Putting vascular epiphytes on the traits map
Por:
Hietz P., Wagner K., Nunes Ramos F., Cabral J.S., Agudelo C., Benavides A.M., Cach-Pérez M.J., Cardelús C.L., Chilpa Galván N., Erickson Nascimento da Costa L., de Paula Oliveira R., Einzmann H.J.R., de Paiva Farias R., Guzmán Jacob V., Kattge J., Kessler M., Kirby C., Kreft H., Krömer T., Males J., Monsalve Correa S., Moreno-Chacón M., Petter G., Reyes-García C., Saldaña A., Schellenberger Costa D., Taylor A., Velázquez Rosas N., Wanek W., Woods C.L., Zotz G.
Publicada:
1 ene 2022
Resumen:
Plant functional traits impact the fitness and environmental niche of plants. Major plant functional types have been characterized by their trait spectrum, and the environmental and phylogenetic imprints on traits have advanced several ecological fields. Yet, very few trait data on epiphytes, which represent almost 10% of vascular plants, are available. We collated 76,561 trait observations for 2,882 species of vascular epiphytes and compared these to non-epiphytic herbs and trees to test hypotheses related to how the epiphytic habit affects traits, and if epiphytes occupy a distinct region in the global trait space. We also compared variation in traits among major groups of epiphytes, and investigated the coordination of traits in epiphytes, ground-rooted herbs and trees. Epiphytes differ from ground-rooted plants mainly in traits related to water relations. Unexpectedly, we did not find lower leaf nutrient concentrations, except for nitrogen. Mean photosynthetic rates are much lower than in ground-rooted plants and lower than expected from the nitrogen concentrations. Trait syndromes clearly distinguish epiphytes from trees and from most non-epiphytic herbs. Among the three largest epiphytic taxa, orchids differ from bromeliads and ferns mainly by having smaller and more numerous stomata, while ferns differ from bromeliads by having thinner leaves, higher nutrient concentrations, and lower water content and water use efficiency. Trait networks differ among epiphytes, herbs and trees. While all have central nodes represented by SLA and mass-based photosynthesis, in epiphytes, traits related to plant water relations have stronger connections, and nutrients other than potassium have weaker connections to the remainder of the trait network. Whereas stem-specific density reflects mechanical support related to plant size in herbs and trees, in epiphytes it mostly reflects water storage and scales with leaf water content. Synthesis. Our findings advance our understanding of epiphyte ecology, but we note that currently mainly leaf traits are available. Important gaps are root, shoot and whole plant, demographic and gas exchange traits. We suggest how future research might use available data and fill data gaps. © 2021 The Authors. Journal of Ecology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Ecological Society
Filiaciones:
Hietz P.:
Institute of Botany, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria
Wagner K.:
Carl von Ossietzky University, Oldenburg, Germany
Nunes Ramos F.:
Institute of Nature Science, Universidade Federal de Alfenas, Alfenas, Brazil
Cabral J.S.:
Ecosystem Modeling, Center for Computational and Theoretical Biology (CCTB), University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
Agudelo C.:
National University of Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia
Benavides A.M.:
Jardín Botánico de Medellín, Medellín, Colombia
Cach-Pérez M.J.:
El Colegio de la Frontera Sur, Tabasco, Villahermosa, Mexico
Cardelús C.L.:
Colgate University, Hamilton, NY, United States
Chilpa Galván N.:
Centro de Investigación Científica de Yucatán, Mérida, Mexico
Erickson Nascimento da Costa L.:
Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil
de Paula Oliveira R.:
University of Brasilia, Brasilia, Brazil
Einzmann H.J.R.:
Carl von Ossietzky University, Oldenburg, Germany
de Paiva Farias R.:
Universidade Federal do Acre, Rio Branco, Brazil
Guzmán Jacob V.:
University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
Kattge J.:
Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Jena, Germany
German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
Kessler M.:
University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
Kirby C.:
University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand
Kreft H.:
University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
Krömer T.:
University of Veracruz, Xalapa, Mexico
Males J.:
University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
Monsalve Correa S.:
University of Antioquia, Medellin, Colombia
Moreno-Chacón M.:
Universidad de Concepción, Concepción, Chile
Petter G.:
University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
Reyes-García C.:
Centro de Investigación Científica de Yucatán, Mérida, Mexico
Saldaña A.:
Universidad de Concepción, Concepción, Chile
Schellenberger Costa D.:
University of Jena, Jena, Germany
Taylor A.:
University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
Velázquez Rosas N.:
University of Veracruz, Xalapa, Mexico
Wanek W.:
University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
Woods C.L.:
University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA, United States
Zotz G.:
Carl von Ossietzky University, Oldenburg, Germany
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Panama
Hybrid Gold
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