Plant functional assembly is mediated by rainfall and soil conditions in a seasonally dry tropical forest |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Departamento de Botânica, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Av. Prof. MoraesRego s/n, 50670-901, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil;2. Department of Plant Ecology, Bayreuth Center of Ecology and Environmental Research (BayCEER), University of Bayreuth, Universitätsstrasse 31, 95447 Bayreuth, Germany;3. Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 0843-03092, Balboa, Ancón, Panama;4. Deparment of Botany, Faculty of Sciences, University of South Bohemia, Branišovská, 1760, 370 05 ČeskeBudějovice, Czech Republic;1. CREAF, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain;2. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Vegetal, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Av. Prof. Moraes Rego s/no, Recife, PE 50670-901, Brazil;3. Departamento de Botânica, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Av. Prof. Moraes Rego s/no, Recife, PE 50670-901, Brazil;4. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y Sustentabilidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Morelia, Michoacán 58190, Mexico;5. Departamento de Sistemática e Ecologia, Laboratório de Ecologia Terrestre, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, Castelo Branco, João Pessoa, PB 58051900, Brazil;6. Research Institute of Environment and Livelihoods, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, NT 0909, Australia;1. Rural Federal University of Pernambuco, Garanhuns, PE, Brazil;2. Federal University of Pernambuco, Recife, PE, Brazil;3. Rural Federal University of Pernambuco, Serra Talhada, PE, Brazil;4. Federal University of Pernambuco, Caruaru, PE, Brazil;1. Campus Sobral, Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Ceará — IFCE, Sobral, Av. Dr. Guarani, 317, Derby Clube, 62042-030, Brazil;2. Department of Agricultural Engineering, Federal University of Ceará — UFC, Fortaleza 60356-000, Brazil |
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| Abstract: | Understanding how species assembly is influenced by the interplay of climate, local environmental conditions and human-caused disturbances remains a central question in ecology and conservation. Here, we assess how plant species abundance is determined by combinations of functional traits (ecological strategies) and interacting gradients of rainfall, soil conditions (fertility and field capacity) and chronic anthropogenic disturbance in a Caatinga dry tropical forest, Brazil. We tested for trait–environment relationships using multivariate methods (RLQ) accounting for groups of species sharing similar responses to gradients and similar expression of multiple traits (i.e. response groups). Overall, species’ abundances changed predictably in response to rainfall and soil fertility, and were mediated by functional traits, i.e. species with particular trait combinations tended to respond similarly to multifactorial conditions. Briefly, three ecological strategies emerged: species with low wood density and soft (i.e. lower dry matter content), thick leaves converged into a trait syndrome characterizing a drought-avoidance strategy through water storage. They were particularly abundant under extremely low precipitation and relatively high soil field capacity. Under conditions of increasing rainfall and decreasing soil field capacity, species with high wood density were favored, consistent with a drought-tolerance strategy. However, these species fell into two groups relative to leaf-investment: more conservative leaves (low SLA) on relatively fertile soils vs. thinner and softer (i.e. high SLA) leaves on unfertile soils. In seasonally dry tropical forests, low SLA on relatively fertile soils may represent a water conservation strategy. Unexpectedly, no ecological strategy emerged in response to disturbance. The patterns we uncovered help to understand the interplay between precipitation, soil fertility and anthropogenic disturbance in plant species filtering in seasonally dry tropical forests. Moreover, our results underline that impacts of future climate change will depend on how rainfall patterns covary with finer-scale environmental factors such as soil fertility and field capacity. |
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| Keywords: | Annual precipitation Caatinga Environmental gradients Anthropogenic disturbance Functional traits Soil fertility Soil field capacity Species distribution |
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