内蒙古锡林河流域典型草原植物叶片与细根性状在种间及种内水平上的关联

植物的叶片与细根分别作为植物体地上和地下部分重要的营养器官, 很多功能性状在二者之间存在着一定的关联性。研究这种关联有助于理解植物各性状之间的相互作用、植物生长过程中对资源的利用和分配, 以及建立细根性状的估算模型。该研究对内蒙古锡林河流域65种植物叶片与细根的氮(N)含量、磷(P)含量、N:P以及比叶面积(SLA)和比根长(SRL)进行了比较研究, 结果表明: 在种间尺度上, 叶片与细根间的N、P和N:P存在显著的相关性, 而SLA与SRL之间相关性较弱; 在种内尺度上, 叶片和细根的N、P及SLA与SRL, 在不同的物种中呈现出不同的趋势。此外, 叶片与细根性状的关联, 在不同的植物功能群之间存在差异。例如, 双子叶植物叶片与细根间的N含量显著相关, P含量不相关; 而单子叶植物二者之间的P含量显著相关, N含量无关联。该研究的主要结论是, 在相对一致的生境中, 植物叶片与细根性状的关联主要发生在不同物种之间, 在种内尺度上这种关联不明显, 这可能与植物功能性状在种内存在较小的变异幅度有关。     

桂林岩溶石山灌丛植物叶功能性状和土壤因子对坡向的响应

植物功能性状反映了植物对生长环境的响应和适应,是连接植物与环境的桥梁,研究植物功能性状特征及其随坡向梯度的变化规律,对认识不同微气候生境下植物群落空间格局形成及适应机制具有重要意义。以桂林岩溶石山灌丛植物为研究对象,分析了灌木群落水平上植物叶功能性状与环境因子关系随阴坡-阳坡梯度的变化规律。结果表明:比叶面积为阴坡大于阳坡,叶干物质含量和叶片厚度为阳坡大于阴坡;土壤含水量、有机质含量、总有机碳含量和有效氮含量为阴坡大于阳坡,土壤温度和土壤全氮含量为阳坡大于阴坡;多元逐步回归分析表明,影响群落水平植物叶功能性状的主要环境因子随阴坡-阳坡梯度而发生显著的变化。在阴坡上,对比叶面积影响显著的是土壤有效氮含量,对叶干物质含量影响显著的是土壤温度和土壤总有机碳含量。而在阳坡上,对比叶面积影响显著的环境因子是土壤含水量和土壤pH值,对叶干物质含量影响显著的环境因子是土壤全氮含量,对叶片厚度影响显著的环境因子是土壤温度、土壤全氮含量和土壤全磷含量。同一叶功能性状在阴坡-阳坡梯度上受到不同环境因子的控制,同时各叶功能性状又能够对阴坡-阳坡所处特殊生境产生一定的适应性。     

Scaling‐up from leaf to canopy‐aggregate properties in sclerophyll shrub species

Abstract: Plant species vary widely in their average leaf lifespan (LL) and specific leaf area (SLA, leaf area per dry mass). The negative LL–SLA relationship commonly seen among species represents an important evolutionary trade‐off, with higher SLA indicating greater potential for fast growth (higher rate of return on a given investment), but longer LL indicating a longer duration of the revenue stream from that investment. We investigated how these leaf‐economic traits related to aggregate properties of the plant crown. Across 14 Australian sclerophyll shrub species, those with long LL accumulated more leaf mass and leaf area per unit ground area. Light attenuation through their canopies was more severe. Leaf accumulation and light attenuation were more weakly related to SLA than to LL. The greater accumulation of foliage in species with longer LL and lower SLA may counterbalance their generally lower photosynthetic rates and light‐capture areas per gram of leaf.     

