Plant Functional Traits and Environmental Relationships
investigates how plant physical and physiological characteristics like leaf area and photosynthesis rates vary across different environmental conditions to understand how plants adapt to their surroundings.
Concept (29) →
specific leaf area
The ratio of leaf area to dry mass, often associated with dry conditions as it reduces surface area and water loss from the leaf
photosynthetic rate
The rate at which plants convert carbon dioxide and water into glucose using light energy, measured as gas exchange
wood traits
gene coalescence
Statistical method for recognizing evolutionarily independent lineages based on genealogical patterns in molecular data
plant-pathogen interactions
Selective pressure relationships between host plants and their parasites that can shift based on environmental changes
functional traits
Plant characteristics that reflect ecological strategies, including specific leaf area and leaf dry matter content
host plant quality
body size variation
Variation in organismal body size both within and between species, influenced by environmental and genetic factors
genotype by environment interaction
Differential expression of genotypes across environmental conditions, indicating genetic variation in phenotypic plasticity
social transmission
Transmission of parasites among individuals within social mammalian groups
Show 19 more concepts
cytotype variation
Differences in chromosome copy number among individuals, specifically diploid (two copies) versus triploid (three copies) chromosome sets
seed viability
The measure of seed quality based on embryonic development and potential for successful germination
trait filtering
Environmental processes that filter trait values admitted by changing abiotic and biotic conditions, maintaining trait distributions through phenotypi...
root mass depth distributions
immunity
context dependency
Variation in the strength or direction of ecological effects depending on environmental conditions or organism characteristics
leaf economics spectrum
Describes consistent and strong correlations among plant functional traits reflecting the ecological tradeoffs and constraints of plants around resour...
CO2 fertilization
Enhanced plant growth due to increased atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations
infection prevalence
Proportion of individuals in a population showing signs of pathogen infection
nutrient limitation
Constraint on growth or reproduction due to insufficient availability of essential nutrients
infection prevalence
logistic growth
Mathematical model describing sigmoidal population growth with carrying capacity constraints
stomatal conductance
climatic niche
The range of climate conditions that a species can tolerate, estimated from ecological niche models
community weighted mean
maximum temperature
Maximum temperature of warmest month, capturing seasonality in contrast to average annual temperatures
plant acclimation
Physiological shifts that allow plants to adjust their rates of photosynthesis and stomatal conductance to compensate for changes in temperature
light environment
Photosynthetically active radiation levels measured as percentage of full-sun radiation
coevolution
The reciprocal evolutionary change in interacting species driven by natural selection, where adaptations of one species create selective pressures on ...
Protocol (14) →
Mantel test (Plantae)
Meta-analytical approach to synthesize population-level climate sensitivities across multiple species using structured population models and standardi...
Specific Leaf Area (SLA)
Comprehensive measurement of vegetative traits including specific leaf area, trichome density, water use efficiency, and percent water content from fi...
HOBO sensor environmental monitoring
Continuous collection of local weather data at 5-minute intervals throughout growing seasons to capture fine-scale environmental variation affecting d...
Li-Cor 6400 photosynthesis measurement
A novel approach to measure light response curves for entire plant communities rather than individual plants using tent-based gas exchange measurement...
Leaf pack method
Standard litterbag method deployed across elevation gradient to study litter decomposition rates and microbial succession. Involves placing known mass...
tree mass measurement
Direct measurement of aboveground biomass on 673 trees across five tropical countries. Compilation of tree mass dataset including 101 trees greater th...
Flow cytometry nuclear DNA content analysis (Salicaceae)
Cytotype inference using twelve multinational microsatellites with 97% correct classification for cytotype. Individual plants defined as diploid or tr...
Seed burial experiments
Seed-burial and greenhouse germination experiments to estimate seed bank-related vital rates including seed germination and stasis.
partial least squares regression (PLSR) (Salicaceae)
PLSR modeling approach using leaf spectral reflectance measurements to extrapolate functional trait values from subset of direct measurements to large...
