Intraspecific variability of leaf form and function across habitat types

Trait-based ecology has already revealed main independent axes of trait variation defining trait spaces that summarize plant adaptive strategies, but often ignoring intraspecific trait variability (ITV). By using empirical ITV-level data for two independent dimensions of leaf form and function and 1...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Puglielli, Giacomo, Bricca, A, Chelli, S., Petruzzellis, F, Acosta, ATR, Bacaro, G, Tordoni, E
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2024
País:España
Institución:Universidad de Sevilla (US)
Repositorio:idUS. Depósito de Investigación de la Universidad de Sevilla
OAI Identifier:oai:idus.us.es:11441/159566
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/11441/159566
https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.14396
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:functional diversity
functional traits
intraspecific trait variability
leaf area
leaf mass per unit of the leaf area
plant strategies
trait space
Descripción
Sumario:Trait-based ecology has already revealed main independent axes of trait variation defining trait spaces that summarize plant adaptive strategies, but often ignoring intraspecific trait variability (ITV). By using empirical ITV-level data for two independent dimensions of leaf form and function and 167 species across five habitat types (coastal dunes, forests, grasslands, heathlands, wetlands) in the Italian peninsula, we found that ITV: (i) rotated the axes of trait variation that define the trait space; (ii) increased the variance explained by these axes and (iii) affected the functional structure of the target trait space. However, the magnitude of these effects was rather small and depended on the trait and habitat type. Our results reinforce the idea that ITV is context-dependent, calling for careful extrapolations of ITV patterns across traits and spatial scales. Importantly, our study provides a framework that can be used to start integrating ITV into trait space analyses.