Plant size,environmental factors and functional traits jointly shape the stem radius growth rate in an evergreen coniferous species across ontogenetic stages

植物个体大小、环境和功能性状共同决定了常绿针叶植物个体发育阶段的径向生长率 植株个体大小、环境及功能性状对于树木生长至关重要,然而在树木个体发育过程中其对树木生长的调控机制尚不清晰。本研究以中国东北常绿针叶树种红松(Pinus koraiensis)为研究对象,选择65株胸高直径(DBH)范围为0.3–100 cm的样树,测定当年的径向生长量、环境因素(光照、土壤养分和土壤水分)以及功能性状(叶、枝和根性状)。研究结果表明,径向生长率随DBH 变化呈单峰模式,DBH为58 cm时达到峰值。结构方程模型的分析表明,当DBH < 15 cm时,植株个体大小对径向生长存在直接的负影响,但通过增加光强而间接地促进其生长;当DBH为16–58 cm和59–100 cm时,植株大小对树木径向生长分别存在直接的正影响和负影响;当DBH < 15 cm时,光照对径向生长的影响大于土壤因素,而当DBH > 15 cm时,呈相反趋势;预测树木生长的最优性状随植株个体的增大依次由比叶面积转变为木质密度及细根氮含量。因此,植株个体大小、环境和功能性状共同驱动树木的径向生长,其相对影响随树木生长而变化,且树木径向生长的限制因素随树木生长由光照转变为土壤养分。     

Survival rates indicate that correlations between community‐weighted mean traits and environments can be unreliable estimates of the adaptive value of traits

Correlations between community‐weighted mean (CWM) traits and environmental gradients are often assumed to quantify the adaptive value of traits. We tested this assumption by comparing these correlations with models of survival probability using 46 perennial species from long‐term permanent plots in pine forests of Arizona. Survival was modelled as a function of trait × environment interactions, plant size, climatic variation and neighbourhood competition. The effect of traits on survival depended on the environmental conditions, but the two statistical approaches were inconsistent. For example, CWM‐specific leaf area (SLA) and soil fertility were uncorrelated. However, survival was highest for species with low SLA in infertile soil, a result which agreed with expectations derived from the physiological trade‐off underpinning leaf economic theory. CWM trait–environment relationships were unreliable estimates of how traits affected survival, and should only be used in predictive models when there is empirical support for an evolutionary trade‐off that affects vital rates.     

Large‐sized rare tree species contribute disproportionately to functional diversity in resource acquisition in African tropical forest

Increasing evidence is available for a positive effect of biodiversity on ecosystem productivity and standing biomass, also in highly diverse systems as tropical forests. Biodiversity conservation could therefore be a critical aspect of climate mitigation policies. There is, however, limited understanding of the role of individual species for this relationship, which could aid in focusing conservation efforts and forest management planning. This study characterizes the functional specialization and redundancy for 95% of all tree species (basal area weighted percentage) in a diverse tropical forest in the central Congo Basin and relates this to species' abundance, contribution to aboveground carbon, and maximum size. Functional characterization is based on a set of traits related to resource acquisition (wood density, specific leaf area, leaf carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus content, and leaf stable carbon isotope composition). We show that within both mixed and monodominant tropical forest ecosystems, the highest functional specialization and lowest functional redundancy are solely found in rare tree species and significantly more in rare species holding large‐sized individuals. Rare species cover the entire range of low and high functional redundancy, contributing both unique and redundant functions. Loss of species supporting functional redundancy could be buffered by other species in the community, including more abundant species. This is not the case for species supporting high functional specialization and low functional redundancy, which would need specific conservation attention. In terms of tropical forest management planning, we argue that specific conservation of large‐sized trees is imperative for long‐term maintenance of ecosystem functioning.     

