Shift in community functional composition following nitrogen fertilization in an alpine meadow through intraspecific trait variation and community composition change

Zhou, Xiaolong; Guo, Zhihao; Zhang, Pengfei; Du, Guozhen

doi:10.1007/s11104-018-3771-x

Cited by 30 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…Nitrogen (N) enrichment, a key component of global change, can alleviate nitrogen limitation of plant growth particularly in Nlimited areas, and consequently change plant traits (Figure 1), such as increasing plant height (H), specific leaf area (SLA), leaf nitrogen content (LNC) and decreasing leaf dry matter content (LDMC; Xu et al, 2018). Several studies illustrated that ITV of these leaf traits plays an important role in determining the community functional composition in response to N enrichment (Lepš et al, 2011;Siefert & Ritchie, 2016;Zhou et al, 2018). For instance, Li et al (2017) found that fertilization increased community-weighted mean plant height and SLA in an alpine meadow, and these shifts were mainly driven by ITV at higher fertilization levels.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…With increasing competition for light and nutrients, short‐statured species might be expected to be gradually excluded (Hautier et al., 2009; Kaarlejärviet al, 2017). Meanwhile, fast‐growing species with acquisitive strategy may outcompete relatively slow‐growing species with conservative strategy (Zhou et al., 2018). Compared with a conservative strategy, an acquisitive strategy is typically related to higher SLA, LNC and lower LDMC (Lavorel & Garnier, 2002).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Nitrogen enrichment and warming shift community functional composition via distinct mechanisms: The role of intraspecific trait variability and species turnover

et al. 2022

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1. Global change factors may shift community functional composition by driving species turnover (species occurrence and species relative abundance) and intraspecific trait variability. However, their relative contribution in determining the functional response of community to global change, especially nitrogen enrichment and warming, remains unclear.2. We conducted a fully factorial field experiment in a Tibetan alpine meadow to examine the responses of plant community functional composition to nitrogen enrichment and warming by quantifying seven plant functional traits in each plot. Using the sum of squares decomposition, we further disentangled the relative contribution of intraspecific trait variability and species turnover to changes in community functional composition.3. We found that nitrogen enrichment caused a shift of plant community towards a more resource-acquisitive strategy, while warming resulted in a shift towards a more resource-conservative strategy. Plant intraspecific trait variability controls shifts in community functional composition in response to nitrogen enrichment, whereas species turnover (especially change in species relative abundance) mainly explains warming-induced shifts. Nitrogen enrichment and warming did not show significant interactive effects on plant functional composition.4. These findings suggest that nitrogen enrichment and warming can alter community functional composition of alpine meadow through distinct mechanisms.Plant intraspecific trait variability confers functional resilience of Tibetan alpine meadows under nitrogen enrichment, but warming could induce significant turnover of species that pronouncedly impacts community functioning in this highland ecosystem.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nitrogen enrichment and warming shift community functional composition via distinct mechanisms: The role of intraspecific trait variability and species turnover

et al. 2022

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“…For each species, we chose to measure 10 functional trait from four trait categories (whole-plant level traits, leaf morphology traits, leaf chemical traits and leaf physiological traits), including height, leaf thickness, maximum leaf photosynthesis rate A max , transpiration rate E, leaf stomatal conductance g s , leaf instantaneous water use efficiency WUE i , leaf dry mass content LDMC, specific leaf area SLA, leaf nitrogen content LNC and leaf phosphorus content LPC. They were measured according to the protocol described by Perez-Harguindeguy et al (2013) and Zhou, Guo, Zhang, and Du (2018). We measured these 10 functional traits in 2017 and 2018 for mature individauls of eight dominant species, listed in Table 1, including five dominant herbaceous species and only three species found of trees/shrubs.…”

