scholarly journals Variation in leaf traits at different altitudes reflects the adaptive strategy of plants to environmental changes

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (15) ◽  
pp. 8166-8175
Author(s):  
Wensheng Liu ◽  
Li Zheng ◽  
Danhui Qi
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Leaf Traits ◽  
Adaptive Strategy ◽  
Different Altitudes

scholarly journals New handbook for standardised measurement of plant functional traits worldwide

2013 ◽  
Vol 61 (3) ◽  
pp. 167 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Pérez-Harguindeguy ◽  
S. Díaz ◽  
E. Garnier ◽  
S. Lavorel ◽  
H. Poorter ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Functional Traits ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Plant Traits ◽  
Leaf Traits ◽  
Plant Functional Traits ◽  
Trophic Levels ◽  
Evolutionary Patterns ◽  
Ecosystem Properties ◽  
Species Invasions ◽  
Wide Range

Plant functional traits are the features (morphological, physiological, phenological) that represent ecological strategies and determine how plants respond to environmental factors, affect other trophic levels and influence ecosystem properties. Variation in plant functional traits, and trait syndromes, has proven useful for tackling many important ecological questions at a range of scales, giving rise to a demand for standardised ways to measure ecologically meaningful plant traits. This line of research has been among the most fruitful avenues for understanding ecological and evolutionary patterns and processes. It also has the potential both to build a predictive set of local, regional and global relationships between plants and environment and to quantify a wide range of natural and human-driven processes, including changes in biodiversity, the impacts of species invasions, alterations in biogeochemical processes and vegetation–atmosphere interactions. The importance of these topics dictates the urgent need for more and better data, and increases the value of standardised protocols for quantifying trait variation of different species, in particular for traits with power to predict plant- and ecosystem-level processes, and for traits that can be measured relatively easily. Updated and expanded from the widely used previous version, this handbook retains the focus on clearly presented, widely applicable, step-by-step recipes, with a minimum of text on theory, and not only includes updated methods for the traits previously covered, but also introduces many new protocols for further traits. This new handbook has a better balance between whole-plant traits, leaf traits, root and stem traits and regenerative traits, and puts particular emphasis on traits important for predicting species’ effects on key ecosystem properties. We hope this new handbook becomes a standard companion in local and global efforts to learn about the responses and impacts of different plant species with respect to environmental changes in the present, past and future.

scholarly journals Leaf traits variation in Sesleria nitida growing at different altitudes in the Central Apennines

2014 ◽  
Vol 52 (3) ◽  
pp. 386-396 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Gratani ◽  
M. F. Crescente ◽  
V. D'Amato ◽  
C. Ricotta ◽  
A. R. Frattaroli ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Leaf Traits ◽  
Central Apennines ◽  
Different Altitudes

scholarly journals Response of Soil Microbial Community Structure and Function to Different Altitudes in Arid Valley in Panzhihua, China

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Runji Zhang ◽  
Xianrui Tian ◽  
Quanju Xiang ◽  
Petri Penttinen ◽  
Yunfu Gu
Keyword(s):  
Microbial Community ◽  
Community Composition ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Microbial Community Composition ◽  
Chemical Properties ◽  
Microbial Biomass C ◽  
Chemical Characteristics ◽  
Soil Microbial Community Structure ◽  
Available N ◽  
Different Altitudes

Abstract Background: Altitude affects biodiversity and physic-chemical properties of soil, providing natural sites for studying species distribution and the response of biota to environmental changes. We sampled soil at three altitudes in an arid valley, determined the physic-chemical characteristics and microbial community composition in the soils, identified differentially abundant taxa and the relationships between community composition and environmental factors. Results: The low, medium and high altitudes were roughly separated based on the physic-chemical characteristics and clearly separated based on the microbial community composition. The differences in community composition were associated with differences in all measured factors except pH. The contents of organic and microbial biomass C, total and available N and available P, and the richness and diversity of the microbial communities were lowest in the medium altitude. The relative abundances of phyla Proteobacteria, Gemmatimonadetes, Actinobacteria and Acidobacteria were high at all altitudes. The differentially abundant ASVs were mostly assigned to Proteobacteria and Acidobacteria. The highest number of ASVs characterizing altitude were detected in the high altitude. However, the predicted functions of the communities were overlapping, suggesting that the contribution of the communities to soil processes changed relatively little along the altitude gradient. Conclusions: The composition of microbial community at different altitudes was related to the differences of all measuring factors except pH in arid valley in Panzhihua, China.