Maximum likelihood phylogenetic analysis
Maximum likelihood phylogenetic analysis of full genome sequences using MUSCLE alignment and Tamura-Nei evolutionary model to determine relationships ...
Show 4 more protocols
Reciprocal transplant germination experiment
Field experiment testing seed germination of different genotypes/treatments in natural microhabitats of related species to assess niche requirements a...
Systematic grid demographic monitoring of aspen
Systematic establishment of gridded plots across watersheds followed by long-term monitoring of tagged individual trees for mortality and recruitment ...
Floral orientation manipulation for fitness measurement (Plantae)
Experimental manipulation of natural floral orientations combined with pollen supplementation to test effects on seed set and female fitness.
Multi-factor abiotic site characterization
Comprehensive measurement of soil nutrients, moisture, pH, topographic aspect, and interpolated climate variables to characterize abiotic conditions a...
Author (14) →
Benjamin Blonder
Brian J. Enquist
K. Dana Chadwick
Philip G. Brodrick
J. A. Walton
C. A. Lamanna
Lake Crawford
Jordan Stark
Rebecca Lehman
Andrew P. Martin
Show 4 more authors
Publication (23) →
TRY plant trait database - enhanced coverage and open access
Spatial patterns and climate relationships of major plant traits in the New World differ between woody and herbaceous species
Which is a better predictor of plant traits: temperature or precipitation?
Microenvironment and functional-trait context dependence predict plant community dynamics
Remote sensing of cytotype and its consequences for canopy damage in quaking aspen
Climate lags and genetics determine phenology in quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides)
Cytotype and genotype predict mortality and recruitment in Colorado quaking aspen (<i> Populus tremuloides </i>)
Does environmental heterogeneity drive functional trait variation? A test in montane and alpine meadows
Linking microenvironment modification to species interactions and demography in an alpine plant community
The ecology and evolution of pathogens in a changing world
Show 13 more publications
Functional trait space and the latitudinal diversity gradient
Assessing the causes and scales of the leaf economics spectrum using venation networks in <i>Populus tremuloides</i>
Low predictability of energy balance traits and leaf temperature metrics in desert, montane and alpine plant communities
A pathogen's spatial range is not constrained by geographical features in the flax rust pathosystem
A multi-year case study highlighting the influence of hydrological conditions on epidemic dynamics in a natural plant pathosystem
Inferring climate from angiosperm leaf venation networks
Observed forest sensitivity to climate implies large changes in 21st century North American forest growth
The energetic and carbon economic origins of leaf thermoregulation
A model for leaf temperature decoupling from air temperature
Ecology of aspen in Gunnison County, Colorado
X-ray imaging of leaf venation networks
Review of Vesicular Stomatitis in the United States with Focus on 2019 and 2020 Outbreaks
Flower behavior in Linum lewisii: some ecological and physiological factors in opening and abscission of petals
Dataset (83) →
Leaf gas exchange in Ipomopsis aggregata under manipulated snowmelt timing and summer precipitation
Vegetative traits of plants can respond directly to changes in the environment, such as those occurring under climate change. That phenotypic plastici...
Leaf trait data
Leaf wet weight (g), dry weight (g) and area (square cm) used to calculate leaf traits.
Plant height and species information
Data from: Size-related scaling of tree form and function in a mixed-age forest
Many morphological, physiological and ecological traits of trees scale with diameter, shaping the structure and function of forest ecosystems. Underst...
Soil moisure values
Temperature data
Half-hour resolution temperature data (degrees C) collected by iButtons
Data from: Environmental controls on canopy foliar N distributions in a neotropical lowland forest
Distributions of foliar nutrients across forest canopies can give insight into their plant functional diversity and improve our understanding of bioge...
Data from: Linking microenvironment modification to species interactions and demography in an alpine plant community
Individual plants can modify the microenvironment within their spatial neighborhood. However, the consequences of microenvironment modification for ...
