INVESTIGADORES
DIAZ Sandra Myrna
artículos
Título:
Plant functional traits and environmental filters at the regional scale.
Autor/es:
DÍAZ, S; CABIDO, M; CASANOVES, F.
Revista:
JOURNAL OF VEGETATION SCIENCE
Editorial:
WILEY-BLACKWELL PUBLISHING, INC
Referencias:
Lugar: Londres; Año: 1998 vol. 9 p. 113 - 122
ISSN:
1100-9233
Resumen:
Links between plant traits and the environment, i.e.
sets of plant attributes consistently associated with certain
environmental conditions, are the consequence of the filtering
effect of climatic, disturbance and biotic conditions. These
filters determine which components of a species pool are
assembled into local communities. We aimed at testing for
consistent association between plant traits and climatic conditions
along a steep regional gradient, divided into 13 climatically
homogeneous sectors, in central-western Argentina. We
analyzed 19 vegetative and regeneration traits of the 100 most
abundant species along the gradient. For each trait, we tested
for homogeneity of frequencies of different categories between
sectors and the regional species pool, using the c2c2
statistic. We rejected H0 in 71% of the pair-wise comparisons,
which strongly suggests a filtering effect of climatic factors on
key plant functions. Vegetative traits were filtered more often
than regeneration traits. Specific leaf area, life span, ramification,
canopy height, leaf weight ratio, carbon investment into
support tissue and pollination mode were the traits showing
differences in the largest number of pair-wise comparisons.
This is probably the first attempt to detect, on a quantitative,
statistically conservative basis, consistent linkages between
climatic factors and numerous plant traits, over a broadArgentina
spectrum of environmental conditions and plant growth forms.
We discuss the advantages and limitations of this approach in
predicting vegetation structure and functioning under present
environmental conditions, and those expected for the next
century as a consequence of global change.0 in 71% of the pair-wise comparisons,
which strongly suggests a filtering effect of climatic factors on
key plant functions. Vegetative traits were filtered more often
than regeneration traits. Specific leaf area, life span, ramification,
canopy height, leaf weight ratio, carbon investment into
support tissue and pollination mode were the traits showing
differences in the largest number of pair-wise comparisons.
This is probably the first attempt to detect, on a quantitative,
statistically conservative basis, consistent linkages between
climatic factors and numerous plant traits, over a broadArgentina
spectrum of environmental conditions and plant growth forms.
We discuss the advantages and limitations of this approach in
predicting vegetation structure and functioning under present
environmental conditions, and those expected for the next
century as a consequence of global change.