Ningjie Wang, Ting Lv, Lu Wang, Shuifei Chen, Lei Xie, Yanming Fang, Hui Ding
{"title":"Leaf functional traits and ecological strategies of common plant species in evergreen broad-leaved forests on Huangshan Mountain","authors":"Ningjie Wang, Ting Lv, Lu Wang, Shuifei Chen, Lei Xie, Yanming Fang, Hui Ding","doi":"10.1007/s11676-024-01780-0","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p>The survival strategy of plants is to adjust their functional traits to adapt to the environment. However, these traits and survival strategies of evergreen broad-leaved forest species are not well understood. This study examined 10 leaf functional traits (LFTs) of 70 common plant species in an evergreen broad-leaved forest in Huangshan Mountain to decipher their adaptive strategies. The phylogenetic signals of these LFTs were assessed and phylogenetically independent contrasts (PIC) and correlation analyses were carried out. LFTs were analyzed to determine their CSR (C: competitor, S: stress-tolerator, R: ruderal) strategies. The results show that plant species exhibit different leaf functional traits and ecological strategies (nine strategies were identified; the most abundant were S/CS and S/CSR strategies). Some traits showed significant phylogenetic signals, indicating the effect of phylogeny on LFTs to an extent. Trait variations among species suggest distinct adaptation strategies to environmental changes. The study species were mainly clustered on the C-S strategy axis, with a high S component. Species leaning toward the C-strategy end (e.g., deciduous species), favored a resource acquisition strategy characterized by higher specific leaf area (SLA), greater nutrient contents (N and P), lower leaf dry matter content (LDMC), and reduced nutrient utilization efficiency (C: N and C: P). Conversely, species closer to the S-strategy end (e.g., evergreen species) usually adopted a resource conservative strategy with trait combinations contrary to those of C-strategy species. Overall, this study corroborated the applicability of the CSR strategy at a local scale and provides insights into the varied trait combinations and ecological strategies employed by plant species to adapt to their environment. These findings contribute to a better understanding of the mechanisms involved in biodiversity maintenance.</p>","PeriodicalId":15830,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Forestry Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.4000,"publicationDate":"2024-09-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Forestry Research","FirstCategoryId":"97","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s11676-024-01780-0","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"FORESTRY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
The survival strategy of plants is to adjust their functional traits to adapt to the environment. However, these traits and survival strategies of evergreen broad-leaved forest species are not well understood. This study examined 10 leaf functional traits (LFTs) of 70 common plant species in an evergreen broad-leaved forest in Huangshan Mountain to decipher their adaptive strategies. The phylogenetic signals of these LFTs were assessed and phylogenetically independent contrasts (PIC) and correlation analyses were carried out. LFTs were analyzed to determine their CSR (C: competitor, S: stress-tolerator, R: ruderal) strategies. The results show that plant species exhibit different leaf functional traits and ecological strategies (nine strategies were identified; the most abundant were S/CS and S/CSR strategies). Some traits showed significant phylogenetic signals, indicating the effect of phylogeny on LFTs to an extent. Trait variations among species suggest distinct adaptation strategies to environmental changes. The study species were mainly clustered on the C-S strategy axis, with a high S component. Species leaning toward the C-strategy end (e.g., deciduous species), favored a resource acquisition strategy characterized by higher specific leaf area (SLA), greater nutrient contents (N and P), lower leaf dry matter content (LDMC), and reduced nutrient utilization efficiency (C: N and C: P). Conversely, species closer to the S-strategy end (e.g., evergreen species) usually adopted a resource conservative strategy with trait combinations contrary to those of C-strategy species. Overall, this study corroborated the applicability of the CSR strategy at a local scale and provides insights into the varied trait combinations and ecological strategies employed by plant species to adapt to their environment. These findings contribute to a better understanding of the mechanisms involved in biodiversity maintenance.
期刊介绍:
The Journal of Forestry Research (JFR), founded in 1990, is a peer-reviewed quarterly journal in English. JFR has rapidly emerged as an international journal published by Northeast Forestry University and Ecological Society of China in collaboration with Springer Verlag. The journal publishes scientific articles related to forestry for a broad range of international scientists, forest managers and practitioners.The scope of the journal covers the following five thematic categories and 20 subjects:
Basic Science of Forestry,
Forest biometrics,
Forest soils,
Forest hydrology,
Tree physiology,
Forest biomass, carbon, and bioenergy,
Forest biotechnology and molecular biology,
Forest Ecology,
Forest ecology,
Forest ecological services,
Restoration ecology,
Forest adaptation to climate change,
Wildlife ecology and management,
Silviculture and Forest Management,
Forest genetics and tree breeding,
Silviculture,
Forest RS, GIS, and modeling,
Forest management,
Forest Protection,
Forest entomology and pathology,
Forest fire,
Forest resources conservation,
Forest health monitoring and assessment,
Wood Science and Technology,
Wood Science and Technology.