Relationship between leaf traits and fire-response strategies in shrub species of a mountainous region of south-eastern Australia

Background and Aims

Resprouting and seed recruitment are important ways in which plants respond to fire. However, the investments a plant makes into ensuring the success of post-fire resprouting or seedling recruitment can result in trade-offs that are manifested in a range of co-occurring morphological, life history and physiological traits. Relationships between fire-response strategies and other traits have been widely examined in fire-prone Mediterranean-type climates. In this paper, we aim to determine whether shrubs growing in a non-Mediterranean climate region exhibit relationships between their fire-response strategy and leaf traits.

Methods

Field surveys were used to classify species into fire-response types. We then compared specific leaf area, leaf dry-matter content, leaf width, leaf nitrogen and carbon to nitrogen ratios between (a) obligate seeders and all other resprouters, and (b) obligate seeders, facultative resprouters and obligate resprouters.

Key Results

Leaf traits only varied between fire-response types when we considered facultative resprouters as a separate group to obligate resprouters, as observed after a large landscape-scale fire. We found no differences between obligate seeders and obligate resprouters, nor between obligate seeders and resprouters considered as one group.

Conclusions

The results suggest that facultative resprouters may require a strategy of rapid resource acquisition and fast growth in order to compete with species that either resprout, or recruit from seed. However, the overall lack of difference between obligate seeders and obligate resprouters suggests that environmental factors are exerting similar effects on species'' ecological strategies, irrespective of the constraints and trade-offs that may be associated with obligate seeding and obligate resprouting. These results highlight the limits to trait co-occurrences across different ecosystems and the difficulty in identifying global-scale relationships amongst traits.     

Functional traits composition predict macrophytes community productivity along a water depth gradient in a freshwater lake

Functional trait composition of plant communities has been proposed as a helpful key for understanding the mechanisms of biodiversity effects on ecosystem functioning. In this study, we applied a step‐wise modeling procedure to test the relative effects of taxonomic diversity, functional identity, and functional diversity on macrophytes community productivity along water depth gradient. We sampled 42 plots and 1513 individual plants and measured 16 functional traits and abundance of 17 macrophyte species. Results showed that there was a significant decrease in taxonomic diversity, functional identity (i.e., stem dry mass content, leaf [C] and leaf [N]), and functional diversity (i.e., floating leaf, mean Julian flowering date and rooting depth) with increasing water depth. For the multiple‐trait functional diversity (FD) indices, functional richness decreased, while functional divergence increased with water depth gradient. Macrophyte community productivity was strongly determined by functional trait composition within community, but not significantly affected by taxonomic diversity. Community‐weighted means (CWM) showed a two times higher explanatory power relative to FD indices in determining variations in community productivity. For nine of sixteen traits, CWM and FD showed significant correlations with community productivity, although the strength and direction of those relations depended on selected trait. Furthermore, functional composition in a community affected productivity through either additive or opposite effects of CWM and FD, depending on the particular traits being considered. Our results suggested both mechanisms of mass ratio and niche complementarity can operate simultaneously on variations in community productivity, and considering both CWM and FD would lead to a more profound understanding of traits–productivity relationships.     

Breeding systems and phylogenetic diversity of seed plants along a large‐scale elevational gradient