Data from: Community assembly and functional diversity along succession post-management
1. Despite extensive development of successional theory, few empirical studies have evaluated whether existing models are applicable to human-modified...
Data from: Observed forest sensitivity to climate implies large changes in 21st century North American forest growth
Predicting long-term trends in forest growth requires accurate characterisation of how the relationship between forest productivity and climatic stres...
Show 73 more datasets
Data from: The oldest, slowest forests in the world? Exceptional biomass and slow carbon dynamics of Fitzroya cupressoides temperate rainforests in southern Chile
Old-growth temperate rainforests are, per unit area, the largest and most long-lived stores of carbon in the terrestrial biosphere, but their carbon d...
Data from: Biotic and abiotic variables influencing plant litter breakdown in streams: a global study
Plant litter breakdown is a key ecological process in terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems. Streams and rivers, in particular, have high rates of car...
Data from: Biotic resistance to tropical ornamental invasion
We examined invasive, casual (found occasionally outside cultivation) and non-invasive (found only in cultivation) species to investigate the role of ...
Cytotype and genotype predict mortality and recruitment in Colorado quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides)
Species responses to climate change depend on environment, genetics, and interactions among these factors. Intraspecific cytotype (ploidy level) varia...
Data from: Plasticity in plant functional traits is shaped by variability in neighbourhood species composition
Plant functional traits can vary widely as a result of phenotypic plasticity to abiotic conditions. Trait variation may also reflect responses to the ...
Data from: Relative impacts of environmental variation and evolutionary history on the nestedness and modularity of tree-herbivore networks.
Nestedness and modularity are measures of ecological networks whose causative effects are little understood. We analyzed antagonistic plant–herbivore ...
Aspen ploidy level and cover maps from NEON Airborne Observation Platform, 2018, Crested Butte, Colorado
Maps of aspen ploidy (diploid or triploid) developed using National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) Airborne Observation Platform visible to sho...
Data from: Seed source impacts germination and early establishment of dominant grasses in prairie restorations
Land managers choose seed from a variety of provenances for restoration projects. By selecting seed of the local ecotype, managers can increase establ...
Data from: Globally, functional traits are weak predictors of juvenile tree growth, and we do not know why
1. Plant functional traits, in particular specific leaf area (SLA), wood density and seed mass, are often good predictors of individual tree growth ra...
Data from: Tropical trees in a wind-exposed island ecosystem: height-diameter allometry and size at onset of maturity
1. Tropical tree species adapted to high wind environments might be expected to differ systematically in terms of stem allometry and life-history patt...
Forage Resources in Warming and Removal Plots, Almont, CO, 2019
This is data collected to explore the impacts of warming and dominant species removal on the quantity and quality of plants for cattle foraging. The d...
A pathogen's spatial range is not constrained by geographical features in the flax rust pathosystem
In this study, we performed several transect surveys over the course of the 2021 summer field season to assess potential ecogeographical range determi...
Does environmental heterogeneity drive functional trait variation? A test in montane and alpine meadows
While community-weighted means of plant traits have been linked to mean environmental conditions at large scales, the drivers of trait variation withi...
Data from: Seed size predicts community composition and carbon storage potential of tree communities in rainforest fragments in India’s Western Ghats
Fragmentation is ubiquitous across tropical forests and drives marked shifts in tree community composition by differentially affecting species’ disper...
Data from: Trait-mediated community assembly: distinguishing the signatures of biotic and abiotic filters
Conflicting hypotheses predict how traits mediate species establishment and community assembly. Traits of newly establishing individuals are predicted...
Data from: The mechanical defence advantage of small seeds
Seed size and toughness affect seed predators, and size-dependent investment in mechanical defence could affect relationships between seed size and pr...
Data from: How persistent are the impacts of logging roads on Central African forest vegetation?
1. Logging roads can trigger tropical forest degradation by reducing the integrity of the ecosystem and providing access for encroachment. Therefore, ...
Data from: Burn or rot: leaf traits explain why flammability and decomposability are decoupled across species
In fire-prone ecosystems, two important alternative fates for leaves are burning in a wildfire (when alive or as litter) or they get consumed (as litt...
