Plant traits

From IAI CRN 2015

(Redirected from Plant functional traits)

1 Overview
2 Definitions
3 Usefulness of trait-based approaches
4 Traits in the DiverSus network
- 4.1 Our list of traits
- 4.2 Our protocols

Overview

In a review paper, Violle et al. (2007) discuss the different definitions and uses of plant traits. In DiverSus, we follow their terminology (see definition below).

Nevertheless, it is interesting to compile the various definitions which have been given and used as functional approaches were increasingly incorporated into community ecology.

Definitions

Lavorel et al. (1997)

Lavorel et al. (1997) introduced an important distinction concerning plant functional types. These can be either defined a priori (i.e. based on growth form) or a posteriori from an analysis of a relevant trait.

Lavorel & Garnier (2002)

Díaz & Cabido (2001) and Lavorel & Garnier (2002) make explicit the difference between response and effect traits.

Violle et al. (2007)

In their review paper, Violle et al. (2007) proposed the following definition: "A trait is any morphological, physiological or phenological feature measurable at the individual level, from the cell to the whole organism level, without reference to the environment or any other level of organization."

They also underline the importance of distinguishing the trait, from its value. Violle et al. (2007) suggest calling an attribute, the value or modality taken by a trait at a point of an environmental gradient.

They also add the following definitions for other common uses of plant traits:

Functional trait: Any trait which impacts fitness indirectly via its effects on growth, reproduction and survival.
Performance trait: Direct measures of fitness. In plants, only three types of performance traits are recognized: vegetative biomass, reproductive output (e.g. seed biomass, seed number), plant survival.
Response trait: Any trait the attribute of which varies in response to changes in environmental conditions.
Ecological performance: Response of the whole-organism performance, assessed by one or more performance traits (maximum, mean or variance), to an environmental gradient.
Effect trait: Any trait which reflects the effects of a plant on environmental conditions: community or ecosystem properties.

Ecological variables measured at the population, community or ecosystem level are not traits. Rather they are:

Demographic parameters: Population feature which directly conditions the finite rate of increase of the population: age- or stage-specific rates of survival, reproduction, growth, development.
Community or ecosystem properties: Any feature or process measured at the community or ecosystem level.
Community functional parameters (= community weighted mean, CWM): Any feature resulting from the community-aggregation of functional traits.