Aim The factors affecting the distribution of dioecious species have received surprisingly little attention and, as a consequence, are poorly understood. For example, there is a well‐documented negative association between dioecy and latitude, for which we have no candidate mechanisms. Conversely, it has been suggested that the relative proportion of dioecious species should be positively correlated with changes in elevation. Location Costa Rica, Central America. Methods We made use of data on the distribution of 175 seed plant species from a series of plots along a transect in Costa Rica that ranged from 30 to 2600 m a.s.l. to test the prediction that dioecy is correlated with elevation. Specifically, we examined relationships between the proportion of dioecy, at the species and individual levels, and the elevation, species richness, number of individuals, and phylogenetic diversity (PD) of plots. For comparison, we repeated all analyses with monoecious species, which also have unisexual flowers but do not suffer from reduced mate assurance and the seed shadow effect that may be the outcomes of having spatially separated sexes. Results The relative proportions of dioecious species and individuals displayed a unimodal relationship with elevation, both peaking at 750 m a.s.l. In contrast, the relative proportions of monoecious species and individuals displayed negative associations with elevation. In addition, the proportion of dioecious species was significantly positively associated with species richness and with the PD of plots. The proportion of monoecious species was not associated with species richness and was weakly positively associated with the PD of plots. Main conclusions Our results suggest that the selection pressure of elevation on the pollinators and life‐history strategy of dioecious species is much less than expected, and is overshadowed by the as‐yet unexplained correlation of dioecy with species richness. Additional studies of the ecology of cosexual and unisexual (i.e. dioecious and monoecious) species along large environmental gradients are needed.     

Drivers of community turnover differ between avian hemoparasite genera along a North American latitudinal gradient

The latitudinal diversity gradient (LDG) is an established macroecological pattern, but is poorly studied in microbial organisms, particularly parasites. In this study, we tested whether latitude, elevation, and host species predicted patterns of prevalence, alpha diversity, and community turnover of hemosporidian parasites. We expected parasite diversity to decrease with latitude, alongside the diversity of their hosts and vectors. Similarly, we expected infection prevalence to decrease with latitude as vector abundances decrease. Lastly, we expected parasite community turnover to increase with latitudinal distance and to be higher between rather than within host species. We tested these hypotheses by screening blood and tissue samples of three closely related avian species in a clade of North American songbirds (Turdidae: Catharus, n = 466) across 17.5° of latitude. We used a nested PCR approach to identify parasites in hemosporidian genera that are transmitted by different dipteran vectors. Then, we implemented linear‐mixed effects and generalized dissimilarity models to evaluate the effects of latitude, elevation, and host species on parasite metrics. We found high diversity of hemosporidian parasites in Catharus thrushes (n = 44 lineages) but no evidence of latitudinal gradients in alpha diversity or prevalence. Parasites in the genus Leucocytozoon were most prevalent and lineage rich in this study system; however, there was limited turnover with latitude and host species. Contrastingly, Plasmodium parasites were less prevalent and diverse than Leucocytozoon parasites, yet communities turned over at a higher rate with latitude and host species. Leucocytozoon communities were skewed by the dominance of one or two highly prevalent lineages with broad latitudinal distributions. The few studies that evaluate the hemosporidian LDG do not find consistent patterns of prevalence and diversity, which makes it challenging to predict how they will respond to global climate change.     

Forest biomass,productivity and carbon cycling along a rainfall gradient in West Africa

Net Primary Productivity (NPP) is one of the most important parameters in describing the functioning of any ecosystem and yet it arguably remains a poorly quantified and understood component of carbon cycling in tropical forests, especially outside of the Americas. We provide the first comprehensive analysis of NPP and its carbon allocation to woody, canopy and root growth components at contrasting lowland West African forests spanning a rainfall gradient. Using a standardized methodology to study evergreen (EF), semi‐deciduous (SDF), dry forests (DF) and woody savanna (WS), we find that (i) climate is more closely related with above and belowground C stocks than with NPP (ii) total NPP is highest in the SDF site, then the EF followed by the DF and WS and that (iii) different forest types have distinct carbon allocation patterns whereby SDF allocate in excess of 50% to canopy production and the DF and WS sites allocate 40%–50% to woody production. Furthermore, we find that (iv) compared with canopy and root growth rates the woody growth rate of these forests is a poor proxy for their overall productivity and that (v) residence time is the primary driver in the productivity‐allocation‐turnover chain for the observed spatial differences in woody, leaf and root biomass across the rainfall gradient. Through a systematic assessment of forest productivity we demonstrate the importance of directly measuring the main components of above and belowground NPP and encourage the establishment of more permanent carbon intensive monitoring plots across the tropics.     