Data from: Leaf traits of African woody savanna species across climate and soil fertility gradients: evidence for conservative vs. acquisitive resource use strategies
1. Establishing trade-offs among traits and the degree to which they co-vary along environmental gradients has become a key focal point in the effort ...
Data from: Relationships between resprouting ability, species traits, and resource allocation patterns in woody species in a temperate forest
Many woody plants resprout to restore above-ground biomass after disturbances or to survive in stressful environments. Resprouting requires carbohydra...
Data from: Pinus ponderosa alters nitrogen dynamics and diminishes the climate footprint in natural ecosystems of Patagonia
1. Evaluating climate effects on plant-soil interactions in terrestrial ecosystems remains challenging due to the fact that floristic composition co-v...
Data from: Three keys to the radiation of angiosperms into freezing environments
Data from: Species-specific responses of foliar nutrients to long-term nitrogen and phosphorus additions in a lowland tropical forest
1) The concentration, stoichiometry, and resorption of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) in plant leaves are often used as proxies of the availability o...
Data from: Transgenes for insect resistance reduce herbivory and enhance fecundity in advanced generations of crop-weed hybrids of rice
Gene flow from transgenic crops allows novel traits to spread to sexually compatible weeds. Traits such as resistance to insects may enhance the fitne...
Data from: Carbon content of tree tissues: a synthesis
Assessing the potential for forest carbon (C) capture and storage requires accurate assessments of C in live tree tissues. In the vast majority of loc...
Data from: Radial changes in wood specific gravity of tropical trees: inter- and intra-specific variation during secondary succession
Variation in wood specific gravity (WSG) within and across species of tropical trees is poorly studied in relation to vegetation change during tropica...
Low predictability of energy balance traits and leaf temperature metrics in desert, montane, and alpine plant communities
Leaf energy balance may influence plant performance and community composition. While biophysical theory can link leaf energy balance to many traits an...
Data from: Evolutionary radiations of Proteaceae are triggered by the interaction between traits and climates in open habitats
Aim: Ecologically driven diversification can create spectacular diversity in both species numbers and form. However, the prediction that the match bet...
Data from: Accuracy of genomic selection models in a large population of open-pollinated families in white spruce
Genomic selection (GS) is of interest in breeding because of its potential for predicting the genetic value of individuals and increasing genetic gain...
Data from: Disentangling the relative importance of species occurrence, abundance and intraspecific variability in community assembly: a trait-based approach at the whole-plant level in Mediterranean forests
Data from: Shifts and disruptions in resource-use trait syndromes during the evolution of herbaceous crops
Trait-based ecology predicts that evolution in high-resource agricultural environments should select for suites of traits that enable fast resource ac...
Data from: A test for a cost of opportunism in invasive species in the Commelinaceae
Many invasive species can respond opportunistically to favorable growing conditions. In a previous work, we found that invasive species in the family ...
Data from: Functional traits in parallel evolutionary radiations and trait-environment associations in the Cape Floristic region of South Africa
Data from: Deciphering the adjustment between environment and life history in annuals: lessons from a geographically-explicit approach in Arabidopsis thaliana
The role that different life-history traits may have in the process of adaptation caused by divergent selection can be assessed by using extensive col...
Data from: Determinants of flammability in savanna grass species
1. Tropical grasses fuel the majority of fires on Earth. In fire-prone landscapes, enhanced flammability may be adaptive for grasses via the maintenan...
Data from: Vegetation as self-adaptive coastal protection: reduction of current velocity and morphologic plasticity of a brackish marsh pioneer
By reducing current velocity, tidal marsh vegetation can diminish storm surges and storm waves. Conversely, currents often exert high mechanical stres...
Data from: Evolution of the leaf economics spectrum in herbs: evidence from environmental divergences in leaf physiology across Helianthus (Asteraceae)
The leaf economics spectrum (LES) describes a major axis of plant functional trait variation worldwide, defining suites of leaf traits aligned with re...
