Linking functional traits with tree growth and forest productivity in Quercus ilex forests along a climatic gradient

Zarzosa, Pablo Salazar; Herraiz, Aurelio Díaz; Olmo, Manuel; Ruiz‐Benito, Paloma; Barrón, Vidal; Bastías, Cristina C.; Riva, Enrique G. de la; Villar, Rafael

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.147468

Cited by 18 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 74 publications

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“…Our results were similar to the finding that space and climate factors were more important than soil indicators in predicting functional characteristic patterns in communities (Pakeman et al, 2009;Dubuis et al, 2013). However, they were inconsistent with the finding that climate and topography mainly influenced tree trait distribution (Blundo et al, 2015;Zarzosa et al, 2021). Shrub functional traits were mostly affected by topographic and edaphic factors in the dry land, namely, slope variations and ratio of soil carbon to nitrogen (Nunes et al, 2019).…”

Section: Discussion Dominant Environmental Influencing Factors Of The...supporting

confidence: 50%

Shrub Expansion is Mainly Affected by Climate-Dominated Functional Traits in Alpine Meadow

Yang

Zhou

et al. 2022

Front. Environ. Sci.

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Shrub expansion has been reported mostly in dry and semi-arid ecosystems worldwide. Shrub expansion is also a serious ecological issue in alpine and cold regions. Multiple drivers, including anthropogenic and environmental factors, contribute to this phenomenon. However, the relative effects of climate and soil factors on shrub expansion are incompletely quantified or understood in the alpine meadow, and quantifying how these factors result in variations in functional traits associated with shrub expansion is crucial considering that functional traits are tightly related to ecosystem processes. In this study, we investigated the vegetation of an alpine shrub meadow composed of Potentilla fruticosa L. In the Zoige Plateau, along an elevation gradient. We assessed the direct and indirect effects of climate and soil factors on functional traits, shrub expansion strength (measured as the total biomass), and relative abundance (via functional traits). We found that climate factors, namely, the mean temperature of the warmest quarter (bio10), mostly affected specific leaf areas and specific lobe volume, which were the most important traits related to shrub expansion. Soil factors, except soil water content (SWC), had weak effects on functional traits closely related to shrub expansion. Our partial least square path modeling model explained 99% of the variation in shrub biomass. Results suggest that climate change not only affected functional traits but also influenced shrub expansion in the Zoige Plateau. Thus, management measures to control expansion should consider these drivers for more accurate forecasting and cost effectiveness. Understanding the mechanism of alpine shrub expansion contributes to the delaying of the expansion process and ensures steady pastoral production.

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Section: Discussion Dominant Environmental Influencing Factors Of The...supporting

confidence: 50%

Shrub Expansion is Mainly Affected by Climate-Dominated Functional Traits in Alpine Meadow

Yang

Zhou

et al. 2022

Front. Environ. Sci.

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“…The LMA values in oak leaves indicated that there was a higher competition for water in dual cultures as compared to oaks growing alone, but there were no significant differences among the treatments with and without inoculated AMF. Some studies in Mediterranean woody species and evergreen oak forests showed a negative correlation between the LMA and water availability of their habitat, i.e., the higher the LMA, the lower the water content in soil [ 51 , 52 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Aromatic Plants and Their Associated Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi Outcompete Tuber melanosporum in Compatibility Assays with Truffle-Oaks

Barou¹,

Rincón

Calvet³

et al. 2023

Biology

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The high value of black truffle recompenses the slow growth of the fungus when established in the field. Adding a secondary crop, such as medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs), could further enhance the sustainability of truffle production agro-forest systems. The dual cultures of ectomycorrhizal truffle-oak seedlings and MAPs (lavender, thyme, and sage) previously inoculated and non-inoculated with native arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), were established to evaluate plant–fungi relationships. After 12 months in a shadehouse, plants’ growth, mycorrhizal colonization, and extraradical soil mycelium (both of Tuber melanosporum and AMF) were measured. Overall, truffle-oaks’ growth was negatively affected by the presence of MAPs, especially when inoculated with AMF. In turn, the presence of truffle-oaks barely affected the co-cultured MAPs, and only lavenders showed a significant growth reduction. All AMF-inoculated MAPs showed higher shoot and root biomass than non-inoculated ones. Compared to truffle-oaks growing alone, the presence of co-cultured MAPs, especially when they were AMF-inoculated, significantly decreased both the ectomycorrhizas and soil mycelium of T. melanosporum. These results reveal the strong competition between AMF and T. melanosporum and warn about the need for the protection of intercropping plants and their associated symbiotic fungi to avoid reciprocal counterproductive effects in mixed truffle-oak–AMF–MAP plantations.

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“…Species that can survive are often the ones with ‘suitable’ traits to adapt to the local environments ( Grime, 2006 ). The variation in functional traits can be mainly explained by edaphic factors ( Salazar Zarzosa et al., 2021 ), and the variation in root economic traits was proved to drive aboveground biodiversity effects ( Bu et al., 2017 ). In our study, the resource-acquisitive traits of C. filispica and P. viviparum were similar while the accumulation of carbon gain was significantly different: their SLA and SRA appeared to be of no significant difference, even though P. viviparum has a significantly higher leaf area and root area than C. filispica .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dauciform roots affect the position of the neighboring plants on the economic spectrum in degraded alpine meadows

Fan,

Huang,

Liu

et al. 2023

Front. Plant Sci.

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Background and aimsSpecial root structures that can dissolve insoluble phosphorus locked in soil are supposed to contribute not only to the growing status of themselves but also to the neighbouring plants. However, whether dauciform roots have any effect on the neighbouring plants and how does it respond to meadow degradation had not been studied.MethodsAlpine meadows with different degradation statuses were selected and the functional traits of Carex filispica and the co-occurring species Polygonum viviparum were measured to explore their response to degradation, as well as the response of Polygonum viviparum to the dauciform roots of Carex filispica.ResultsThe results showed that 1) the number of dauciform roots decreased with the intensifying degradation, positively related to available phosphorus in the soil and negatively related to the aboveground phosphorus of Carex filispica. 2) Carex filispica and Polygonum viviparum are similar in specific leaf area and specific root area, yet different in the phosphorus content. The available phosphorus in the soil was negatively related to the aboveground phosphorus of Carex filispica and positively related to that of Polygonum viviparum. 3) When lightly degraded, the proportion of dauciform roots had positive effects on the aboveground resource-acquiring traits of Polygonum viviparum, which were no longer significant at heavy degradation. 4) Polygonum viviparum and Carex filispica without dauciform roots have similar performance: a decrease of belowground carbon with the increasing degradation, and a trend toward resource conservation with the increasing proportion of dauciform roots, which did not exist in Carex filispica with dauciform roots.ConclusionOur study found that dauciform roots had a beneficial effect on the resource acquisition of their neighbouring plants. However, due to the uncontrollable nature of natural habitats, whether this effect is stable and strong enough to be performed in ecological restoration requires further lab-controlled studies.

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Linking functional traits with tree growth and forest productivity in Quercus ilex forests along a climatic gradient

Cited by 18 publications

References 74 publications

Shrub Expansion is Mainly Affected by Climate-Dominated Functional Traits in Alpine Meadow

Shrub Expansion is Mainly Affected by Climate-Dominated Functional Traits in Alpine Meadow

Aromatic Plants and Their Associated Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi Outcompete Tuber melanosporum in Compatibility Assays with Truffle-Oaks

Dauciform roots affect the position of the neighboring plants on the economic spectrum in degraded alpine meadows

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