Solar radiation and functional traits explain the decline of forest primary productivity along a tropical elevation gradient

One of the major challenges in ecology is to understand how ecosystems respond to changes in environmental conditions, and how taxonomic and functional diversity mediate these changes. In this study, we use a trait‐spectra and individual‐based model, to analyse variation in forest primary productivity along a 3.3 km elevation gradient in the Amazon‐Andes. The model accurately predicted the magnitude and trends in forest productivity with elevation, with solar radiation and plant functional traits (leaf dry mass per area, leaf nitrogen and phosphorus concentration, and wood density) collectively accounting for productivity variation. Remarkably, explicit representation of temperature variation with elevation was not required to achieve accurate predictions of forest productivity, as trait variation driven by species turnover appears to capture the effect of temperature. Our semi‐mechanistic model suggests that spatial variation in traits can potentially be used to estimate spatial variation in productivity at the landscape scale.     

Response of plant species richness and primary productivity in shrublands along a north–south gradient in Europe to seven years of experimental warming and drought: reductions in primary productivity in the heat and drought year of 2003

We used a nonintrusive field experiment carried out at six sites – Wales (UK), Denmark (DK), the Netherlands (NL), Hungary (HU), Sardinia (Italy – IT), and Catalonia (Spain – SP) – along a climatic and latitudinal gradient to examine the response of plant species richness and primary productivity to warming and drought in shrubland ecosystems. The warming treatment raised the plot daily temperature by ca. 1 °C, while the drought treatment led to a reduction in soil moisture at the peak of the growing season that ranged from 26% at the SP site to 82% in the NL site. During the 7 years the experiment lasted (1999–2005), we used the pin‐point method to measure the species composition of plant communities and plant biomass, litterfall, and shoot growth of the dominant plant species at each site. A significantly lower increase in the number of species pin‐pointed per transect was found in the drought plots at the SP site, where the plant community was still in a process of recovering from a forest fire in 1994. No changes in species richness were found at the other sites, which were at a more mature and stable state of succession and, thus less liable to recruitment of new species. The relationship between annual biomass accumulation and temperature of the growing season was positive at the coldest site and negative at the warmest site. The warming treatment tended to increase the aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP) at the northern sites. The relationship between annual biomass accumulation and soil moisture during the growing season was not significant at the wettest sites, but was positive at the driest sites. The drought treatment tended to reduce the ANPP in the NL, HU, IT, and SP sites. The responses to warming were very strongly related to the Gaussen aridity index (stronger responses the lower the aridity), whereas the responses to drought were not. Changes in the annual aboveground biomass accumulation, litterfall, and, thus, the ANPP, mirrored the interannual variation in climate conditions: the most outstanding change was a decrease in biomass accumulation and an increase in litterfall at most sites during the abnormally hot year of 2003. Species richness also tended to decrease in 2003 at all sites except the cold and wet UK site. Species‐specific responses to warming were found in shoot growth: at the SP site, Globularia alypum was not affected, while the other dominant species, Erica multiflora, grew 30% more; at the UK site, Calluna vulgaris tended to grow more in the warming plots, while Empetrum nigrum tended to grow less. Drought treatment decreased plant growth in several studied species, although there were some species such as Pinus halepensis at the SP site or C. vulgaris at the UK site that were not affected. The magnitude of responses to warming and drought thus depended greatly on the differences between sites, years, and species and these multiple plant responses may be expected to have consequences at ecosystem and community level. Decreases in biodiversity and the increase in E. multiflora growth at the SP site as a response to warming challenge the assumption that sensitivity to warming may be less well developed at more southerly latitudes; likewise, the fact that one of the studied shrublands presented negative ANPP as a response to the 2003 heat wave also challenges the hypothesis that future climate warming will lead to an enhancement of plant growth and carbon sequestration in temperate ecosystems. Extreme events may thus change the general trend of increased productivity in response to warming in the colder sites.     