scholarly journals Diversity in Shade and Light Leaf Morphology in Beech Populations of South Rodopi Mountains

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefanos Boutsios ◽  
Amaryllis Vidalis ◽  
George C. Adamidis ◽  
Seraphim Hatziskakis ◽  
Georgios Varsamis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Leaf Traits ◽  
Adaptive Strategy ◽  
Transitional Zone ◽  
Genetic Studies ◽  
Size And Shape ◽  
Direct Irradiation ◽  
Differentiation Pattern ◽  
Shade Leaves ◽  
East West ◽  
Leaf Morphological Traits

Abstract The size and shape of tree leaves and their variation within the canopy are the result of both physiological plasticity and an overall adaptive strategy against unfavourable environmental conditions. In this study, diversity patterns at leaf morphological traits will be described within and among populations of trees with different phylogenetic background. Beech (Fagus sp.) is a widespread tree in Eurasia, represented by two species; F. sylvatica in Europe and F. orientalis in eastern Europe and Asia. Both species appear in the Rodopi mountains, in southeast Balkans. Five beech populations were sampled in the southern slopes of Rodopi along a west–east gradient representing an established transitional zone between the two beech species. The diversity of six leaf traits was examined in shade leaves and leaves exposed to direct irradiation. Significant differences appeared among populations and among the two shading classes. Western beech populations consisted of trees with smaller leaves and fewer veins and were morphologically closer to F. sylvatica, while eastern populations seemed to be closer to F. orientalis. Shade leaves were constantly larger and less round than light leaves, probably due to different light harvesting strategies. The differences between populations were larger for shade leaves than for light leaves and presented a clear east–west trend, consistent to the differentiation pattern provided by previous genetic studies in the same region. Our results indicate that shade leaves probably maintain their size and shape independent from light irradiation and therefore may better express genetic differences among populations.

scholarly journals Corrigendum to: New handbook for standardised measurement of plant functional traits worldwide

2016 ◽  
Vol 64 (8) ◽  
pp. 715 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Pérez-Harguindeguy ◽  
S. Díaz ◽  
E. Garnier ◽  
S. Lavorel ◽  
H. Poorter ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Functional Traits ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Plant Traits ◽  
Leaf Traits ◽  
Plant Functional Traits ◽  
Trophic Levels ◽  
Evolutionary Patterns ◽  
Ecosystem Properties ◽  
Species Invasions ◽  
Wide Range

Plant functional traits are the features (morphological, physiological, phenological) that represent ecological strategies and determine how plants respond to environmental factors, affect other trophic levels and influence ecosystem properties. Variation in plant functional traits, and trait syndromes, has proven useful for tackling many important ecological questions at a range of scales, giving rise to a demand for standardised ways to measure ecologically meaningful plant traits. This line of research has been among the most fruitful avenues for understanding ecological and evolutionary patterns and processes. It also has the potential both to build a predictive set of local, regional and global relationships between plants and environment and to quantify a wide range of natural and human-driven processes, including changes in biodiversity, the impacts of species invasions, alterations in biogeochemical processes and vegetation–atmosphere interactions. The importance of these topics dictates the urgent need for more and better data, and increases the value of standardised protocols for quantifying trait variation of different species, in particular for traits with power to predict plant- and ecosystem-level processes, and for traits that can be measured relatively easily. Updated and expanded from the widely used previous version, this handbook retains the focus on clearly presented, widely applicable, step-by-step recipes, with a minimum of text on theory, and not only includes updated methods for the traits previously covered, but also introduces many new protocols for further traits. This new handbook has a better balance between whole-plant traits, leaf traits, root and stem traits and regenerative traits, and puts particular emphasis on traits important for predicting species' effects on key ecosystem properties. We hope this new handbook becomes a standard companion in local and global efforts to learn about the responses and impacts of different plant species with respect to environmental changes in the present, past and future.

scholarly journals Restoring ancestral microbiome aids beetle adaptation to new diets