Relationships between functional traits and inorganic nitrogen acquisition among eight contrasting European grass species

Backgrounds and Aims Leaf functional traits have been used as a basis to categoize plants across a range of resource-use specialization, from those that conserve available resources to those that exploit them. However, the extent to which the leaf functional traits used to define the resource-use strategies are related to root traits and are good indicators of the ability of the roots to take up nitrogen (N) are poorly known. This is an important question because interspecific differences in N uptake have been proposed as one mechanism by which species’ coexistence may be determined. This study therefore investigated the relationships between functional traits and N uptake ability for grass species across a range of conservative to exploitative resource-use strategies.Methods Root uptake of NH4+ and NO3–, and leaf and root functional traits were measured for eight grass species sampled at three grassland sites across Europe, in France, Austria and the UK. Species were grown in hydroponics to determine functional traits and kinetic uptake parameters (I_max and K_m) under standardized conditions.Key Results Species with high specific leaf area (SLA) and shoot N content, and low leaf and root dry matter content (LDMC and RDMC, respectively), which are traits associated with the exploitative syndrome, had higher uptake and affinity for both N forms. No trade-off was observed in uptake between the two forms of N, and all species expressed a higher preference for NH4+.Conclusions The results support the use of leaf traits, and especially SLA and LDMC, as indicators of the N uptake ability across a broad range of grass species. The difficulties associated with assessing root properties are also highlighted, as root traits were only weakly correlated with leaf traits, and only RDMC and, to a lesser extent, root N content were related to leaf traits.     

Size‐dependent and environment‐mediated shifts in leaf traits of a deciduous tree species in a subtropical forest

AimsUnderstanding the joint effects of plant development and environment on shifts of intraspecific leaf traits will advance the understandings of the causes of intraspecific trait variation. We address this question by focusing on a widespread species Clausena dunniana in a subtropical broad‐leaved forest.MethodsWe sampled 262 individuals of C. dunniana at two major topographic habitat types, the slope and hilltop, within the karst forests in Maolan Nature Reserve in southwestern China. We measured individual plant level leaf traits (i.e., specific leaf area (SLA), leaf area, leaf dry‐matter content (LDMC), and leaf thickness) that are associated with plant resource‐use strategies. We adopted a linear mixed‐effects model in which the plant size (i.e., the first principal component of plant basal diameter and plant height) and environmental factors (i.e., topographic habitat, canopy height, and rock‐bareness) were used as independent variables, to estimate their influences on the shifts of leaf traits.Key ResultsWe found that (1) plant size and the environmental factors independently drove the intraspecific leaf trait shifts of C. dunniana, of which plant size explained less variances than environmental factors. (2) With increasing plant size, C. dunniana individuals had increasingly smaller SLA but larger sized leaves. (3) The most influential environmental factor was topographic habitat; it drove the shifts of all the four traits examined. Clausena dunniana individuals on hilltops had leaf traits representing more conservative resource‐use strategies (e.g., smaller SLA, higher LDMC) than individuals on slopes. On top of that, local‐scale environmental factors further modified leaf trait shifts.ConclusionsPlant size and environment independently shaped the variations in intraspecific leaf traits of C. dunniana in the subtropical karst forest of Maolan. Compared with plant size, the environment played a more critical role in shaping intraspecific leaf trait variations, and potentially also the underlying individual‐level plant resource‐use strategies.     

Contribution of above- and below-ground plant traits to the structure and function of grassland soil microbial communities

Background and Aims

Abiotic properties of soil are known to be major drivers of the microbial community within it. Our understanding of how soil microbial properties are related to the functional structure and diversity of plant communities, however, is limited and largely restricted to above-ground plant traits, with the role of below-ground traits being poorly understood. This study investigated the relative contributions of soil abiotic properties and plant traits, both above-ground and below-ground, to variations in microbial processes involved in grassland nitrogen turnover.

Methods

In mountain grasslands distributed across three European sites, a correlative approach was used to examine the role of a large range of plant functional traits and soil abiotic factors on microbial variables, including gene abundance of nitrifiers and denitrifiers and their potential activities.

Key Results

Direct effects of soil abiotic parameters were found to have the most significant influence on the microbial groups investigated. Indirect pathways via plant functional traits contributed substantially to explaining the relative abundance of fungi and bacteria and gene abundances of the investigated microbial communities, while they explained little of the variance in microbial activities. Gene abundances of nitrifiers and denitrifiers were most strongly related to below-ground plant traits, suggesting that they were the most relevant traits for explaining variation in community structure and abundances of soil microbes involved in nitrification and denitrification.