Differentiation in populations of Hordeum spontaneum along a gradient of environmental productivity and predictability: life history and local adaptation

Reciprocal introduction of seeds and seedlings of wild barley, Hordeum spontaneum , originating in four different environments of Israel was used to: (1) test for local adaptation, (2) make inferences about environmental effects on life‐history and reproductive traits, and (3) identify trait combinations with recognizable ‘strategies’. The four populations examined represented the following environments: (1) desert ? low productivity and predictability, drought stress; (2) semi‐steppe batha ? moderate productivity and predictability; (3) grassland ? high productivity and predictability; and (4) mountain ? high productivity and predictability but with severe frost stress. Significant genotype‐by‐environment interactions were observed for yield and reproductive biomass, seedling biomass and percentage germinated and survived seeds, suggesting local ecotype adaptation. Increasing productivity and predictability of environment in respect to rainfall, without concomitant frost stress, was found to select for high reproductive biomass and large seeds, a high fraction of germinating seeds and high vigour of seedlings. The optimal strategy changes with increasing productivity and predictability and involves a trade‐off between seed size and number, with reduced yield but increased seed mass, consistent with competition selection (or K‐selection sensu MacArthur & Wilson (1967 )) type. No specific life‐history adaptations to predictable frost stress were detected for the mountain ecotype, but there was higher survival of seedlings in their indigenous (mountain) environment compared with other ecotypes. The latter appears to be a physiological adaptation to frost, which is consistent with selection for stress tolerance (or S‐selection sensu Grime (1977 )) type. The other stress factor, drought, which is very unpredictable in deserts, was associated with high seed dormancy, small seed size and low vigour of seedlings, but relatively high yield, which is consistent with a stress‐escape bet‐hedging strategy. © 2002 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society , 2002, 77 , 479–490.     

Shifts in fine root traits within and among species along a fine-scale hydrological gradient

Background and AimsLessons from above-ground trait ecology and resource economics theory may not be directly translatable to below-ground traits due to differences in function, trade-offs and environmental constraints. Here we examine root functional traits within and across species along a fine-scale hydrological gradient. We ask two related questions: (1) What is the relative magnitude of trait variation across the gradient for within- versus among-species variation? (2) Do correlations among below-ground plant traits conform with predictions from resource-economic spectrum theory?MethodsWe sampled four below-ground fine-root traits (specific root length, branching intensity, root tissue density and root dry matter content) and four above-ground traits (specific leaf area, leaf size, plant height and leaf dry matter content) in vascular plants along a fine-scale hydrological gradient within a wet heathland community in south-eastern Australia. Below-ground and above-ground traits were sampled both within and among species.Key ResultsRoot traits shifted both within and among species across the hydrological gradient. Within- and among-species patterns for root tissue density showed similar declines towards the wetter end of the gradient. Other root traits showed a variety of patterns with respect to within- and among-species variation. Filtering of species has a stronger effect compared with the average within-species shift: the slopes of the relationships between soil moisture and traits were steeper across species than slopes of within species. Between species, below-ground traits were only weakly linked to each other and to above-ground traits, but these weak links did in some cases correspond with predictions from economic theory.ConclusionsOne of the challenges of research on root traits has been considerable intraspecific variation. Here we show that part of intraspecific root trait variation is structured by a fine-scale hydrological gradient, and that the variation aligns with among-species trends in some cases. Patterns in root tissue density are especially intriguing and may play an important role in species and individual response to moisture conditions. Given the importance of roots in the uptake of resources, and in carbon and nutrient turnover, it is vital that we establish patterns of root trait variation across environmental gradients.     

