Aims Although leaf and root traits may change considerably throughout plant development, ontogenetic variation is rarely considered in trait-based ecology. Studies focused on how morphological root traits change throughout ontogeny are especially rare. Our objectives were to determine how ontogeny influences seedling traits to inform trait selection for future studies and to advance understanding of how traits at early developmental stages influence seedling growth. Methods We measured traits from eleven herbaceous species at several developmental stages. We used Bayesian random effects models to assess the effects and variation resulting from species identity and ontogeny for each trait. We used principal component analysis and multiple regression to identify which dominant axes of variation were correlated with future growth rates. Results Variation in traits resulting from ontogeny was greatest for growth rates and root elongation rates. Relationships among traits were similar at all ontogenetic stages, but which principal component axes were correlated with future growth depended on stage; at the earliest harvest, the axis related to tissue construction was linked to future growth rate, whereas, at the last harvest, three independent axes were related to future growth rate. Conclusions In our study, traits including leaf dry matter content, root tissue density, and root diameter varied little throughout seedling development and thus may be promising candidates for future trait-based studies. Linking suites of traits to growth strategies may be particularly fruitful for understanding plant strategies throughout early development, as multivariate relationships among traits appear to be more ontogenetically stable than individual traits.

中文翻译：

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叶和根性状，但不是性状之间的关系，随幼苗个体发育而变化

目的 虽然叶和根的性状在整个植物发育过程中可能会发生相当大的变化，但在基于性状的生态学中很少考虑个体遗传变异。专注于形态学根特征在整个个体发育过程中如何变化的研究尤其罕见。我们的目标是确定个体发育如何影响幼苗性状，为未来研究的性状选择提供信息，并促进对早期发育阶段性状如何影响幼苗生长的理解。方法 我们测量了 11 个草本物种在几个发育阶段的性状。我们使用贝叶斯随机效应模型来评估每个性状的物种同一性和个体发育产生的影响和变异。我们使用主成分分析和多元回归来确定哪些变化的主导轴与未来的增长率相关。结果个体发育导致的性状变异在生长速率和根伸长率方面最大。各个个体发育阶段性状之间的关系相似，但哪些主成分轴与未来生长相关取决于阶段；在最早的收获时，与组织构建相关的轴与未来的生长速度相关，而在最后一次收获时，三个独立的轴与未来的生长速度相关。结论在我们的研究中，包括叶干物质含量、根组织密度和根直径在内的性状在整个幼苗发育过程中变化很小，因此可能是未来基于性状研究的有希望的候选者。将一系列性状与生长策略联系起来对于理解整个早期发育的植物策略可能特别有效，