Data from: Are leaf functional traits “invariant” with plant size, and what is “invariance” anyway?
Studies of size-related plant traits have established a suite of mathematical functions describing whole plant investment and allocation. In parallel,...
Phylogenetics.zip
Sequence alignment (.fas) and information associated with phylogenetic analysis and ancestral state reconstruction in Kellner et al. 2018.
Data from: Effects of tree architecture on pollen dispersal and mating patterns in Abies pinsapo Boiss. (Pinaceae)
Plant architecture is crucial to pollination and mating in wind pollinated species. We investigate the effect of crown architecture on pollen dispersa...
Data from: Does one model fit all? patterns of beech mortality in natural forests of three European regions
Large uncertainties characterize forest development under global climate change. Although recent studies have found widespread increased tree mortalit...
Data from: High genetic variation and moderate to high values for genetic parameters of Picea abies resistance to Pissodes strobi
Genetic parameters of Picea abies resistance to the white pine weevil (Pissodes strobi Peck) were estimated from 193 full-sib and 166 half-sib familie...
bblonder/aspen_neon: Code supporting Blonder et al., "Remote sensing of cytotype and its consequences for canopy damage in quaking aspen"
No description provided.
Colorado Plateau REA Conservation Elements - Terrestrial Species: Gunnison Sage-Grouse
This map shows the potential current distribution of Gunnison sage-grouse, in the context of current and near-term terrestrial intactness and long-ter...
Data from: Closing a gap in tropical forest biomass estimation: taking crown mass variation into account in pantropical allometries
Accurately monitoring tropical forest carbon stocks is an outstanding challenge. Allometric models that consider tree diameter, height and wood densit...
Phylogenetics.zip
Sequence alignment (.fas) and information associated with phylogenetic analysis and ancestral state reconstruction in Kellner et al. 2018.
Data from: A multi-year case study highlighting the influence of hydrological conditions on epidemic dynamics in a natural plant pathosystem
The scale of influence of hydrological and thermal conditions on disease remains uncertain for most wild plant pathosystems, thus restricting our abil...
Data from: Growth and carbon relations of mature Picea abies trees under 5 years of free-air CO2 enrichment
Are mature forests carbon limited? To explore this question, we exposed ca. 110-year-old, 40-m tall Picea abies trees to a 550-ppm CO2 concentration i...
Data from: Genome-wide scans reveal cryptic population structure in a dry-adapted eucalypt
Genome-wide DArTseq scans of 268 individuals of Eucalyptus salubris, distributed along an aridity gradient in southwestern Australia, revealed cryptic...
Data from: Evidence for enemy release and increased seed production and size for two invasive Australian acacias
Invasive plants are hypothesized to have higher fitness in introduced areas due to their release from pathogens and herbivores and the relocation of r...
Fruit/seed traits and phenology of trees in Ranomafana National Park, Madagascar
This dataset contains information on fruit/seed traits of plants in Ranomafana National Park, Madagascar as well as a summary of their fruiting phenol...
Data from: Historical stocking data and 19th century DNA reveal human-induced changes to native diversity and distribution of cutthroat trout
Many species are threatened with extinction and efforts are underway worldwide to restore imperiled species to their native ranges. Restoration requir...
Data from: Effects of soil resources on expression of a sexual conflict over timing of stigma receptivity in a mixed-mating plant
While environmental factors strongly influence plant growth and reproduction, less is known about environmental effects on sexual selection and sexual...
Data from: Genetic parameters in subtropical pine F1 hybrids: heritabilities, between-trait correlations and genotype-by-environment interactions
Growth and stem straightness traits of 29 Pinus caribaea var. hondurensis × Pinus tecunumanii (PCH × PTEC) and 26 P. caribaea var. hondurensis × Pinus...
ND2 haplotype table for 53 modern populations
We sequenced a 648 or 889 base pair region of the ND2 gene for at least 10 individuals from 53 contemporary populations. This table shows ND2 haplotyp...
