Plant functional trait response to environmental drivers across European temperate forest understorey communities
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Plant functional trait response to environmental drivers across European temperate forest understorey communities. / Maes, S. L.; Perring, M. P.; Depauw, L. et al.
In: Plant Biology, Vol. 22, No. 3, 01.05.2020, p. 410-424.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Plant functional trait response to environmental drivers across European temperate forest understorey communities
AU - Maes, S. L.
AU - Perring, M. P.
AU - Depauw, L.
AU - Bernhardt-Römermann, M.
AU - Blondeel, H.
AU - Brūmelis, G.
AU - Brunet, J.
AU - Decocq, G.
AU - den Ouden, J.
AU - Govaert, S.
AU - Härdtle, Werner
AU - Hédl, R.
AU - Heinken, T.
AU - Heinrichs, S.
AU - Hertzog, L.
AU - Jaroszewicz, B.
AU - Kirby, K.
AU - Kopecký, M.
AU - Landuyt, D.
AU - Máliš, F.
AU - Vanneste, T.
AU - Wulf, Monika
AU - Verheyen, K.
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2019 German Society for Plant Sciences and The Royal Botanical Society of the Netherlands
PY - 2020/5/1
Y1 - 2020/5/1
N2 - Functional traits respond to environmental drivers, hence evaluating trait-environment relationships across spatial environmental gradients can help to understand how multiple drivers influence plant communities. Global-change drivers such as changes in atmospheric nitrogen deposition occur worldwide, but affect community trait distributions at the local scale, where resources (e.g. light availability) and conditions (e.g. soil pH) also influence plant communities. We investigate how multiple environmental drivers affect community trait responses related to resource acquisition (plant height, specific leaf area (SLA), woodiness, and mycorrhizal status) and regeneration (seed mass, lateral spread) of European temperate deciduous forest understoreys. We sampled understorey communities and derived trait responses across spatial gradients of global-change drivers (temperature, precipitation, nitrogen deposition, and past land use), while integrating in-situ plot measurements on resources and conditions (soil type, Olsen phosphorus (P), Ellenberg soil moisture, light, litter mass, and litter quality). Among the global-change drivers, mean annual temperature strongly influenced traits related to resource acquisition. Higher temperatures were associated with taller understoreys producing leaves with lower SLA, and a higher proportional cover of woody and obligate mycorrhizal (OM) species. Communities in plots with higher Ellenberg soil moisture content had smaller seeds and lower proportional cover of woody and OM species. Finally, plots with thicker litter layers hosted taller understoreys with larger seeds and a higher proportional cover of OM species. Our findings suggest potential community shifts in temperate forest understoreys with global warming, and highlight the importance of local resources and conditions as well as global-change drivers for community trait variation.
AB - Functional traits respond to environmental drivers, hence evaluating trait-environment relationships across spatial environmental gradients can help to understand how multiple drivers influence plant communities. Global-change drivers such as changes in atmospheric nitrogen deposition occur worldwide, but affect community trait distributions at the local scale, where resources (e.g. light availability) and conditions (e.g. soil pH) also influence plant communities. We investigate how multiple environmental drivers affect community trait responses related to resource acquisition (plant height, specific leaf area (SLA), woodiness, and mycorrhizal status) and regeneration (seed mass, lateral spread) of European temperate deciduous forest understoreys. We sampled understorey communities and derived trait responses across spatial gradients of global-change drivers (temperature, precipitation, nitrogen deposition, and past land use), while integrating in-situ plot measurements on resources and conditions (soil type, Olsen phosphorus (P), Ellenberg soil moisture, light, litter mass, and litter quality). Among the global-change drivers, mean annual temperature strongly influenced traits related to resource acquisition. Higher temperatures were associated with taller understoreys producing leaves with lower SLA, and a higher proportional cover of woody and obligate mycorrhizal (OM) species. Communities in plots with higher Ellenberg soil moisture content had smaller seeds and lower proportional cover of woody and OM species. Finally, plots with thicker litter layers hosted taller understoreys with larger seeds and a higher proportional cover of OM species. Our findings suggest potential community shifts in temperate forest understoreys with global warming, and highlight the importance of local resources and conditions as well as global-change drivers for community trait variation.
KW - Global environmental change
KW - ground vegetation
KW - herbaceous layer
KW - plant–soil relations
KW - regeneration
KW - resource acquisition
KW - Ecosystems Research
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85077859232&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/plb.13082
DO - 10.1111/plb.13082
M3 - Journal articles
C2 - 31840363
AN - SCOPUS:85077859232
VL - 22
SP - 410
EP - 424
JO - Plant Biology
JF - Plant Biology
SN - 1435-8603
IS - 3
ER -