Patterns of species turnover in plant‐pollinator communities along a precipitation gradient in Patagonia (Argentina)

Recent studies have assessed the influence of different types of gradients (e.g. altitudinal, latitudinal and temporal, among others) on the structure and function of community‐level plant‐pollinator webs. Although the importance of humidity as a major driver of species‐richness gradients worldwide has been stressed by recent reviews, no studies have been specifically designed to address the influence of precipitation gradients on pollination webs. In the present paper we describe for the first time the turnover of species of plants and their associated flower visitors between eight communities located along a steep precipitation gradient in north‐west Patagonia, Argentina. Our results show that: (i) there is a high spatial turnover of plant communities and their associated pollinators; (ii) this turnover is strongly related to precipitation changes across the region; and (iii) the turnover rate is similar for plants and pollinators. Our results support the view that the precipitation gradient is a significant factor associated with the regional turnover of plants and their pollinators in the temperate forests of southern South America.     

Patterns in leaf traits of leguminous and non-leguminous dominant trees along a rainfall gradient in Ghana

Aims Both dominance distribution of species and the composition of the dominant species determine the distribution of traits within community. Leaf carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) isotopic composition are important leaf traits, and such traits of dominant species are associated with ecosystem C, water and N cycling. Very little is known how dominant species with distinct traits (e.g. N-fixing leguminous and non-leguminous trees) mediate resource utilization of the ecosystems in stressful environment.Methods Leaves of 81 dominant leguminous and non-leguminous trees were collected in forest (moist semi-deciduous and dry semi-deciduous ecosystems) and savanna (costal savanna, Guinean savanna and west Sudanian savanna ecosystems) areas and the transitional zone (between the forest and the savanna) along the transect from the south to the north of Ghana. We measured leaf traits, i.e. leaf δ 13 C, leaf δ 15 N, leaf water content, leaf mass per area (LMA) and C and N concentration. Correlation analyses were used to examine trait–trait relationships, and relationships of leaf traits with temperature and precipitation. We used analysis of covariance to test the differences in slopes of the linear regressions between legumes and non-legumes.Important findings Leaf δ 13 C, δ 15 N, leaf water content and LMA did not differ between leguminous and non-leguminous trees. Leaf N concentration and C:N ratio differed between the two groups. Moreover, leaf traits varied significantly among the six ecosystems. δ 13 C values were negatively correlated with annual precipitation and positively correlated with mean annual temperature. In contrast, leaf δ 15 N of non-leguminous trees were positively correlated with annual precipitation and negatively correlated with mean annual temperature. For leguminous trees, such correlations were not significant. We also found significant coordination between leaf traits. However, the slopes of the linear relationships were significantly different between leguminous and non-leguminous trees. Our results indicate that shifts in dominant trees with distinct water-use efficiency were corresponded to the rainfall gradient. Moreover, leguminous trees, those characterized with relative high water-use efficiency in the low rainfall ecosystems, were also corresponded to the relative high N use efficiency. The high proportion of leguminous trees in the savannas is crucial to mitigate nutrient stress.     

Constraints on colonization and species richness along a grassland productivity gradient: the role of propagule availability

An important goal in ecology is to discern under what habitat conditions community structure is primarily regulated by local ecological interactions and under what conditions community structure is more regulated by the pool of available colonists. I conducted a seed addition experiment in successional grassland to evaluate the relative significance of neighbourhood biotic interactions and propagule availability in regulating plant colonization and species richness along a natural gradient of grassland productivity. In undisturbed field plots, seed additions of 34 species led to an increase in species richness in locations of low productivity, an effect that declined in magnitude as productivity increased. In disturbed plots, seed additions led to a relatively constant increase in species richness at all levels of productivity. The results support the hypothesis that the role of propagule availability in regulating colonization dynamics and species richness declines in significance relative to local-scale competitive interactions as habitat productivity increases.     

