Drivers of intraspecific trait variation of grass and forb species in German meadows and pastures

Publikation: Beiträge in ZeitschriftenZeitschriftenaufsätzeForschungbegutachtet

Authors

  • Katharina Herz
  • Sophie Dietz
  • Sylvia Haider
  • Ute Jandt
  • Dierk Scheel
  • Helge Bruelheide
Questions:
To what extent is trait variation in grasses and forbs driven by land-use intensity, climate, soil conditions and plant diversity of the local neighbourhood? Do grass and forb species differ in the degree of intraspecific trait variation?

Location:
Managed grasslands in three regions of Germany.

Methods:
Using a phytometer approach, we raised 20 common European grassland species (ten forbs and ten grasses) and planted them into 54 plots of different land-use types (pasture, meadow, mown pasture). After 1 yr in the field, we measured above- and below-ground plant functional traits. Linear mixed effects models (LMEM) were used to identify the most powerful predictors for every trait. Variation partitioning was applied to assess the amount of inter- and intraspecific trait variation in grasses and forbs explained by environmental conditions (land-use intensity, climate and soil conditions) and plant species diversity of the local neighbourhood.

Results:
For 12 out of the 14 traits studied, either land-use intensity or local neighbourhood diversity were predictors in the best LMEM. Land-use intensity had considerably stronger effects than neighbourhood diversity. Root dry matter content and root phosphorus concentration of forbs were more affected by land-use intensity than those of grasses. For almost all traits, intraspecific trait variation of grasses was much higher than that of forbs, while traits of forbs varied more among species. Overall, inter- and intraspecific variation was of the same magnitude.

Conclusion:
The similar magnitude of intra- and interspecific trait variation suggests that both sources should be considered in grassland studies at a scale similar to that of our study. The high amount of intraspecific trait variation that was explained by environmental factors and local neighbourhood diversity clearly demonstrates the high potential of species to adjust to local conditions, which would be ignored when only considering species mean trait values.
OriginalspracheEnglisch
ZeitschriftJournal of Vegetation Science
Jahrgang28
Ausgabenummer4
Seiten (von - bis)705-716
Anzahl der Seiten12
ISSN1100-9233
DOIs
PublikationsstatusErschienen - 01.07.2017
Extern publiziertJa

Bibliographische Notiz

Funding Information:
We thank the managers of the three Exploratories, Kirsten Reichel-Jung, Katrin Lorenzen, Martin Gorke and all former managers for their work in maintaining the plot and project infrastructure; Christiane Fischer for giving support through the central office, Michael Owonibi for managing the central database, and Markus Fischer, Eduard Linsenmair, Dominik Hessenmöller, Jens Nieschulze, Daniel Prati, Ingo Schöning, François Buscot, Ernst-Detlef Schulze, Wolfgang W. Weisser and the late Elisabeth Kalko for their role in setting up the Biodiversity Exploratories project. We also thank Eva Breitschwerdt for collecting the seeds and her advice in selecting the plots. We thank all helpers who participated in the field work and preparation of the phytometers: Ina Reichelt, Anja Zeuner, Maria Sporbert, Sebastian Palm, Tobias Proß, Isa Plath, Mathias Meyer, Franziska Patzold, Eva Breitschwerdt, Mathias Baudis, Carolin Graichen, Robert Reuter, Claudia Breitkreuz, Ricardo Schöps, José Mário Ferreira Ramos, Selma Gomes Vieira, Cedric Hahn, Miriam Kempe, Ines Radtke, Beatrix Schnabel, Tim Richter, Ines Hesse and Julia Dieskau. Further we would like to thank Ingo Schöning, Yvonne Oelmann and Elisabeth Sorkau for providing data on soil conditions. The work has been funded by the DFG Priority Program 1374 “Infrastructure-Biodiversity-Exploratories” (Project BE LOW, BR 1698/11-3). Fieldwork permits were issued by the responsible state environmental offices of Baden-Württemberg, Thüringen and Brandenburg (according to §72 BbgNatSchG). We are particularly grateful to Sandor Bartha, Vincent Maire and further anonymous referees for their competent comments on a previous version of our manuscript.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 International Association for Vegetation Science

DOI

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