Phylogenetic independence in the variations in leaf functional traits among different plant life forms in an arid environment

Akram, Muhammad Adnan; Zhang, Yahui; Wang, Xiaoting; Shrestha, Nawal; Malik, Kamran; Khan, Imran; Ma, Weijing; Sun, Youbin; Li, Fan; Ran, Jinzhi; Deng, Jianming

doi:10.1016/j.jplph.2022.153671

Cited by 30 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…What is not possible to tease apart from our approach is whether these patterns are exclusively a result of evolutionary history or a product of eco-evolutionary processes, as previously hypothesized 20,35 . Moreover, It is worth noting that our study focuses on plant traits measured in ambient conditions, whereas phylogenetic signals have been suggested to be low when plants are exposed to extreme conditions, such as drought 36 or warmth 21 . Regardless of this, our findings that phylogenetic trait signals are strong for every trait when using a large number of plant species strongly advocates for the incorporation of phylogenetic correction in global trait analyses.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Global patterns of plant form and function are strongly determined by evolutionary relationships

Capdevila

Walker

Schrodt

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Plants display an incredible variety of forms and functions, which sustains a vast diversity of ecosystems on Earth. This diversity is the result of two forces: environmental filtering, the selection of phenotypes fit to a specific habitat; and evolutionary history, genetic constraints that determine the potential adaptations that species may evolve. To date, most studies have focused on describing macroecological patterns of trait variation, while the role of evolutionary history in determining these patterns has remained much less explored. Here, we combine a traits dataset including 4,213 vascular plant species with a phylogeny of the plant kingdom, to determine the influence of evolutionary history on the patterns of trait variation. Our results show that commonly used plant traits, such as plant height or leaf nitrogen, are strongly constrained by evolutionary history. Accounting for phylogenetic relationships changes the variance explained by the main axes of trait variation in the Plant Kindgom (the leaf economic spectrum and the plant size and organ axis continuum) with the former explaining more variance than the latter. Moreover, we demonstrate that the plant size continuum is more influenced by evolutionary history than the leaf economics spectrum. These results highlight the influence of evolutionary history in shaping plant life history strategies and the importance of accounting for phylogeny in trait-based studies.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Global patterns of plant form and function are strongly determined by evolutionary relationships

Capdevila

Walker

Schrodt

et al. 2023

Preprint

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“…Carbon (C), nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) are the basic chemical nutrients for plant growth and development, and they regulate important physiological and ecological processes such as plant photosynthetic rate, transpiration rate, reproduction and growth [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]. Ecological stoichiometric characteristics can reflect the homeostasis of plant organs and the distribution ratio and interrelationship of each element in different organs [ 5 , 6 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecological Stoichiometric Characteristics in Organs of Ammopiptanthus mongolicus in Different Habitats

Duan

Zhang

Xin

et al. 2023

Plants

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The essence of plant ecological stoichiometry is to study the relationships between species and their environment, including nutrient absorption, utilization and cycling processes as well as the nutrient limitation of plants. Plants can regulate nutrient elements and adapt to environmental changes. To understand the adaptation mechanism, it is important to take plants as a whole and quantify the correlation between the chemometrics of different organs. Ammopiptanthus mongolicus is within the second-class group of rare–endangered plants in China and is the only evergreen broad-leaved shrub in desert areas. We analyzed the ecological stoichiometric characteristics of leaves, stems, roots, flowers and seeds of A. mongolicus in five habitats, namely fixed sandy land, semi-fixed sandy land, stony–sandy land, alluvial gravel slope and saline–alkali land. We found that (1) the nutrient contents of N, P and K were in the order of seed > flower > leaf > root > stem. The enrichment of the N, P and K in the reproductive organs promoted the transition from vegetative growth to reproductive growth. Additionally, (2) the contents of C, N, P and K and their stoichiometric ratios in different organs varied among different habitat types. The storage capacity of C, N and P was higher in sandy soil (fixed and semi-fixed sandy land), whereas the content of K was higher in gravelly soil (stony–sandy land and alluvial gravel slope), and the C:N, C:P and N:P were significantly higher in gravelly soil than those in sandy soil. A. mongolicus had higher nutrient use efficiency in stony–sandy land and alluvial gravel slope. Furthermore, (3) the C:N and N:P ratios in each organ were relatively stable among different habitats, whereas the K:P ratio varied greatly. The N:P ratios of leaves were all greater than 16 in different habitats, indicating that the growth was mainly limited by P. Moreover, (4) except for the P element, the content of each element and its stoichiometric ratio were affected by the interaction between organs and habitat. Habitat had a greater impact on C content, whereas organs had a greater influence on N, P and K content and C:N, C:P, C:K and N:P.

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“…Apart from LDMC, PFTs had a higher explanation for the variation in leaf traits. PFTs were the major factor leading to the differences in leaf traits ( Akram et al., 2022 ). It was consistent with the results of a meta-analysis from global data conducted by Siefert et al.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Among these traits, leaf traits have received particular attention due to their sensitivity to climate change and their ability to reflect plant resource acquisition and utilization ( Wilson et al., 1999 ; Meng et al., 2015 ; Baruch et al., 2017 ; Ye et al., 2022 ). In dry conditions, plants tend to have thicker leaf thickness (LT), higher leaf dry mass per area (LMA), and larger leaf dry matter content (LDMC), in order to reduce water loss and enhance their ability to adapt to the drought environments ( Akram et al., 2020 ; Akram et al., 2022 ). Leaf nitrogen content is closely related to photosynthesis ( Chen et al., 2013 ; Zhan et al., 2018 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Leaf traits divergence and correlations of woody plants among the three plant functional types on the eastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, China

et al. 2023

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Leaf traits are important indicators of plant life history and may vary according to plant functional type (PFT) and environmental conditions. In this study, we sampled woody plants from three PFTs (e.g., needle-leaved evergreens, NE; broad-leaved evergreens, BE; broad-leaved deciduous, BD) on the eastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, and 110 species were collected across 50 sites. Here, the divergence and correlations of leaf traits in three PFTs and relationships between leaf traits and environment were studied. The results showed significant differences in leaf traits among three PFTs, with NE plants showed higher values than BE plants and BD plants for leaf thickness (LT), leaf dry matter content (LDMC), leaf dry mass per area (LMA), carbon: nitrogen ratio (C/N), and nitrogen content per unit area (Narea), except for nitrogen content per unit mass (Nmass). Although the correlations between leaf traits were similar across three PFTs, NE plants differed from BE plants and BD plants in the relationship between C/N and Narea. Compared with the mean annual precipitation (MAP), the mean annual temperature (MAT) was the main environmental factor that caused the difference in leaf traits among three PFTs. NE plants had a more conservative approach to survival compared to BE plants and BD plants. This study shed light on the regional-scale variation in leaf traits and the relationships among leaf traits, PFT, and environment. These findings have important implications for the development of regional-scale dynamic vegetation models and for understanding how plants respond and adapt to environmental change.

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Phylogenetic independence in the variations in leaf functional traits among different plant life forms in an arid environment

Cited by 30 publications

References 51 publications

Global patterns of plant form and function are strongly determined by evolutionary relationships

Global patterns of plant form and function are strongly determined by evolutionary relationships

Ecological Stoichiometric Characteristics in Organs of Ammopiptanthus mongolicus in Different Habitats

Leaf traits divergence and correlations of woody plants among the three plant functional types on the eastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, China

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