Legume species differ in the responses of their functional traits to plant diversity |
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Authors: | Christiane Roscher Bernhard Schmid Nina Buchmann Alexandra Weigelt Ernst-Detlef Schulze |
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Institution: | 1.Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry,Jena,Germany;2.Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies,University of Zurich,Zurich,Switzerland;3.Institute of Plant, Animal and Agrosystems Sciences,ETH Zurich,Zurich,Switzerland;4.Institute of Ecology,Friedrich Schiller University Jena,Jena,Germany;5.Institute of Biology I,University of Leipzig,Leipzig,Germany |
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Abstract: | Plants can respond to environmental impacts by variation in functional traits, thereby increasing their performance relative
to neighbors. We hypothesized that trait adjustment should also occur in response to influences of the biotic environment,
in particular different plant diversity of the community. We used 12 legume species as a model and assessed their variation
in morphological, physiological, life-history and performance traits in experimental grasslands of different plant species
(1, 2, 4, 8, 16 and 60) and functional group (1–4) numbers. Mean trait values and their variation in response to plant diversity
varied among legume species and from trait to trait. The tall-growing Onobrychis viciifolia showed little trait variation in response to increasing plant diversity, whereas the species with shorter statures responded
in apparently adaptive ways. The formation of longer shoots with elongated internodes, increased biomass allocation to supporting
tissue at the cost of leaf mass, reduced branching, higher specific leaf areas and lower foliar δ13C values indicated increasing efforts for light acquisition in more diverse communities. Although leaf nitrogen concentrations
and shoot biomass:nitrogen ratios were not affected by increasing plant diversity, foliar δ15N values of most legumes decreased and the application of the 15N natural abundance method suggested that they became more reliant on symbiotic N2 fixation. Some species formed fewer inflorescences and delayed flowering with increasing community diversity. The observed
variation in functional traits generally indicated strategies of legumes to optimize light and nutrient capturing, but they
were largely species-dependent and only partly attributable to increasing canopy height and community biomass with increasing
plant diversity. Thus, the analysis of individual plant species and their adjustment to growth conditions in communities of
increasing plant diversity is essential to get a deeper insight into the mechanisms behind biodiversity–ecosystem functioning
relationships. |
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