Responses of the functional traits of wetland plants to variations in water levels and regimes—A global synthesis
Extreme hydrological events (such as intense precipitation, flooding, and drought) caused by global climate change threaten the stability of wetland ecosystems. Wetland plants' trait plasticity plays a critical role in buffering environmental fluctuations; however, the underlying adaptive mecha...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2025-12-01
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| Series: | Ecological Informatics |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1574954125003619 |
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| Summary: | Extreme hydrological events (such as intense precipitation, flooding, and drought) caused by global climate change threaten the stability of wetland ecosystems. Wetland plants' trait plasticity plays a critical role in buffering environmental fluctuations; however, the underlying adaptive mechanisms, especially how multiple traits interact in response to rapid shifts in hydrological conditions, remain poorly understood. We performed a meta-analysis of 46 functional traits of wetland plants (2257 effect sizes from 85 studies) to examine their responses to water addition and reduction treatments. Our analysis revealed that wetland plants employ conservative strategies in response to reduced water levels and expansive strategies in response to increased water levels. The impact of changes in water levels on biomass allocation was the most significant. Under water limitation, conservative strategies reduce biomass; under water enrichment, acquisitive strategies promote biomass for rapid growth. Moreover, we found that the degree of response in plant functional traits increases with the intensity of the experimental conditions. We utilised network analysis for a detailed exploration of the topological relationships between the multiple traits of wetland plants under decreased versus increased water level conditions. The trait networks of wetland plants exhibited lower modularity and higher clustering under reduced than under increased water availability conditions, which suggests that under water-decreased conditions, wetland plants coordinate their trait responses to enhance resource utilisation efficiency. Considering the escalating of global climate change and wetland degradation, elucidating wetland plant trait response mechanisms to water changes is crucial for effective conservation and management strategies for sustainable wetland ecosystems. |
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| ISSN: | 1574-9541 |