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aparna Agarwal ◽  
Deepa Agashe
Keyword(s):  
Microbial Community ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Insect Pest ◽  
Adaptive Strategy ◽  
Stored Grain ◽  
Rapid Restoration ◽  
Relationship Change ◽  
Generalist Insect ◽  
Rapid Environmental Change ◽  
New Habitats

ABSTRACTEukaryotic hosts often depend on microbes that enhance their fitness, and such relationships may be relatively easily maintained in a stable environment. What is the fate of these associations under rapid environmental change? For instance, if the host switches to a new diet and/or encounters a different microbial community, how does the host-microbiome relationship change? Are the changes adaptive, and how rapidly do they occur? We addressed these questions with the red flour beetle Tribolium castaneum, a generalist insect pest that both consumes and lives in stored grain flour. We found that beetle fitness is enhanced by flour-acquired microbes in the ancestral habitat (wheat flour), but not in novel suboptimal environments (e.g. corn flour) that have a different resident microbial community. Beetles that disperse to new habitats thus have low fitness and a dramatically altered microbiome. Enriching novel habitats with ancestral (wheat-derived) microbes increased beetle fitness, suggesting a viable adaptive strategy. Indeed, within a few generations of laboratory adaptation to two distinct novel habitats, we found that beetle populations gradually restored their ancestral microbiome. Importantly, evolved populations showed a microbe-dependent increase in fecundity and survival on the new diet. We suggest that such repeated, rapid restoration of host-microbe associations may allow generalists to successfully colonize new habitats and escape extinction despite sudden environmental changes.

scholarly journals Behaviour, life history and persistence in novel environments

2019 ◽  
Vol 374 (1781) ◽  
pp. 20180056 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joan Maspons ◽  
Roberto Molowny-Horas ◽  
Daniel Sol
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Population Growth ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Extinction Risk ◽  
Adaptive Strategy ◽  
Habitat Choice ◽  
Life History Strategies ◽  
Behavioural Responses ◽  
Novel Environments ◽  
Matching Habitat Choice

Understanding what affects population growth in novel environments is fundamental to forecast organisms' responses to global change, including biological invasions and land use intensification. Novel environments are challenging because they can cause maladaptation, increasing the risk of extinction by negative population growth. Animals can avoid extinction by improving the phenotype–environment match through behavioural responses, notably matching habitat choice and learning. However, the demographic consequences of these responses remain insufficiently understood in part because they have not been analysed within a life-history context. By means of an individual-based model, we show here that matching habitat choice and learning interact with life history to influence persistence in novel environments. In maladaptive contexts, the likelihood of persisting is higher for life-history strategies that increase the value of adults over the value of offspring, even at the cost of decreasing reproduction. Such a strategy facilitates persistence in novel environments by reducing the costs of a reproductive failure while increasing the benefits of behavioural responses. Our results reinforce the view that a more predictive theory for extinction risk under rapid environmental changes requires considering behavioural responses and life history as part of a common adaptive strategy to cope with environmental changes. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Linking behaviour to dynamics of populations and communities: application of novel approaches in behavioural ecology to conservation’.

scholarly journals Intraspecific trait variability and genetic diversity in the adaptive strategies of serpentine and non-serpentine populations of Silene paradoxa L.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lorenzo Lazzaro ◽  
Ilaria Colzi ◽  
Daniele Ciampi ◽  
Cristina Gonnelli ◽  
Lorenzo Lastrucci ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Diversity ◽  
Functional Traits ◽  
Gene Pool ◽  
Leaf Traits ◽  
Adaptive Strategies ◽  
Adaptive Strategy ◽  
Serpentine Soils ◽  
Intraspecific Trait Variation ◽  
Edaphic Conditions ◽  
Silene Paradoxa

Abstract Aims We investigated whether individuals of Silene paradoxa L., grown in serpentine and non-serpentine soils, displayed variation in functional traits and adaptive strategies together with a differentiation of the gene pool. We hypothesised that individuals growing in serpentine sites may be exposed to a higher degree of stress, resulting in measurable differences in leaf traits and adaptive strategies, and as well that the differences in the soil type were associated with a genetic process of differentiation. Methods We analysed a specific set of leaf functional traits of populations of S. paradoxa grown on serpentine and non-serpentine soils. Furthermore, DNA-fingerprinting techniques were used to further dissect the emergence of genetic processes of differentiation linked to the different soil types. Results We detected a relevant intraspecific trait variation in S. paradoxa, with the populations from serpentine sites significantly polarised towards the stress-tolerant adaptive strategy. This polarisation came with a shift in gene pool selection, even if we did not detect quantitative differences in the genetic diversity or evidence of genetic drift. Conclusions The results indicate that particular edaphic conditions acted on the selection of some regions of the species’ genome, independently of the site, with various portions of the genome being exclusive to or prevalent in the serpentine or non-serpentine populations.

