Chin J Plant Ecol ›› 2024, Vol. 48 ›› Issue (12): 1650-1665.DOI: 10.17521/cjpe.2024.0025  cstr: 32100.14.cjpe.2024.0025

Special Issue: 植物功能性状

• Research Articles • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Characteristics of seasonal leaf trait network and its drivers in Artemisia ordosica in the Mau Us Sandy Land

XU Ming-Ze1,2, ZHAO Hong-Xian1, LI Cheng2, LI Man-Le1,3, TIAN Yun1, LIU Peng1, ZHA Tian-Shan1,*()   

  1. 1School of Soil and Water Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
    2Observation and Research Station of Ecological Restoration for Chongqing Typical Mining Areas (Ministry of Natural Resources, Chongqing Institute of Geology and Mineral Resources), Chongqing 401120, China
    3RLOH High Science and Technology Group, Beijing 100088, China
  • Received:2024-01-24 Accepted:2024-05-27 Online:2024-12-20 Published:2024-12-20
  • Contact: ZHA Tian-Shan
  • Supported by:
    National Natural Science Foundation of China(32071842);National Natural Science Foundation of China(32101588);National Natural Science Foundation of China(31901366);National Natural Science Foundation of China(32071843);Natural Science Foundation of Chongqing(CSTB2022NSCQ-MSX1121)

Abstract:

Aims Clarifying the network characteristics of plant traits is one of the research hotspots in functional ecology. However, our understanding of plant trait networks (PTN) and their driving factors on a seasonal scale is still limited.

Methods We used a LI-6400 portable photosynthetic instrument to regularly measure the light response and carbon dioxide response curves of Artemisia ordosica during the growing season (May to September), as well as leaf structural and biochemical indicators, to explore the correlation and trait network characteristics among 25 leaf traits.

Important findings There were significant correlations between leaf traits at the seasonal scale, and the closest coupling relationship between traits occurred between photosynthetic physiological traits, with a total of 67 pairs of physiological trait combinations showing significant correlation. The edge density, diameter, average path length, and modularity of the PTN are 0.58, 3, 1.51, and 0.08, respectively. The betweenness of leaf tissue density, leaf nitrogen content per unit area, and transpiration rate is relatively high, making it a “bridge” in PTN. PTN does not have an absolute central trait, and physiological traits as a whole exhibit high degree, eigenvector centrality, and clustering coefficient, indicating that the trait network is jointly dominated by physiological traits. Further analysis indicated that the 25 leaf traits at the seasonal scale can be compressed into two major trait dimensions: one is regulated by air temperature and soil moisture, and the other is regulated by photosynthetic effective radiation. The results emphasize that when evaluating the potential response of different trait functional groups to climate fluctuations, it is necessary to distinguish the degree and effect of environmental factors on different traits. If the seasonal response of plant traits to the environment is included in a unified paradigm, it will incorrectly evaluate the adaptability of plant traits.

Key words: leaf trait network, seasonal dynamics, Artemisia ordosica, trait variation