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RESEARCH PRODUCT
Plant functional trait response to environmental drivers across European temperate forest understorey communities
Markus Bernhardt-römermannJ. Den OudenFrantišek MálišDries LanduytLionel R. HertzogSteffi HeinrichsKeith KirbyBogdan JaroszewiczMartin KopeckýMartin KopeckýThilo HeinkenMonika WulfMichael P. PerringMichael P. PerringKris VerheyenThomas VannesteLeen DepauwGuntis BrūmelisRadim HédlSybryn L. MaesGuillaume DecocqHaben BlondeelSanne GovaertWerner HärdtleJörg Brunetsubject
0106 biological sciencesSpecific leaf areaNitrogenPlant ScienceForestsBiologyTemperate deciduous forestGlobal Warming010603 evolutionary biology01 natural sciencesSoilground vegetationBosecologie en BosbeheerGlobal environmental change/dk/atira/pure/core/keywords/biologyherbaceous layerplant–soil relationsEcosystemEcology Evolution Behavior and Systematics2. Zero hungerEcologyTemperate forestPlant communityGeneral MedicineUnderstoryPlants15. Life on landSoil typePE&RCForest Ecology and Forest ManagementEuropePlant LeavesEcosystems Researchresource acquisition13. Climate actionregenerationLitterSpecies richness010606 plant biology & botanydescription
Functional traits respond to environmental drivers, hence evaluating trait-environment relationships across spatial environmental gradients can help to understand how multiple drivers influence plant communities. Global-change drivers such as changes in atmospheric nitrogen deposition occur worldwide, but affect community trait distributions at the local scale, where resources (e.g. light availability) and conditions (e.g. soil pH) also influence plant communities. We investigate how multiple environmental drivers affect community trait responses related to resource acquisition (plant height, specific leaf area (SLA), woodiness, and mycorrhizal status) and regeneration (seed mass, lateral spread) of European temperate deciduous forest understoreys. We sampled understorey communities and derived trait responses across spatial gradients of global-change drivers (temperature, precipitation, nitrogen deposition, and past land use), while integrating in-situ plot measurements on resources and conditions (soil type, Olsen phosphorus (P), Ellenberg soil moisture, light, litter mass, and litter quality). Among the global-change drivers, mean annual temperature strongly influenced traits related to resource acquisition. Higher temperatures were associated with taller understoreys producing leaves with lower SLA, and a higher proportional cover of woody and obligate mycorrhizal (OM) species. Communities in plots with higher Ellenberg soil moisture content had smaller seeds and lower proportional cover of woody and OM species. Finally, plots with thicker litter layers hosted taller understoreys with larger seeds and a higher proportional cover of OM species. Our findings suggest potential community shifts in temperate forest understoreys with global warming, and highlight the importance of local resources and conditions as well as global-change drivers for community trait variation.
| year | journal | country | edition | language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-01-01 |