Traditional plant functional groups explain variation in economic but not size‐related traits across the tundra biome
Aim: Plant functional groups are widely used in community ecology and earth system modelling to describe trait variation within and across plant communities. However, this approach rests on the assumption that functional groups explain a large proportion of trait variation among species. We test whe...
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ftunivzuerich:oai:www.zora.uzh.ch:182520 2024-10-06T13:53:14+00:00 Traditional plant functional groups explain variation in economic but not size‐related traits across the tundra biome Thomas, H J D Myers‐Smith, I H Bjorkman, A D Prevéy, J S Rixen, C Schaepman-Strub, G 2019 application/pdf https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/182520/ https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.12783 eng eng Wiley-Blackwell Publishing, Inc. https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/182520/1/Thomas_et_al-2019-Global_Ecology_and_Biogeography.pdf doi:10.5167/uzh-182520 doi:10.1111/geb.12783 urn:issn:1466-822X info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Creative Commons: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Thomas, H J D; Myers‐Smith, I H; Bjorkman, A D; et al; Prevéy, J S; Rixen, C; Schaepman-Strub, G (2019). Traditional plant functional groups explain variation in economic but not size‐related traits across the tundra biome. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 28:78-95. Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies Global Change and Biodiversity 570 Life sciences biology 590 Animals (Zoology) Ecology Global and Planetary Change Evolution Behavior and Systematics Journal Article PeerReviewed info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion 2019 ftunivzuerich https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.1278310.5167/uzh-182520 2024-09-25T00:59:11Z Aim: Plant functional groups are widely used in community ecology and earth system modelling to describe trait variation within and across plant communities. However, this approach rests on the assumption that functional groups explain a large proportion of trait variation among species. We test whether four commonly used plant functional groups represent variation in six ecologically important plant traits. Location: Tundra biome. Time period: Data collected between 1964 and 2016. Major taxa studied: 295 tundra vascular plant species. Methods: We compiled a database of six plant traits (plant height, leaf area, specific leaf area, leaf dry matter content, leaf nitrogen, seed mass) for tundra species. We examined the variation in species‐level trait expression explained by four traditional functional groups (evergreen shrubs, deciduous shrubs, graminoids, forbs), and whether variation explained was dependent upon the traits included in analysis. We further compared the explanatory power and species composition of functional groups to alternative classifications generated using post hoc clustering of species‐level traits. Results: Traditional functional groups explained significant differences in trait expression, particularly amongst traits associated with resource economics, which were consistent across sites and at the biome scale. However, functional groups explained 19% of overall trait variation and poorly represented differences in traits associated with plant size. Post hoc classification of species did not correspond well with traditional functional groups, and explained twice as much variation in species‐level trait expression. Main conclusions: Traditional functional groups only coarsely represent variation in well‐measured traits within tundra plant communities, and better explain resource economic traits than size‐related traits. We recommend caution when using functional group approaches to predict tundra vegetation change, or ecosystem functions relating to plant size, such as albedo or carbon ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Tundra University of Zurich (UZH): ZORA (Zurich Open Repository and Archive |
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Open Polar |
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University of Zurich (UZH): ZORA (Zurich Open Repository and Archive |
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ftunivzuerich |
language |
English |
topic |
Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies Global Change and Biodiversity 570 Life sciences biology 590 Animals (Zoology) Ecology Global and Planetary Change Evolution Behavior and Systematics |
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Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies Global Change and Biodiversity 570 Life sciences biology 590 Animals (Zoology) Ecology Global and Planetary Change Evolution Behavior and Systematics Thomas, H J D Myers‐Smith, I H Bjorkman, A D Prevéy, J S Rixen, C Schaepman-Strub, G Traditional plant functional groups explain variation in economic but not size‐related traits across the tundra biome |
topic_facet |
Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies Global Change and Biodiversity 570 Life sciences biology 590 Animals (Zoology) Ecology Global and Planetary Change Evolution Behavior and Systematics |
description |
Aim: Plant functional groups are widely used in community ecology and earth system modelling to describe trait variation within and across plant communities. However, this approach rests on the assumption that functional groups explain a large proportion of trait variation among species. We test whether four commonly used plant functional groups represent variation in six ecologically important plant traits. Location: Tundra biome. Time period: Data collected between 1964 and 2016. Major taxa studied: 295 tundra vascular plant species. Methods: We compiled a database of six plant traits (plant height, leaf area, specific leaf area, leaf dry matter content, leaf nitrogen, seed mass) for tundra species. We examined the variation in species‐level trait expression explained by four traditional functional groups (evergreen shrubs, deciduous shrubs, graminoids, forbs), and whether variation explained was dependent upon the traits included in analysis. We further compared the explanatory power and species composition of functional groups to alternative classifications generated using post hoc clustering of species‐level traits. Results: Traditional functional groups explained significant differences in trait expression, particularly amongst traits associated with resource economics, which were consistent across sites and at the biome scale. However, functional groups explained 19% of overall trait variation and poorly represented differences in traits associated with plant size. Post hoc classification of species did not correspond well with traditional functional groups, and explained twice as much variation in species‐level trait expression. Main conclusions: Traditional functional groups only coarsely represent variation in well‐measured traits within tundra plant communities, and better explain resource economic traits than size‐related traits. We recommend caution when using functional group approaches to predict tundra vegetation change, or ecosystem functions relating to plant size, such as albedo or carbon ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Thomas, H J D Myers‐Smith, I H Bjorkman, A D Prevéy, J S Rixen, C Schaepman-Strub, G |
author_facet |
Thomas, H J D Myers‐Smith, I H Bjorkman, A D Prevéy, J S Rixen, C Schaepman-Strub, G |
author_sort |
Thomas, H J D |
title |
Traditional plant functional groups explain variation in economic but not size‐related traits across the tundra biome |
title_short |
Traditional plant functional groups explain variation in economic but not size‐related traits across the tundra biome |
title_full |
Traditional plant functional groups explain variation in economic but not size‐related traits across the tundra biome |
title_fullStr |
Traditional plant functional groups explain variation in economic but not size‐related traits across the tundra biome |
title_full_unstemmed |
Traditional plant functional groups explain variation in economic but not size‐related traits across the tundra biome |
title_sort |
traditional plant functional groups explain variation in economic but not size‐related traits across the tundra biome |
publisher |
Wiley-Blackwell Publishing, Inc. |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/182520/ https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.12783 |
genre |
Tundra |
genre_facet |
Tundra |
op_source |
Thomas, H J D; Myers‐Smith, I H; Bjorkman, A D; et al; Prevéy, J S; Rixen, C; Schaepman-Strub, G (2019). Traditional plant functional groups explain variation in economic but not size‐related traits across the tundra biome. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 28:78-95. |
op_relation |
https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/182520/1/Thomas_et_al-2019-Global_Ecology_and_Biogeography.pdf doi:10.5167/uzh-182520 doi:10.1111/geb.12783 urn:issn:1466-822X |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Creative Commons: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.1278310.5167/uzh-182520 |
_version_ |
1812181902324400128 |