scholarly journals Comprehensive leaf size traits dataset for seven plant species from digitised herbarium specimen images covering more than two centuries

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vamsi Krishna Kommineni ◽  
Susanne Tautenhahn ◽  
Pramod Baddam ◽  
Jitendra Gaikwad ◽  
Barbara Wieczorek ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Leaf Shape ◽  
Leaf Traits ◽  
Herbarium Specimen ◽  
Herbarium Specimens ◽  
Ecological Knowledge ◽  
Natural Environments ◽  
Leaf Trait ◽  
Space And Time ◽  
Climate Change Responses

Morphological leaf traits are frequently used to quantify, understand and predict plant and vegetation functional diversity and ecology, including environmental and climate change responses. Although morphological leaf traits are easy to measure, their coverage for characterising variation within species and across temporal scales is limited. At the same time, there are about 3100 herbaria worldwide, containing approximately 390 million plant specimens dating from the 16th to 21st century, which can potentially be used to extract morphological leaf traits. Globally, plant specimens are rapidly being digitised and images are made openly available via various biodiversity data platforms, such as iDigBio and GBIF. Based on a pilot study to identify the availability and appropriateness of herbarium specimen images for comprehensive trait data extraction, we developed a spatio-temporal dataset on intraspecific trait variability containing 128,036 morphological leaf trait measurements for seven selected species. After scrutinising the metadata of digitised herbarium specimen images available from iDigBio and GBIF (21.9 million and 31.6 million images for Tracheophyta; accessed date December 2020), we identified approximately 10 million images potentially appropriate for our study. From the 10 million images, we selected seven species (Salix bebbiana Sarg., Alnus incana (L.) Moench, Viola canina L., Salix glauca L., Chenopodium album L., Impatiens capensis Meerb. and Solanum dulcamara L.) , which have a simple leaf shape, are well represented in space and time and have high availability of specimens per species. We downloaded 17,383 images. Out of these, we discarded 5779 images due to quality issues. We used the remaining 11,604 images to measure the area, length, width and perimeter on 32,009 individual leaf blades using the semi-automated tool TraitEx. The resulting dataset contains 128,036 trait records. We demonstrate its comparability to trait data measured in natural environments following standard protocols by comparing trait values from the TRY database. We conclude that the herbarium specimens provide valuable information on leaf sizes. The dataset created in our study, by extracting leaf traits from the digitised herbarium specimen images of seven selected species, is a promising opportunity to improve ecological knowledge about the adaptation of size-related leaf traits to environmental changes in space and time.

scholarly journals Environmentally Induced Alternative Livelihood Strategies among the Artisanal Fishers of the Kainji Lake Basin, Nigeria

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-7
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Sustainable Livelihoods ◽  
Adaptive Strategy ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Lake Basin ◽  
Fish Yield ◽  
Alternative Livelihood ◽  
Artisanal Fishers ◽  
Strategy Model ◽  
Kainji Lake

Living in poverty-driven communities suffering from food insecurity that is escalated as a result of sub-standard exploitation, fishery resources, and other environmental challenges, small-scale Nigerian artisanal fishers have dominated the fisheries sub-sector. Sadly, environmental changes have reduced Kainji Lake's inflow levels from 393,369m/cu3 in 1994 to 307,231m/cu3 in 2011, accordingly reducing the fish yield by 24025 metric tons in the same period, which has put innumerable Nigerian beneficiaries livelihood at serious risk. The study aimed to devise and propose an adaptive strategy model using the concept of sustainable livelihoods approach. This study mainly depended on distributing questionnaires among thirty fishing communities as the data collection method and provided supplementary data from officials. The results indicated that a set of four livelihood activities yields optimum outcomes. This paper also discusses its implications.

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