PLANT FUNCTIONAL TRAITS, ENVIRONMENTS AND ECOSYSTEM FUNCTIONING

doi:10.17521/cjpe.2007.0019

Abstract

Abstract:

Plant traits link environmental factors, individuals and ecosystem structure and functions as plants respond and adapt to the environment. This review introduces worldwide classification schemes of plant functional traits and summarizes research on the relationships between plant functional traits and environmental factors such as climate (e.g., temperature, precipitation and light), geographical variation (e.g., topography, ecological gradients and altitude), nutrients and disturbance (including fire, grazing, invasion and land use), as well as between plant functional traits and ecosystem functions. We synthesize impacts of global change (e.g., climate change) on plant functional traits of individuals and plant communities. Research on plant functional traits is very fruitful, being applicable to research on global change, paleovegetation and paleoclimate reconstruction, environmental monitoring and assessment and vegetation conservation and restoration. However, further studies at large scale and including multi-environmental factors are needed and methods of measuring traits need to be improved. In the future, study of plant functional traits in China should be accelerated in a clear and systematic way.

Key words: plant traits, plant functional traits, plant functional types, environments, ecosystem functioning

MENG Ting-Ting, NI Jian, Wang Guo-Hong. PLANT FUNCTIONAL TRAITS, ENVIRONMENTS AND ECOSYSTEM FUNCTIONING[J]. Chin J Plant Ecol, 2007, 31(1): 150-165.

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https://www.plant-ecology.com/EN/Y2007/V31/I1/150

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References 141

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