Conclusions

The results suggest that consideration of plant traits, and especially below-ground traits, increases our ability to describe variation in the abundances and the functional characteristics of microbial communities in grassland soils.     

New insights into leaf and fine‐root trait relationships: implications of resource acquisition among 23 xerophytic woody species

Functional traits of leaves and fine root vary broadly among different species, but little is known about how these interspecific variations are coordinated between the two organs. This study aims to determine the interspecific relationships between corresponding leaf and fine‐root traits to better understand plant strategies of resource acquisition. SLA (Specific leaf area), SRL (specific root length), mass‐based N (nitrogen) and P (phosphorus) concentrations of leaves and fine roots, root system, and plant sizes were measured in 23 woody species grown together in a common garden setting. SLA and SRL exhibited a strong negative relationship. There were no significant relationships between corresponding leaf and fine‐root nutrient concentrations. The interspecific variations in plant height and biomass were tightly correlated with root system size characteristics, including root depth and total root length. These results demonstrate a coordinated plant size‐dependent variation between shoots and roots, but for efficiency, plant resource acquisition appears to be uncoupled between the leaves and fine roots. The different patterns of leaf and fine‐root traits suggest different strategies for resource acquisition between the two organs. This provides insights into the linkage between above‐ and belowground subsystems in carbon and nutrient economy.     

中国亚热带不同菌根树种的根叶形态学性状特征与生长差异: 以江西新岗山为例

探究植物功能性状的种内和种间变异不仅有助于揭示植物对环境的适应, 也能够反映植物的生态策略, 但不同菌根类型树木生长过程中根叶形态学功能性状的适应策略仍有待探究。本研究依托中国亚热带森林生物多样性与生态系统功能实验研究平台(BEF-China)选取7种丛枝菌根(AM)树木和7种外生菌根(EM)树木的纯林, 测定各个树种的比叶面积、叶干物质含量、比根长、根系直径、树高生长速率、地径生长速率及细根生物量等根叶形态学功能性状和生长指标, 探讨了两种菌根类型树种间的根叶形态学特征的差异。结果表明: 与AM树种相比, EM树种具有较小的比叶面积、吸收根平均直径和生长速率, 但具有更大的叶干物质含量; 两种菌根树种之间的比根长和细根生物量无显著差异。比叶面积、叶干物质含量、树高生长速率、地径生长速率和细根生物量等功能性状及生长指标在不同菌根类型、树种及二者的交互作用中均存在显著差异; 且树种、根功能型、菌根类型及三者之间的交互作用均对根功能性状有显著影响。EM树种地上指标的种内变异均大于种间变异, 而AM树种地上指标的种内和种间变异程度类似; 但两种菌根树种细根生物量的种间变异均大于种内变异。尽管两种菌根树种地上部分生长速率较快通常表现为较低的叶干物质含量, 但AM树种通常拥有较高的吸收根比根长, 而EM树种拥有较粗的运输根平均直径。吸收根比根长越低, 两类菌根树种的细根生物量就越多。由此可见, 根叶功能性状对植物地上部分的生长具有一定的协同效应, 其中运输根主要在EM树种地上生长过程中发挥重要作用, 吸收根主要与AM树种的地上部分生长有关; 但两类菌根树种的地下细根生物量均与吸收根有关。     

Stem diameter growth rates in a fire‐prone savanna correlate with photosynthetic rate and branch‐scale biomass allocation,but not specific leaf area