地理来源与生物化学属性对泥炭地植物残体分解的影响

不同地理来源的泥炭地植物残体在同一环境中的分解速率一直缺乏比较研究。该研究沿纬度梯度, 选择大九湖、哈泥和满归3处泥炭地, 以三地的10种植物为分解材料, 使用分解袋包装, 埋藏于长白山哈泥泥炭地, 开展为期1年的分解实验, 研究地理来源及生物化学属性对泥炭地植物残体分解的影响。结果表明, 如不考虑物种差异, 从总体上看, 随着纬度增加, 3处泥炭地植物残体的初始氮(N)含量下降, 初始木质素含量、碳氮比(C/N)和木质素/N上升。经一年分解后残体分解速率因植物类群不同而不同, 桦木属(Betula)和薹草属(Carex)植物残体的干质量损失率均接近50%, 远大于泥炭藓属(Sphagnum)植物(约为10%)。3处来源地植物残体干质量损失率总体上无差异, 但比较同种植物残体发现, 来自中纬度泥炭地哈泥的中位泥炭藓(S. magellanicum)的干质量损失率(19%)远高于来自高纬度泥炭地满归的(9%)。制约残体分解的因素因植物类群不同而不同, 残体初始总酚/N是决定属间残体干质量损失率差异的重要指标。薹草属植物初始N含量和C/N与残体分解速率、泥炭藓属植物初始Klason木质素含量和总酚/N与残体分解速率均呈正相关关系。该研究一定程度上表明, 若以纬度降低指代气候变暖, 当前持续的气候变暖可能通过改变高纬度泥炭地的植物组成和植物的生物化学属性, 来改变植物残体分解速率, 进而影响泥炭地的碳汇功能。     

Variation in urine concentrating ability and water balance of the Black-tailed Tree Rat Thallomys nigricauda, along an aridity gradient

Mechanisms behind variation in physiological traits may assist in explaining how certain traits have evolved. The ability of mammals to concentrate urine has been seen as an adaptation to xeric environments. Urine osmolality and relative medullary thickness (RMT) are two indices which indicate urine concentrating powers. In addition, mammals living in xeric regions have lower water turnover rates (WTR) than their mesic counterparts. The RMT, urine concentrating ability (UCA) and WTR of the Black-tailed Tree Rat, Thallomys nigricauda, were investigated at three study sites along an aridity gradient. We investigated the extent to which these traits are influenced by evolutionary adaptation and/or phenotypic flexibility. There was no significant difference in RMT between sites and no difference in osmolalities when site and season were taken into account. In addition, there was no significant effect of site and season on WTR. This suggests that these traits might have a genetic basis, and reflect an evolutionary adaptation. Lack of differences in the renal traits in T. nigricauda across their range may be interpreted as lack of phenotypic flexibility. However, as a consequence of the degree of individual variation in the parameters measured there appears to be phenotypic flexibility with individuals responding to their specific conditions. This has positive implications for the survival of the species in the light of climate change.     

Testing intraguild predation theory in a field system: does numerical dominance shift along a gradient of productivity?

Although ecological theory exists to predict dynamics in communities with intraguild predation (IGP), few empirical tests have examined this theory. IGP theory, in particular, predicts that when two competitors interact via IGP, with increasing resource productivity: (1) the IG predator will increase in abundance as the IG prey declines, and (2) increasing dominance of the IG predator will cause resource density to increase. Here, we provide a first test of these predictions in a field community consisting of a scale insect and its two specialist parasitoids, Aphytis melinus (the IG predator) and Encarsia perniciosi (the IG prey). The shared resource, California red scale, is a pest of citrus, and its productivity varies across a threefold range among citrus cultivars. We examined both absolute and relative densities of parasitoids along this natural gradient of scale productivity in three citrus cultivars (orange, grapefruit and lemon). Although both parasitoid species were found in all three cultivars, their abundances reflected those predicted by IGP theory: the IG prey species dominated at low productivity and the IG predator dominated at high productivity. This relationship was caused by an increase in Aphytis density with productivity. In addition, the density of scale increased with the dominance of the IG predator. These results from a field system demonstrate the important dynamic outcomes for food webs with IGP.