Phylogenetic Responses of Forest Trees to Global Change

Abstract

In a rapidly changing biosphere, approaches to understanding the ecology and evolution of forest species will be critical to predict and mitigate the effects of anthropogenic global change on forest ecosystems. Utilizing 26 forest species in a factorial experiment with two levels each of atmospheric CO2 and soil nitrogen, we examined the hypothesis that phylogeny would influence plant performance in response to elevated CO2 and nitrogen fertilization. We found highly idiosyncratic responses at the species level. However, significant, among-genetic lineage responses were present across a molecularly determined phylogeny, indicating that past evolutionary history may have an important role in the response of whole genetic lineages to future global change. These data imply that some genetic lineages will perform well and that others will not, depending upon the environmental context.

When Ranges Collide

“…IPCC, 2007;Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, 2005), and research in this area rightly remains active and relatively well funded. In contrast, the role of evolutionary history as a driver of ecosystem functioning is rapidly gaining support (Cadotte et al, 2009;Flynn et al, 2011;Senior et al, 2013;Srivastava et al, 2012) but does not yet have wide recognition in climate change research (but see Davis et al, 2005). Here, we have factorially manipulated evolutionary history, phylogenetic similarity, CO 2 enrichment, and N fertilization using 26 species that also differ in range size and demonstrate that the effects of evolutionary history are at least strong, if not stronger, determinants of plant responses to abiotic factors related to global change.…”

“…Within each subgenus, species are further placed within a series, based on genetic relatedness; there are three series within Symphyomyrtus and two within Eucalyptus (see Senior et al, 2013 for phylogeny). These phylogenetic classifications are based on a framework created by Brooker (2000) with molecular data (Diversity Arrays Technology; Jaccoud et al, 2001) supporting the most recent subgenus-and serieslevel classifications (McKinnon et al, 2008;Senior et al, 2013;Steane et al, 2011). The life histories of species with Eucalyptus and Symphyomyrtus differ in several ways.…”

“…provisioning of food and fuel, soil formation, carbon sequestration, among others; Díaz and Cabido, 2001), and it is unclear to what extent these services will operate in the future. While phylogenetic information is now more commonly incorporated into global change studies (Davis et al, 2010;Edwards et al, 2007;Senior et al, 2013;Willis et al, 2010), most focus on the response of species to abiotic environmental factors. Much less attention has been paid to the role of intrinsic factors such as evolutionary history (in this chapter, we use evolutionary history interchangeably with subgenus identity), or biotic factors like the relatedness of interacting species, which has been shown to be a key element for plant productivity and the provisioning of ecosystem services .…”

“…not all phylogenetic groups will respond similarity to global change; Senior et al, 2013) of communities due to biodiversity changes, two of the most important elements of global environmental change over the next 100 years will be increases in atmospheric CO 2 concentrations and N eutrophication. Atmospheric CO 2 concentrations are predicted to double pre-industrial concentrations in the next century (IPCC, 2007) from 360 to approximately 700 ppm (predictions range from 550 to 950 ppm; IPCC, 2007).…”

“…faster growth rates and less herbivore resistance traits in Symphyomyrtus relative to Eucalyptus; Senior et al, 2013;Stone et al, 1998;Wallis et al, 2010) and to the unpredictable way plant-plant interactions may change under increased CO 2 and N. We also compared the relative effect sizes of subgenus identity, phylogenetic similarity, CO 2 enrichment, and N fertilization to determine whether evolutionary factors (subgenus identity, phylogenetic similarity) or abiotic factors (CO 2 , N) have larger effects on plant productivity. We found that evolutionary history impacted plant responses to climate change in multiple ways, including subgenus variation and phylogenetically based interactions within plant communities, and evolutionary factors had a larger impact on plant productivity than did abiotic factors, suggesting that more climate change studies should incorporate an evolutionary perspective.…”