Plant growth rates strongly determine ecosystem productivity and are a central element of plant ecological strategies. For laboratory and glasshouse‐grown seedlings, specific leaf area (SLA; ratio of leaf area to mass) is a key driver of interspecific variation in growth rate (GR). Consequently, SLA is often assumed to drive GR variation in field‐grown adult plants. However, there is an increasing evidence that this is not the general case. This suggests that GR – SLA relationships (and perhaps those for other traits) may vary depending on the age or size of the plants being studied. Here we investigated GR – trait relationships and their size dependence among 17 woody species from an open‐canopy, fire‐prone savanna in northern Australia. We tested the predictions that SLA and stem diameter growth rate would be positively correlated in saplings but unrelated in adults while, in both age classes, faster‐GR species would have higher light‐saturated photosynthetic rate (A_sat), higher leaf nutrient concentrations, higher branch‐scale biomass allocation to leaf versus stem tissues and lower wood density (WD). SLA showed no relationship to stem diameter GR, even in saplings, and the same was true of leaf N and P concentrations, and WD. However, branch‐scale leaf:stem allocation was strongly related to GR in both age groups, as was A_sat. Together, these two traits accounted for up to 80% of interspecific variation in adult GR, and 41% of sapling GR. A_sat is rarely measured in field‐based GR studies, and this is the first report of branch‐scale leaf:stem allocation (analogous to a benefit:cost ratio) in relation to plant growth rate. Our results suggest that we may yet find general trait‐drivers of field growth rates, but SLA will not be one.     

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.     

Trait‐abundance relation in response to nutrient addition in a Tibetan alpine meadow: The importance of species trade‐off in resource conservation and acquisition

In competition‐dominated communities, traits promoting resource conservation and competitive ability are expected to have an important influence on species relative abundance (SRA). Yet, few studies have tested the trait‐abundance relations in the line of species trade‐off in resource conservation versus acquisition, indicating by multiple traits coordination. We measured SRA and key functional traits involving leaf economic spectrum (SLA, specific leaf area; LDMC, leaf dry matter content; LCC, leaf carbon concentration; LNC, leaf nitrogen concentration; LPC, leaf phosphorus concentration; Hs, mature height) for ten common species in all plots subjected to addition of nitrogen fertilizer (N), phosphorus fertilizer (P), or both of them (NP) in a Tibetan alpine meadow. We test whether SRA is positively related with traits promoting plant resource conservation, while negatively correlated with traits promoting plant growth and resource acquisition. We found that species were primarily differentiated along a trade‐off axis involving traits promoting nutrient acquisition and fast growth (e.g., LPC and SLA) versus traits promoting resource conservation and competition ability (e.g., large LDMC). We further found that SRA was positively correlated with plant height, LDMC, and LCC, but negatively associated with SLA and leaf nutrient concentration irrespective of fertilization. A stronger positive height‐SRA was found in NP‐fertilized plots than in other plots, while negative correlations between SRA and SLA and LPC were found in N or P fertilized plots. The results indicate that species trade‐off in nutrient acquisition and resource conservation was a key driver of SRA in competition‐dominated communities following fertilization, with the linkage between SRA and traits depending on plant competition for specific soil nutrient and/or light availability. The results highlight the importance of competitive exclusion in plant community assembly following fertilization and suggest that abundant species in local communities become dominated at expense of growth while infrequent species hold an advantage in fast growth and dispersals to neighbor meta‐communities.     

Differences in leaf thermoregulation and water use strategies between three co‐occurring Atlantic forest tree species

Given anticipated climate changes, it is crucial to understand controls on leaf temperatures including variation between species in diverse ecosystems. In the first study of leaf energy balance in tropical montane forests, we observed current leaf temperature patterns on 3 tree species in the Atlantic forest, Brazil, over a 10‐day period and assessed whether and why patterns may vary among species. We found large leaf‐to‐air temperature differences (maximum 18.3 °C) and high leaf temperatures (over 35 °C) despite much lower air temperatures (maximum 22 °C). Leaf‐to‐air temperature differences were influenced strongly by radiation, whereas leaf temperatures were also influenced by air temperature. Leaf energy balance modelling informed by our measurements showed that observed differences in leaf temperature between 2 species were due to variation in leaf width and stomatal conductance. The results suggest a trade‐off between water use and leaf thermoregulation; Miconia cabussu has more conservative water use compared with Alchornea triplinervia due to lower transpiration under high vapour pressure deficit, with the consequence of higher leaf temperatures under thermal stress conditions. We highlight the importance of leaf functional traits for leaf thermoregulation and also note that the high radiation levels that occur in montane forests may exacerbate the threat from increasing air temperatures.