Harnessing plant spectra to integrate the biodiversity sciences across biological and spatial scales

Cavender‐Bares, Jeannine; Gamon, John A.; Hobbie, Sarah E.; Madritch, Michael D.; Meireles, José Eduardo; Schweiger, Anna K.; Townsend, Philip A.

doi:10.3732/ajb.1700061

Cited by 104 publications

(110 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…A final advantage of emphasizing ecological dominants as model clades is that their large size makes them amenable to novel methods for detecting changes in functional traits (Cavender‐Bares et al ., ; Schweiger et al ., ) that can be applied with high frequency at large spatial scales. Detecting changes at the canopy scale in an era of global change is increasingly important to manage and protect ecosystem services (Jetz et al ., ).…”

Section: Emerging Technologies For Tracking Functional Changementioning

confidence: 99%

Diversification, adaptation, and community assembly of the American oaks (Quercus), a model clade for integrating ecology and evolution

2018

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Contents Summary669I.Model clades for the study and integration of ecology and evolution670II.Oaks: an important model clade671III.Insights from the history of the American oaks for understanding community assembly and ecosystem dominance673IV.Bridging the gap between micro‐ and macroevolutionary processes relevant to ecology679V.How do we reconcile evidence for adaptive evolution with niche conservatism and long‐term stasis?682VI.High plasticity and within‐population genetic variation contribute to population persistence683VII.Emerging technologies for tracking functional change685VIII.Conclusions685Acknowledgements686References686 Summary Ecologists and evolutionary biologists are concerned with explaining the diversity and composition of the natural world and are aware of the inextricable linkages between ecological and evolutionary processes that maintain the Earth's life support systems. Yet examination of these linkages remains challenging due to the contrasting nature of focal systems and research approaches. Model clades provide a critical means to integrate ecology and evolution, as illustrated by the oaks (genus Quercus), an important model clade, given their ecological dominance, remarkable diversity, and growing phylogenetic, genomic, and ecological data resources. Studies of the clade reveal that their history of sympatric parallel adaptive radiation continues to influence community assembly today, highlighting questions on the nature and extent of coexistence mechanisms. Flexible phenology and hydraulic traits, despite evolutionary stasis, may have enabled adaptation to a wide range of environments within and across species, contributing to their high abundance and diversity. The oaks offer fundamental insights at the intersection of ecology and evolution on the role of diversification in community assembly processes, on the importance of flexibility in key functional traits in adapting to new environments, on factors contributing to persistence of long‐lived organisms, and on evolutionary legacies that influence ecosystem function.

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Section: Emerging Technologies For Tracking Functional Changementioning

confidence: 99%

Diversification, adaptation, and community assembly of the American oaks (Quercus), a model clade for integrating ecology and evolution

2018

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“…Measures at the leaf level within individual plots can be scaled up to canopy, community and landscape levels, and even larger scales, where for each level confounding factors that blur understanding can be addressed. Such scaling also provide efficient measures of biodiversity (Cavender-Bares et al 2017).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

One leaf for all: Chemical traits of single leaves measured at the leaf surface using Near infrared-reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS)

