Global plant trait relationships extend to the climatic extremes of the tundra biome

The majority of variation in six traits critical to the growth, survival and reproduction of plant species is thought to be organised along just two dimensions, corresponding to strategies of plant size and resource acquisition. However, it is unknown whether global plant trait relationships extend to climatic extremes, and if these interspecific relationships are confounded by trait variation within species. We test whether trait relationships extend to the cold extremes of life on Earth using the largest database of tundra plant traits yet compiled. We show that tundra plants demonstrate remarkably similar resource economic traits, but not size traits, compared to global distributions, and exhibit the same two dimensions of trait variation. Three quarters of trait variation occurs among species, mirroring global estimates of interspecific trait variation. Plant trait relationships are thus generalizable to the edge of global trait-space, informing prediction of plant community change in a warming world.

Centennial-scale reductions in nitrogen availability in temperate forests of the United States

Forests cover 30% of the terrestrial Earth surface and are a major component of the global carbon (C) cycle. Humans have doubled the amount of global reactive nitrogen (N), increasing deposition of N onto forests worldwide. However, other global changes-especially climate change and elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations-are increasing demand for N, the element limiting primary productivity in temperate forests, which could be reducing N availability. To determine the long-term, integrated effects of global changes on forest N cycling, we measured stable N isotopes in wood, a proxy for N supply relative to demand, on large spatial and temporal scales across the continental U.S.A. Here, we show that forest N availability has generally declined across much of the U.S. since at least 1850 C.E. with cool, wet forests demonstrating the greatest declines. Across sites, recent trajectories of N availability were independent of recent atmospheric N deposition rates, implying a minor role for modern N deposition on the trajectory of N status of North American forests. Our results demonstrate that current trends of global changes are likely to be consistent with forest oligotrophication into the foreseeable future, further constraining forest C fixation and potentially storage.

Linking leaf and root trait syndromes among 39 grassland and savannah species

Here, we tested hypothesized relationships among leaf and fine root traits of grass, forb, legume, and woody plant species of a savannah community. CO2 exchange rates, structural traits, chemistry, and longevity were measured in tissues of 39 species grown in long-term monocultures. Across species, respiration rates of leaves and fine roots exhibited a common regression relationship with tissue nitrogen (N) concentration, although legumes had lower rates at comparable N concentrations. Respiration rates and N concentration declined with increasing longevity of leaves and roots. Species rankings of leaf and fine-root N and longevity were correlated, but not specific leaf area and specific root length. The C3 and C4 grasses had lower N concentrations than forbs and legumes, but higher photosynthesis rates across a similar range of leaf N. Despite contrasting photosynthetic pathways and N2-fixing ability among these species, concordance in above- and below-ground traits was evident in comparable rankings in leaf and root longevity, N and respiration rates, which is evidence of a common leaf and root trait syndrome linking traits to effects on plant and ecosystem processes.

Covariation in leaf and root traits for native and non-native grasses along an altitudinal gradient in New Zealand

Across 30 grassland sites in New Zealand that ranged from native alpine grasslands to low elevation improved pastures, there were consistent patterns of leaf and root traits and significant differences between native and non-native grasses. Plants of high altitude sites have low N concentrations in both their leaves and roots, have thick leaves and roots, yet no differences in tissue density or photosynthetic water use efficiency when compared to plants of low altitude sites. Both the leaves and roots of the low altitude plants were enriched in (15)N relative to the plants of higher altitude, indicating that the low-N set of traits is associated with a more closed N cycle at high altitude. A second independent set of correlations shows that plants of wetter habitats have lower photosynthetic water use efficiency (more negative partial differential (13)C) and lower leaf and root tissue density than the plants of drier sites. For both leaves and roots, plants of native species consistently had traits associated with lower resource availability: lower N concentrations, denser tissues, more negative partial differential (15)N, and more positive partial differential (13)C than non-native species. If root %N is correlated with root longevity as has been shown in other systems, root longevity may be able to be predicted from simple measurements of leaf %N, though a hysteresis in the relationship between leaf and root N concentrations may make prediction of high longevity roots difficult.