Dataset Information

Climatic and soil factors explain the two-dimensional spectrum of global plant trait variation.

ABSTRACT: Plant functional traits can predict community assembly and ecosystem functioning and are thus widely used in global models of vegetation dynamics and land-climate feedbacks. Still, we lack a global understanding of how land and climate affect plant traits. A previous global analysis of six traits observed two main axes of variation: (1) size variation at the organ and plant level and (2) leaf economics balancing leaf persistence against plant growth potential. The orthogonality of these two axes suggests they are differently influenced by environmental drivers. We find that these axes persist in a global dataset of 17 traits across more than 20,000 species. We find a dominant joint effect of climate and soil on trait variation. Additional independent climate effects are also observed across most traits, whereas independent soil effects are almost exclusively observed for economics traits. Variation in size traits correlates well with a latitudinal gradient related to water or energy limitation. In contrast, variation in economics traits is better explained by interactions of climate with soil fertility. These findings have the potential to improve our understanding of biodiversity patterns and our predictions of climate change impacts on biogeochemical cycles.

SUBMITTER: Joswig JS

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8752441 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Climatic and soil factors explain the two-dimensional spectrum of global plant trait variation.

Joswig Julia S JS Wirth Christian C Schuman Meredith C MC Kattge Jens J Reu Björn B Wright Ian J IJ Sippel Sebastian D SD Rüger Nadja N Richter Ronny R Schaepman Michael E ME van Bodegom Peter M PM Cornelissen J H C JHC Díaz Sandra S Hattingh Wesley N WN Kramer Koen K Lens Frederic F Niinemets Ülo Ü Reich Peter B PB Reichstein Markus M Römermann Christine C Schrodt Franziska F Anand Madhur M Bahn Michael M Byun Chaeho C Campetella Giandiego G Cerabolini Bruno E L BEL Craine Joseph M JM Gonzalez-Melo Andres A Gutiérrez Alvaro G AG He Tianhua T Higuchi Pedro P Jactel Hervé H Kraft Nathan J B NJB Minden Vanessa V Onipchenko Vladimir V Peñuelas Josep J Pillar Valério D VD Sosinski Ênio Ê Soudzilovskaia Nadejda A NA Weiher Evan E Mahecha Miguel D MD

Nature ecology & evolution 20211223 1

Plant functional traits can predict community assembly and ecosystem functioning and are thus widely used in global models of vegetation dynamics and land-climate feedbacks. Still, we lack a global understanding of how land and climate affect plant traits. A previous global analysis of six traits observed two main axes of variation: (1) size variation at the organ and plant level and (2) leaf economics balancing leaf persistence against plant growth potential. The orthogonality of these two axes ...[more]

PMID: 34949824

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Project description:The worldwide plant economic spectrum hypothesis predicts that leaf, stem, and root traits are correlated across vascular plant species because carbon gain depends on leaves being adequately supplied with water and nutrients, and because construction of each organ involves a trade-off between performance and persistence. Despite its logical and intuitive appeal, this hypothesis has received mixed empirical support. If traits within species diverge in their responses to an environmental gradient, then interspecific trait correlations could be weakened when measured in natural ecosystems. To test this prediction, we measured relative growth rates (RGR) and seven functional traits that have been shown to be related to fluxes of water, nutrients, and carbon across 56 functionally diverse tree species on (1) juveniles in a controlled environment, (2) juveniles in forest understories, and (3) mature trees in forests. Leaf, stem, and fine root traits of juveniles grown in a controlled environment were closely correlated with each other, and with RGR. Remarkably, the seven leaf, stem, and fine root tissue traits spanned a single dimension of variation when measured in the controlled environment. Forest-grown juveniles expressed lower leaf mass per area, but higher wood and fine root tissue density, than greenhouse-grown juveniles. Traits and growth rates were decoupled in forest-grown juveniles and mature trees. Our results indicate that constraints exist on the covariation, not just the variation, among vegetative plant organs; however, divergent responses of traits within species to environmental gradients can mask interspecific trait correlations in natural environments. Correlations among organs and relationships between traits and RGR were strong when plants were compared in a standardized environment. Our results may reconcile the discrepancies seen among studies, by showing that if traits and growth rates of species are compared across varied environments, then the interorgan trait correlations observed in controlled conditions can weaken or disappear.

Dataset Information

Climatic and soil factors explain the two-dimensional spectrum of global plant trait variation.

Publications

Climatic and soil factors explain the two-dimensional spectrum of global plant trait variation.

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