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Leaf trait variability explains how plant community composition changes under the intense pressure of deer herbivory
Ecological Research ( IF 2 ) Pub Date : 2021-04-12 , DOI: 10.1111/1440-1703.12224
Yuki Wakatsuki 1 , Keita Nishizawa 1 , Akira S. Mori 1
Affiliation  

There is growing evidence indicating that intraspecific trait variation (ITV) plays a prominent role in determining plant community composition. In this study, we investigated the significance of ITV in identifying the processes that shape the development of forest understory plant communities in an area in which excessive herbivory by overabundant deer populations has been an issue. We measured functional traits (height, leaf area, leaf mass per area, leaf dry matter content, and leaf toughness) of 13 forest floor plant species growing in two contrasting sites in which deer were overabundant or had been completely excluded, respectively, and examined the relationships between species dominance and interspecific trait variation and ITV. We detected variations in the trait plasticity of size and morphological features among species, reflecting species‐specific strategies in response to herbivory and consequently observed marked differences in species composition and diversity at the two sites. Notably, small stature and less costly leaves were identified as important traits that enable plants to persist under conditions of intense deer herbivory probably because such plants are less exposed to herbivory and simultaneously optimize carbon assimilation. In contrast, large‐sized plants with costly leaves tended to dominate the plant community in the absence of deer herbivory, as these plants would tend to gain a competitive advantage with respect to the acquisition of space and light. The findings of this study indicate that a focus on ITV represents a promising approach for determining the general ecological patterns of plant communities responding to environmental disturbance.

中文翻译:

叶片性状的变异性解释了在食草动物的强烈压力下植物群落组成如何变化

越来越多的证据表明,种内性状变异(ITV)在确定植物群落组成中起着重要作用。在这项研究中,我们调查了ITV在确定影响森林中林下植物群落发展的过程中的重要性,在该区域中,过量鹿种群引起的草食过多已成为一个问题。我们测量了生长在两个相对位置的13种林地植物物种的功能性状(高度,叶面积,每单位面积的叶质量,叶干物质含量和叶韧性),并对其进行了调查,并对其进行了调查,并对其进行了研究。种优势与种间性状变异和ITV之间的关系。我们检测到物种间大小和形态特征的性状可塑性存在差异,反映了针对草食动物的物种特定策略,因此在两个地点观察到物种组成和多样性存在明显差异。值得注意的是,矮小的身材和便宜的叶子被认为是重要的特征,使植物能够在强烈的鹿食草条件下生存,这可能是因为这类植物较少接触草食,同时优化了碳同化作用。相反,在没有鹿食草的情况下,叶片较大的大型植物往往在植物群落中占主导地位,因为这些植物在获取空间和光线方面往往会获得竞争优势。这项研究的结果表明,对ITV的关注代表了一种确定植物群落对环境干扰的一般生态模式的有前途的方法。
更新日期:2021-05-17
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