Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 6, 2025
11:09
Relating Stomatal Conductance to Leaf Functional Traits
Published on: October 12, 2015
19.5K
Intraspecific trait variability shapes leaf trait response to altered fire regimes
Rachel M Mitchell1, Greg M Ames2, Justin P Wright2
1School of Earth and Sustainability, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, USA.
Annals of Botany
|October 10, 2020
Summary
Altered fire regimes significantly impact plant communities by changing species composition and shifting vegetation zones. These changes are primarily driven by shifts in individual plant traits, not just species presence.
Area of Science:
- Community ecology
- Ecosystem science
- Plant functional traits
Background:
- Understanding how disturbances affect ecosystems is crucial for ecology.
- Functional traits link species to ecosystem functions.
- Disturbances can alter traits through species shifts or changes within species.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate fire frequency impacts on longleaf pine ecosystems.
- Determine if changes are due to species turnover, abundance shifts, or intraspecific trait variation.
- Assess trait responses (SLA, LDMC) across environmental gradients.
Main Methods:
- Experimental manipulation of fire return intervals in a longleaf pine ecosystem.
- Measurement of specific leaf area (SLA) and leaf dry matter content (LDMC).
- Trait-based analysis comparing observed data with simulated scenarios of species and trait changes.
Main Results:
- Altered fire frequency significantly impacted understory plant communities and shifted ecotone boundaries.
- Observed shifts in community-weighted mean (CWM) traits, specifically SLA and LDMC, were primarily driven by intraspecific trait variation.
- Fire suppression led to an upland shift, while annual burning caused a lowland shift in vegetation zones.
Conclusions:
- Increased fire frequency alters community composition and ecosystem structure in fire-adapted systems.
- Plant traits like SLA and LDMC respond directionally to fire frequency, with changes largely due to intraspecific variation.
- Intraspecific trait variation is a key driver of community-level trait changes in response to altered fire regimes.
Related Concept Videos
02:16Light Acquisition
9.2K
In order to produce glucose, plants need to capture sufficient light energy. Many modern plants have evolved leaves specialized for light acquisition. Leaves can be only millimeters in width or tens of meters wide, depending on the environment. Due to competition for sunlight, evolution has driven the evolution of increasingly larger leaves and taller plants, to avoid shading by their neighbors with contaminant elaboration of root architecture and mechanisms to transport water and nutrients.
9.2K
01:57Adaptations that Reduce Water Loss
27.5K
Though evaporation from plant leaves drives transpiration, it also results in loss of water. Because water is critical for photosynthetic reactions and other cellular processes, evolutionary pressures on plants in different environments have driven the acquisition of adaptations that reduce water loss.
27.5K
02:45Responses to Heat and Cold Stress
14.4K
Every organism has an optimum temperature range within which healthy growth and physiological functioning can occur. At the ends of this range, there will be a minimum and maximum temperature that interrupt biological processes.
14.4K
03:02Primary and Secondary Growth in Roots and Shoots
59.5K
Vascular plants, which account for over 90% of the Earth’s vegetation, all undergo primary growth—which lengthens roots and shoots. Many land plants, notably woody plants, also undergo secondary growth—which thickens roots and shoots.
59.5K
02:04Regulation of Transpiration by Stomata
30.5K
During photosynthesis, plants acquire the necessary carbon dioxide and release the produced oxygen back into the atmosphere. Openings in the epidermis of plant leaves is the site of this exchange of gasses. A single opening is called a stoma—derived from the Greek word for “mouth.” Stomata open and close in response to a variety of environmental cues.
30.5K
02:41Responses to Drought and Flooding
11.7K
Water plays a significant role in the life cycle of plants. However, insufficient or excess of water can be detrimental and pose a serious threat to plants.
11.7K