A test of the explanatory power of plant functional traits on the individual and population levels

0369306 - BÚ 2012 RIV DE eng J - Journal Article
Lanta, V. - Klimešová, Jitka - Martincová, K. - Janeček, Štěpán - Doležal, Jiří - Rosenthal, J. - Lepš, Jan - Klimeš, Leoš
A test of the explanatory power of plant functional traits on the individual and population levels.
Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics. Roč. 13, č. 3 (2011), 189-199. ISSN 1433-8319. E-ISSN 1433-8319
R&D Projects: GA ČR GA526/09/0963; GA ČR(CZ) GA526/06/0723
Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z60050516; CEZ:AV0Z50070508
Keywords : meadows * abandonment * moisture
Subject RIV: EF - Botanics
Impact factor: 3.208, year: 2011

An important issue in plant ecology is the extent to which functional traits that explain patterns at one organizational level serve as explanatory variables at higher levels, while a related subject is the universality of relationships between traits and responses to environmental variables even at a given level. We addressed both questions experimentally by either mowing or abandoning plots within two meadows, one wet and one dry, and then measuring the performance of 42 species in terms of shoot growth and flowering (individual level) and species cover (population level), and relating these performance measures to traits. Our study found that only one trait had predictive value for responses at both the individual and population level for the environmental alteration consisting of mowing vs. abandonment The limited ability of the predictive power of traits to transcend organizational level and ecological milieu suggests that trait function is highly context dependent.
Permanent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0203402