Timing of snowmelt affects species composition via plant strategy filtering |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Centre for eResearch and Digital Innovation, Federation University Australia, Ballarat, Victoria, 3353, Australia;2. Department of Ecology, Environment and Evolution, La Trobe University, Bundoora 3086, Victoria, Australia;3. Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Burwood, Victoria, 3125, Australia;4. Research Centre for Applied Alpine Ecology, Department of Ecology, Environment and Evolution, La Trobe University, Bundoora 3086, Victoria, Australia;5. Research Centre for Future Landscapes, Department of Ecology, Environment and Evolution, La Trobe University, Bundoora 3086, Victoria, Australia;1. Département de biologie, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, 15 parvis René Descartes, 69342 Lyon, France;2. IEES-Paris (CNRS, UPMC, IRD, INRA, UPEC), UPMC 4 place Jussieu, 75252 Paris Cedex 05, France;3. UMR ECOSYS, INRA, AgroParisTech, Université Paris-Saclay, 78026 Versailles, France;1. Department of Biology, Terrestrial Ecology Unit (TEREC), Ghent University, K.L. Ledeganckstraat 35, 9000 Gent, Belgium;2. Department of Environment, Forest & Nature Lab, Ghent University, Geraardsbergsesteenweg 267, 9090 Gontrode, Belgium;3. Department Pathology, Bacteriology and Avian Diseases, Ghent University, Salisburylaan 133, 9820 Merelbeke, Belgium;1. Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, Rolighedsvej 23, 1958 Frederiksberg C, Denmark;2. Forest & Nature Lab, University of Ghent, Department Environment, Geraardsbergsesteenweg 267, 9090 Melle-Gontrode, Belgium;3. Faculty of Science and Technology, University College Ghent, Brusselsesteenweg 161, 9090 Melle, Belgium;1. Plant Science and Conservation, Chicago Botanic Garden, Glencoe, IL, USA;2. Berea College, Berea, KY, USA;3. Herbarium, The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL, USA;4. Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, USA;1. Wageningen Environmental Research, P.O. Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands;2. Wageningen Plant Research, Farming Systems Ecology Group, P.O. Box 563, 6700 AN Wageningen, The Netherlands |
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| Abstract: | Plant strategy schemes aim to classify plants according to measurable traits and group species according to their shared evolutionary responses to selective pressures. In this way, it becomes possible to make meaningful comparisons among ecosystems and communities and to predict how plant communities might respond to changes in their environment. Here, we classified common alpine plants which occur in snowpatches (Early and Late snowmelt sites) and in adjacent vegetation (Snow-free sites which melt early in the growing season) using Grime’s CSR plant strategy scheme. Alpine plant communities are largely driven by environmental filters associated with a relatively constant gradient of snowmelt timing. Since snow persistence influences the abiotic environment and plant assemblages alike, we hypothesised that these patterns would be reflected in community CSR scores. Weighted community CSR scores were clustered towards the stress-tolerator (S) corner of the triangular CSR space, and Snow-free communities were significantly more stress-tolerant than Early and Late snowmelt communities. This suggests that snowpatch communities are functionally distinct from surrounding vegetation when considering the major axes of plant variation identified by CSR theory. These results lend further support to the importance of the timing of snowmelt as a key filter, influencing how species and plant strategy types distribute themselves across the alpine landscape. |
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| Keywords: | Alpine CSR Environmental filtering Local species distributions |
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