Section: Functional Trait Measurementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Driving factors of community‐level plant functional traits and species distributions in the desert‐wetland ecosystem of the Shule River Basin, China

et al. 2020

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Groundwater, as the limiting resource in arid ecosystems, can have profound effects on the functional structure and distribution of plant communities. However, studies are too few to unveil the impacts of groundwater depth on plant functional traits in such communities. We collected data on vegetation, topography and soil properties from 180 quadrats (60 trees/shrubs and 120 herbaceous) in the desert-wetland ecosystem of Shule River Basin in Northwest China. We measured 10 key communitylevel functional traits, together with the resource topography (i.e., groundwater depth) and seven soil properties. We found that the increase of groundwater depth significantly reduced community-level specific leaf area and maximum leaf photosynthesis rate, while boosted leaf dry mass content and leaf thickness. However, the leaf phosphorus content remained relatively stable. By contrast, with the increase of groundwater depth, soil carbon, soil nitrogen, soil phosphorus and total dissolved salts first increased but then declined, while soil pH and soil bulk density exhibited the opposite trend. The soil moisture content decreased drastically with the decline of groundwater. The change in groundwater depth, thus, was found the main driver of species distribution in the arid zone, contributing 21.16%, followed by soil K + (9.94%) and soil total nitrogen content (4.9%), as well as a strong interaction of the three (41.7%). Changes in groundwater depth can thus alter the structure and nutrient enrichment of the soil, which in turn affects the distribution of vegetation through water-soil-plant interactions.

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“…How plant functional traits vary across environmental gradients is a primary question of trait-based community ecology [ 1 , 2 ]. The last two decades have seen a heightened interest in functional trait research [ 3 – 6 ], with a focus on how intraspecific variation (ITV) and species turnover (SPT) contribute to community-level trait variation [ 7 ]. This research provides new perspectives into the mechanisms underlying plant community assembly and environmental responses.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In a short-term fertilization experiment, variation in plant height was driven by ITV [ 22 ]. In another nutrient-addition experiment in alpine meadows, variation in plant height was instead driven by SPT [ 6 ]. As important chemical leaf traits, foliar C, N, and P concentrations, as well as their ratios, can reflect plant functional responses to environmental change [ 5 , 10 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The relative contribution of intraspecific variation and species turnover to the community-level foliar stoichiometric characteristics in different soil moisture and salinity habitats

2021

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Background Trait-based approaches have been used to demonstrate the responses of plant functional traits to environmental change may manifest both among- and/or within-species. However, how community-level foliar stoichiometric characteristic variations respond to aridity and salinity is still not well-known. Methods We calculated community weighted means (CWMs) and non-weighted means (CMs) of foliar C, N, and P concentrations (and their ratios) in a dryland plant community respond to high (HSW) and low soil moisture and salinity (LSW). Based on a sum of squares decomposition method, we determined the relative contributions of intraspecific variation and species turnover in both HSW and LSW habitats. Results The CWMs of foliar C, C:N and C:P, and CM of N in the HSW habitat were significantly greater than those in the LSW habitat. The trait variations in two habitats were mainly driven by intraspecific variation, and its contribution to trait variation mostly declined with the decrease of soil moisture and salinity. The CWMs of foliar C-related stoichiometric characteristics were mainly dominated by species turnover in both habitats. Moreover, the contribution of species turnover to C and C:P variations showed an increasing trend in the LSW habitat. For CWMs, negative covariations between intraspecific variation and turnover occurred in HSW and positive covariations (except N:P) occurred in LSW; however, CMs were generally positively correlated in both habitats. Conclusions The intraspecific variation declined as drought stress intensified, which indicates that the adaptability of desert plants declined when the stress changed from salinity to aridity. The total variation of C-related traits in both habitats were mainly dominated by species turnover. These findings highlight the importance of intraspecific variation in driving desert plant response of community functional composition to salt stress, and the joint role of intraspecific variation and species turnover in resisting drought stress.

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Shift in community functional composition following nitrogen fertilization in an alpine meadow through intraspecific trait variation and community composition change

Cited by 30 publications

References 48 publications

Nitrogen enrichment and warming shift community functional composition via distinct mechanisms: The role of intraspecific trait variability and species turnover

Nitrogen enrichment and warming shift community functional composition via distinct mechanisms: The role of intraspecific trait variability and species turnover

Driving factors of community‐level plant functional traits and species distributions in the desert‐wetland ecosystem of the Shule River Basin, China

The relative contribution of intraspecific variation and species turnover to the community-level foliar stoichiometric characteristics in different soil moisture and salinity habitats

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