Climate and soil explain contrasting intraspecific trait variability of widespread species over a large environmental gradient
Both climatic and edaphic conditions are currently undergoing significant changes on a global scale. Early studies have suggested that climate and soil together shape plant performance. However, establishing a precise theoretical framework to describe trait-environment relationships has proven chall...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2024-12-01
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| Series: | Global Ecology and Conservation |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989424005420 |
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| author | Xia Chen Jiangbo Xie Qiqian Wu Hui Zhang Yan Li |
| author_facet | Xia Chen Jiangbo Xie Qiqian Wu Hui Zhang Yan Li |
| author_sort | Xia Chen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Both climatic and edaphic conditions are currently undergoing significant changes on a global scale. Early studies have suggested that climate and soil together shape plant performance. However, establishing a precise theoretical framework to describe trait-environment relationships has proven challenging. Understanding and identifying the patterns and drivers of intraspecific trait variation is crucial for anticipating changes in plant distributions. This study aimed to examine the relative importance of various environmental drivers in explaining intraspecific trait variation for two widespread species, Sophora japonica and Robinia pseudoacacia, across a broad environmental scale spanning from the southeast to the northwest of China. Intraspecific variation in fourteen functional traits accounted for 23.4 % of S. japonica and 28.4 % of R. pseudoacacia, indicating that these species exhibit a degree of plasticity in response to changing environmental conditions. There were differences in the influence of climatic and edaphic factors on intraspecific trait variation. For both species, hydraulic trait variations were primarily driven by climate during the growth season and climatic seasonality. In comparison, soil chemical properties accounted for a substantial proportion of the variability in leaf economic traits. Our results show that S. japonica and R. pseudoacacia responded differently to variations in climatic factors. In contrast, the impact of soil factors on traits was more consistently observed between these two species. We conclude that soil conditions, like climate, are crucial factors in investigating geographic variation in functional traits and species distributions. Our analysis also highlights that species specificity must be considered when discussing plant adaptability to climate change. These findings provide valuable insights into how and to what extent climatic and edaphic factors influence species distributions by driving the intraspecific trait variability. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-298d07c68a0f4d73b64af4109ef45511 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2351-9894 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Global Ecology and Conservation |
| spelling | doaj-art-298d07c68a0f4d73b64af4109ef455112025-08-20T01:56:46ZengElsevierGlobal Ecology and Conservation2351-98942024-12-0156e0333810.1016/j.gecco.2024.e03338Climate and soil explain contrasting intraspecific trait variability of widespread species over a large environmental gradientXia Chen0Jiangbo Xie1Qiqian Wu2Hui Zhang3Yan Li4State Key Laboratory of Subtropical Silviculture, Zhejiang A&F University, Hangzhou 311300, ChinaCorresponding author.; State Key Laboratory of Subtropical Silviculture, Zhejiang A&F University, Hangzhou 311300, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Subtropical Silviculture, Zhejiang A&F University, Hangzhou 311300, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Subtropical Silviculture, Zhejiang A&F University, Hangzhou 311300, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Subtropical Silviculture, Zhejiang A&F University, Hangzhou 311300, ChinaBoth climatic and edaphic conditions are currently undergoing significant changes on a global scale. Early studies have suggested that climate and soil together shape plant performance. However, establishing a precise theoretical framework to describe trait-environment relationships has proven challenging. Understanding and identifying the patterns and drivers of intraspecific trait variation is crucial for anticipating changes in plant distributions. This study aimed to examine the relative importance of various environmental drivers in explaining intraspecific trait variation for two widespread species, Sophora japonica and Robinia pseudoacacia, across a broad environmental scale spanning from the southeast to the northwest of China. Intraspecific variation in fourteen functional traits accounted for 23.4 % of S. japonica and 28.4 % of R. pseudoacacia, indicating that these species exhibit a degree of plasticity in response to changing environmental conditions. There were differences in the influence of climatic and edaphic factors on intraspecific trait variation. For both species, hydraulic trait variations were primarily driven by climate during the growth season and climatic seasonality. In comparison, soil chemical properties accounted for a substantial proportion of the variability in leaf economic traits. Our results show that S. japonica and R. pseudoacacia responded differently to variations in climatic factors. In contrast, the impact of soil factors on traits was more consistently observed between these two species. We conclude that soil conditions, like climate, are crucial factors in investigating geographic variation in functional traits and species distributions. Our analysis also highlights that species specificity must be considered when discussing plant adaptability to climate change. These findings provide valuable insights into how and to what extent climatic and edaphic factors influence species distributions by driving the intraspecific trait variability.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989424005420Adaptation strategyEnvironmental factorsFunctional traitsIntraspecific trait variationGeographical gradientWidespread species |
| spellingShingle | Xia Chen Jiangbo Xie Qiqian Wu Hui Zhang Yan Li Climate and soil explain contrasting intraspecific trait variability of widespread species over a large environmental gradient Global Ecology and Conservation Adaptation strategy Environmental factors Functional traits Intraspecific trait variation Geographical gradient Widespread species |
| title | Climate and soil explain contrasting intraspecific trait variability of widespread species over a large environmental gradient |
| title_full | Climate and soil explain contrasting intraspecific trait variability of widespread species over a large environmental gradient |
| title_fullStr | Climate and soil explain contrasting intraspecific trait variability of widespread species over a large environmental gradient |
| title_full_unstemmed | Climate and soil explain contrasting intraspecific trait variability of widespread species over a large environmental gradient |
| title_short | Climate and soil explain contrasting intraspecific trait variability of widespread species over a large environmental gradient |
| title_sort | climate and soil explain contrasting intraspecific trait variability of widespread species over a large environmental gradient |
| topic | Adaptation strategy Environmental factors Functional traits Intraspecific trait variation Geographical gradient Widespread species |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989424005420 |
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