree seedlings depend on the most limiting resource: a test comparing a wet and a dry tropical forest in Mexico. PeerJ 2022; 10:e13458. [PMID: 35722267 PMCID: PMC9205306 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.13458] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2021] [Accepted: 04/27/2022] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
The study of above- and below-ground organ plant coordination is crucial for understanding the biophysical constraints and trade-offs involved in species' performance under different environmental conditions. Environmental stress is expected to increase constraints on species trait combinations, resulting in stronger coordination among the organs involved in the acquisition and processing of the most limiting resource. To test this hypothesis, we compared the coordination of trait combinations in 94 tree seedling species from two tropical forest systems in Mexico: dry and moist. In general, we expected that the water limitation experienced by dry forest species would result in stronger leaf-stem-root coordination than light limitation experienced by moist forest species. Using multiple correlations analyses and tools derived from network theory, we found similar functional trait coordination between forests. However, the most important traits differed between the forest types. While in the dry forest the most central traits were all related to water storage (leaf and stem water content and root thickness), in the moist forest they were related to the capacity to store water in leaves (leaf water content), root efficiency to capture resources (specific root length), and stem toughness (wood density). Our findings indicate that there is a shift in the relative importance of mechanisms to face the most limiting resource in contrasting tropical forests.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucía Sanaphre-Villanueva
- Centro del Cambio Global y la Sustentabilidad A.C., Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología, Villahermosa, Tabasco, México,Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y Sustentabilidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Morelia, Michoacán, México
| | - Fernando Pineda-García
- Escuela Nacional de Estudios Superiores, Unidad Morelia, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Morelia, Michoacán, México
| | - Wesley Dáttilo
- Red de Ecoetología, Instituto de Ecología, A.C., Xalapa, Veracruz, México
| | - Luisa Fernanda Pinzón-Pérez
- Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y Sustentabilidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Morelia, Michoacán, México
| | - Arlett Ricaño-Rocha
- Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y Sustentabilidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Morelia, Michoacán, México
| | - Horacio Paz
- Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y Sustentabilidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Morelia, Michoacán, México,Laboratorio Nacional de Innovación Ecotecnológica para la Sustentabilidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Morelia, Michoacán, México,Center for Stable Isotope Biogeochemistry and the Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA, United States of America
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12
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Dallstream C, Weemstra M, Soper FM. A framework for fine‐root trait syndromes: syndrome coexistence may support phosphorus partitioning in tropical forests. OIKOS 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.08908] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Monique Weemstra
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Univ. of Michigan Ann Arbor MI USA
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13
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Monson RK, Trowbridge AM, Lindroth RL, Lerdau MT. Coordinated resource allocation to plant growth-defense tradeoffs. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2022; 233:1051-1066. [PMID: 34614214 DOI: 10.1111/nph.17773] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 31.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2021] [Accepted: 09/09/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Plant resource allocation patterns often reveal tradeoffs that favor growth (G) over defense (D), or vice versa. Ecologists most often explain G-D tradeoffs through principles of economic optimality, in which negative trait correlations are attributed to the reconciliation of fitness costs. Recently, researchers in molecular biology have developed 'big data' resources including multi-omic (e.g. transcriptomic, proteomic and metabolomic) studies that describe the cellular processes controlling gene expression in model species. In this synthesis, we bridge ecological theory with discoveries in multi-omics biology to better understand how selection has shaped the mechanisms of G-D tradeoffs. Multi-omic studies reveal strategically coordinated patterns in resource allocation that are enabled by phytohormone crosstalk and transcriptional signal cascades. Coordinated resource allocation justifies the framework of optimality theory, while providing mechanistic insight into the feedbacks and control hubs that calibrate G-D tradeoff commitments. We use the existing literature to describe the coordinated resource allocation hypothesis (CoRAH) that accounts for balanced cellular controls during the expression of G-D tradeoffs, while sustaining stored resource pools to buffer the impacts of future stresses. The integrative mechanisms of the CoRAH unify the supply- and demand-side perspectives of previous G-D tradeoff theories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Russell K Monson
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, 80309, USA
| | - Amy M Trowbridge
- Department of Entomology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, 53706, USA
| | - Richard L Lindroth
- Department of Entomology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, 53706, USA
| | - Manuel T Lerdau
- Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, 22904, USA
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14
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Fine Root Growth Increases in Response to Nitrogen Addition in Phosphorus-limited Northern Hardwood Forests. Ecosystems 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s10021-021-00735-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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