Data from: Modelling short-rotation coppice and tree planting for urban carbon management – a city-wide analysis
1. The capacity of urban areas to deliver provisioning ecosystem services is commonly overlooked and underutilized. Urban populations have globally in...
Data from: Pre- and post- treatment fold change plasma proteomics in metastatic NSCLC patients
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Additional file 2 of Virus diversity and activity is driven by snowmelt and host dynamics in a high-altitude watershed soil ecosystem
Additional file 2: Supplementary Table 1. Description of the 46 IMG metagenomes and 43 metatranscriptomes (related to Fig. 1A). Supplementary Table 2....
Data from: Interspecific functional convergence and divergence and intraspecific negative density dependence underlie the seed-to-seedling transition in tropical trees
The seed-to-seedling transition constitutes a critical bottleneck in the life history of plants and represents a major determinant of species composit...
Data from: Networks, trees, and treeshrews: assessing support and identifying conflict with multiple loci and a problematic root
Multiple unlinked genetic loci often provide a more comprehensive picture of evolutionary history than any single gene can, but analyzing multigene da...
Data from: Systematics of the lizard family Pygopodidae with implications for the diversification of Australian temperate biotas
We conducted a phylogenetic study of pygopodid lizards, a group of 38 species endemic to Australia and New Guinea, with two major goals:to reconstruct...
Transmission_models
All code (.R) and raw data necessary to run model selection analyses of 'Ca. Mycoplasma haemominutum' transmission among felids as described in Kellne...
Data from: Transmission pathways and spillover of an erythrocytic bacterial pathogen from domestic cats to wild felids
Many pathogens infect multiple hosts, and spillover from domestic to wild species poses a significant risk for spread of diseases that threaten wildli...
Transmission_models
All code (.R) and raw data necessary to run model selection analyses of 'Ca. Mycoplasma haemominutum' transmission among felids as described in Kellne...
Vaccine driven virulence evolution: Consequences of unbalanced reductions in mortality and transmission and implications for pertussis vaccines
Many vaccines have heterogenous effects across individuals. Additionally, some vaccines do not prevent infection, but reduce disease-associated mortal...
Global Bee Interaction Data
Last modified: July 3, 2024 IntroductionThis dataset comprises all bee interactions indexed by Global Biotic Interactions (GloBI; Poelen et al. 2014)....
Data from: Transmission pathways and spillover of an erythrocytic bacterial pathogen from domestic cats to wild felids
Many pathogens infect multiple hosts, and spillover from domestic to wild species poses a significant risk for spread of diseases that threaten wildli...
Global Bee Interaction Data
Last modified: January 09, 2025 IntroductionThis dataset comprises all bee interactions indexed by Global Biotic Interactions (GloBI; Poelen et al. 20...
Data from: Evolution of specialization: a phylogenetic study of host range in the red milkweed beetle (Tetraopes tetraophthalmus)
Specialization is common in most lineages of insect herbivores, one of the most diverse groups of organisms on earth. To address how and why specializ...
Genomic and Transcriptomic Analysis of the Whirling Disease-Resistant Gunnison River Rainbow Trout - Supplementary Data
Supplementary tables and figures
Supplementary Material for: MASP-1 and MASP-3 Bind Directly to <b><i>Aspergillus fumigatus</i></b> and Promote Complement Activation and Phagocytosis
Activation of the complement system is mediated by the interaction between pathogens and pattern recognition molecules (PRMs); mannose-binding lectin ...
Supplementary Material for: MASP-1 and MASP-3 Bind Directly to <b><i>Aspergillus fumigatus</i></b> and Promote Complement Activation and Phagocytosis
Activation of the complement system is mediated by the interaction between pathogens and pattern recognition molecules (PRMs); mannose-binding lectin ...
Data from: Anthropogenic changes in sodium affect neural and muscle development in butterflies
The development of organisms is changing drastically because of anthropogenic changes in once-limited nutrients. Although the importance of changing m...