Bon

Böhner

Kaino

et al. 2020

Preprint

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The leaf is an essential unit for measures of plant ecological traits. Yet, measures of plant chemical traits are often achieved by merging several leaves, masking potential foliar variation within and among plant individuals. This is also the case with cost-effective measures derived using Near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS). The calibration models developed for converting NIRS spectral information to chemical traits are typically based on spectra from merged and milled leaves. In this study we ask if such calibration models can be applied to spectra derived from whole leaves, providing measures of chemical traits of single leaves.We sampled cohorts of single leaves from different biogeographic regions, growth forms, species and phenological stages in order to include variation in leaf and chemical traits. For each cohort we first sampled NIRS-spectra from each whole, single leaf, including leaf sizes down to Ø 4 mm (the minimum area of our NIRS application). Next, we merged, milled and tableted the leaves and sampled spectra from the cohort as a tablet. We applied arctic-alpine calibration models to all spectra and derived chemical traits. Finally, we evaluated the performance of the models in predicting chemical traits of whole, single leaves by comparing the traits derived at the level of leaves to that of the tablets.We found that the arctic-alpine calibration models can successfully be applied to single, whole leaves for measures of Nitrogen (R2=0.88, RMSE=0.824), Phosphorus (R2=0.65, RMSE=0.081), and Carbon (R2=0.78, RMSE=2.199) content. For Silicon content we found the method acceptable when applied to Silicon-rich growth forms (R2=0.67, RMSE=0.677). We found a considerable variation in chemical trait values among leaves within the cohorts.This time- and cost-efficient NIRS-application provides non-destructive measures of a set of chemical traits in single, whole leaves, including leaves of small sizes. The application can facilitate research into the scales of variability of chemical traits and include intraindividual variation. Potential trade-offs among chemical traits and other traits within the leaf unit can be identified and be related to ecological processes. In sum this NIRS-application can facilitate further ecological understanding of the role of leaf chemical traits.

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“…BGCI's International Plant Sentinel Network (https://www.plantsentinel.org/) uses botanic garden collections outside their native ranges as an early warning system to test the susceptibility and control of emerging pests and diseases before they reach natural populations. Other, novel uses of the very diverse living collections in botanic gardens and arboreta are emerging, including building libraries of spectral signatures enabling individual taxa to be identified through remote sensing (Cavender‐Bares et al, ; Cavender‐Bares pers. comm.…”

Section: Capitalizing On Living Collectionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The challenge for botanic garden science

Smith

2018

Plants People Planet

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Societal Impact Statement Plants are fundamental to solving many of humanity's most important challenges: food insecurity, water scarcity, energy, health, and climate change. With more than 20% of the world's plant species currently threatened with extinction, the loss of plant diversity will result in reduced options for human innovation, adaptation, and resilience. The world's botanic gardens already conserve and manage around a third of all known plant species in their living collections as well as seed banks as an insurance policy against extinction and as a resource to support scientific research. This work needs to be expanded rapidly if we are to avoid further plant species extinctions. Summary Historically, botanic garden science has been dominated by the disciplines of economic botany and taxonomy. Today, with around 20% of plant species threatened with extinction, the author argues that unless botanic gardens shift their efforts toward the conservation, management and use of plants, the loss of plant diversity will stifle human innovation, adaptation, and resilience. The enormous body of taxonomic knowledge, skills, data, and collections built up over the past two centuries is fundamental to managing plant diversity. These resources need to be used to address challenges such as food insecurity, water scarcity, renewable energy, human health, biodiversity conservation, and climate change. At a time when botanic gardens are increasingly seen as visitor attractions, rather than scientific institutions, refocusing their efforts is in the best interests of botanic gardens as well as those of broader society. The author gives examples of how botanic gardens are already supplying crop wild relatives to plant breeders; using their living collections to assess resilience to climate change and vulnerability to pests and diseases; and conserving rare and threatened plant species for future use. However, in spite of these efforts, only a small fraction of the estimated 60,000 plant scientists and specialist horticulturists in the world's botanic gardens are engaged in scientific research that has demonstrable impact on how we conserve or manage plant diversity. The author argues that it is time for botanic gardens to develop a new contract with society—a contract that delivers outcomes for society that only botanic gardens, as custodians of the world's plant diversity, can deliver.

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Harnessing plant spectra to integrate the biodiversity sciences across biological and spatial scales

Cited by 104 publications

References 19 publications

Diversification, adaptation, and community assembly of the American oaks (Quercus), a model clade for integrating ecology and evolution

Diversification, adaptation, and community assembly of the American oaks (Quercus), a model clade for integrating ecology and evolution

One leaf for all: Chemical traits of single leaves measured at the leaf surface using Near infrared-reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS)

The challenge for botanic garden science

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