Seedling root responses to soil moisture and the identification of a belowground trait spectrum across three growth forms

Larson, Julie E.; Funk, Jennifer L.

doi:10.1111/nph.13829

Cited by 111 publications

(102 citation statements)

References 74 publications

(148 reference statements)

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“…Williams & Black ; Padilla et al . ; Drenovsky, Khasanova & James ; Larson & Funk ). Several of these responses (rapid elongation, high SRL) are contrary to strategies found in species adapted to low rainfall environments (Wright & Westoby ; Nicotra, Babicka & Westoby ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evolutionary responses of invasive grass species to variation in precipitation and soil nitrogen

et al. 2016

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Summary1. Global climate models suggest that many ecosystems will experience reduced precipitation over the next century and the consequences for invasive plant performance are largely unknown. Annual invasive species may be able to quickly evolve traits associated with drought escape or tolerance through rapid genetic changes. 2. We investigated the influence of 5 years of water and nitrogen manipulations on trait values in a southern California grassland system. Seeds from two annual grass species (Avena barbata and Bromus madritensis) were collected from experimental plots and grown in a common environment over two generations. We measured 14 physiological, morphological, phenological and reproductive traits. 3. Both species displayed phenotypic differences depending on the water treatment from which they were collected, but not depending on the nitrogen treatment. Both species displayed trait values characteristic of drought escape (e.g. earlier flowering in A. barbata and B. madritensis, lower water-use efficiency in B. madritensis) when grown from the seeds collected from plots that experienced five years of reduced precipitation. Furthermore, A. barbata individuals grown from the seeds collected from drought plots had higher reproductive output and higher photosynthetic performance than individuals grown from water addition plots, with individuals grown from ambient plots displaying intermediate trait values. Notably, we found no phenotypic variation among treatments for six root traits. 4. Synthesis. Trait differences were observed following two generations in a common garden, suggesting that treatment differences were genetically based. This suggests that populations were responding to selection over the 5 years of water manipulations, a remarkably short time period. The rapid evolutionary responses observed here may help these two widespread invasive grass species thrive under reduced precipitation scenarios, which could have important implications for fire dynamics, invasive species management and native plant restoration in communities invaded by annual grasses.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evolutionary responses of invasive grass species to variation in precipitation and soil nitrogen

et al. 2016

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“…Root traits are notoriously difficult to measure, although there is some evidence that an economic axis for roots exists as well, with slow-growing species having low root elongation rates, low specific root length (SRL), high root diameter, and low nutrient concentration Liu et al, 2010;Larson & Funk, 2016). In arid and semi-arid ecosystems, responses to changes in water availability may be better predicted from root traits such as root depth or elongation rate than from leaf traits (Nicotra, Babicka & Westoby, 2002;Padilla & Pugnaire, 2007).…”

Section: (A) Response Traitsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…phenotypic plasticity, see Section III), which contributes to functional variation within communities (e.g. Funk, 2008;Ashton et al, 2010;Firn et al, 2012;Siebenkäs, Schumacher & Roscher, 2015;Larson & Funk, 2016). Although empirical links between phenotypic plasticity and performance or fitness are still rare across species (van Kleunen & Fischer, 2005;Firn et al, 2012), if plasticity is adaptive it could be an important metric related to population, species, and community responses to environmental change (reviewed in Berg & Ellers, 2010;Nicotra et al, 2010;Valladares et al, 2014).…”

Section: (A) Response Traitsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Maire et al, 2013;Siebenkäs et al, 2015). Patterns of below-ground trait plasticity across species are less clear (Siebenkäs et al, 2015;Larson & Funk, 2016). There is thus a need for broader testing of the mechanisms underlying interspecific variation in phenotypic plasticity across traits and environmental variables (e.g.…”

Section: (1) How Is Variation In Traits Distributed Across Different mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Revisiting the Holy Grail: using plant functional traits to understand ecological processes

et al. 2016

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One of ecology's grand challenges is developing general rules to explain and predict highly complex systems. Understanding and predicting ecological processes from species' traits has been considered a 'Holy Grail' in ecology. Plant functional traits are increasingly being used to develop mechanistic models that can predict how ecological communities will respond to abiotic and biotic perturbations and how species will affect ecosystem function and services in a rapidly changing world; however, significant challenges remain. In this review, we highlight recent work and outstanding questions in three areas: (i) selecting relevant traits; (ii) describing intraspecific trait variation and incorporating this variation into models; and (iii) scaling trait data to community- and ecosystem-level processes. Over the past decade, there have been significant advances in the characterization of plant strategies based on traits and trait relationships, and the integration of traits into multivariate indices and models of community and ecosystem function. However, the utility of trait-based approaches in ecology will benefit from efforts that demonstrate how these traits and indices influence organismal, community, and ecosystem processes across vegetation types, which may be achieved through meta-analysis and enhancement of trait databases. Additionally, intraspecific trait variation and species interactions need to be incorporated into predictive models using tools such as Bayesian hierarchical modelling. Finally, existing models linking traits to community and ecosystem processes need to be empirically tested for their applicability to be realized.

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“…However, studies testing for the presence of a RES across species have produced mixed results. For example, recent studies have found evidence for a RES in herbaceous species, but analyses suggest woody species show drastically different patterns (Larson and Funk, 2016; Roumet et al, 2016; Weemstra et al, 2016). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intraspecific Trait Variation and Coordination: Root and Leaf Economics Spectra in Coffee across Environmental Gradients

et al. 2017

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Hypotheses on the existence of a universal “Root Economics Spectrum” (RES) have received arguably the least attention of all trait spectra, despite the key role root trait variation plays in resource acquisition potential. There is growing interest in quantifying intraspecific trait variation (ITV) in plants, but there are few studies evaluating (i) the existence of an intraspecific RES within a plant species, or (ii) how a RES may be coordinated with other trait spectra within species, such as a leaf economics spectrum (LES). Using Coffea arabica (Rubiaceae) as a model species, we measured seven morphological and chemical traits of intact lateral roots, which were paired with information on four key LES traits. Field collections were completed across four nested levels of biological organization. The intraspecific trait coefficient of variation (cv) ranged from 25 to 87% with root diameter and specific root tip density showing the lowest and highest cv, respectively. Between 27 and 68% of root ITV was explained by site identity alone for five of the seven traits measured. A single principal component explained 56.2% of root trait covariation, with plants falling along a RES from resource acquiring to conserving traits. Multiple factor analysis revealed significant orthogonal relationships between root and leaf spectra. RES traits were strongly orthogonal with respect to LES traits, suggesting these traits vary independently from one another in response to environmental cues. This study provides among the first evidence that plants from the same species differentiate from one another along an intraspecific RES. We find that in one of the world’s most widely cultivated crops, an intraspecific RES is orthogonal to an intraspecific LES, indicating that above and belowground responses of plants to managed (or natural) environmental gradients are likely to occur independently from one another.

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Seedling root responses to soil moisture and the identification of a belowground trait spectrum across three growth forms

Cited by 111 publications

References 74 publications

Evolutionary responses of invasive grass species to variation in precipitation and soil nitrogen

Evolutionary responses of invasive grass species to variation in precipitation and soil nitrogen

Revisiting the Holy Grail: using plant functional traits to understand ecological processes

Intraspecific Trait Variation and Coordination: Root and Leaf Economics Spectra in Coffee across Environmental Gradients

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