Intraspecific trait variability shapes leaf trait response to altered fire regimes.

ABSTRACT:

Background and aims

Understanding impacts of altered disturbance regimes on community structure and function is a key goal for community ecology. Functional traits link species composition to ecosystem functioning. Changes in the distribution of functional traits at community scales in response to disturbance can be driven not only by shifts in species composition, but also by shifts in intraspecific trait values. Understanding the relative importance of these two processes has important implications for predicting community responses to altered disturbance regimes.

Methods

We experimentally manipulated fire return intervals in replicated blocks of a fire-adapted, longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) ecosystem in North Carolina, USA and measured specific leaf area (SLA), leaf dry

SUBMITTER: Mitchell RM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7988511 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature