A global meta-analysis of the relative extent of intraspecific trait variation in plant communities

Andrew Siefert(University of California, Davis), Cyrille Violle(Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique), Loïc Chalmandrier(Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique), Cécile H. Albert(Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique), Adrien Taudière(Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique), Alex Fajardo(Austral University of Chile), Lonnie W. Aarssen(Queen's University), Christopher Baraloto(Florida International University), Marcos Bergmann Carlucci(Ministry of Education), Marcus Vinícius Cianciaruso(Universidade Federal de Goiás), Vinícius Dantas(Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP)), Francesco de Bello(Czech Academy of Sciences), Leandro Duarte(Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul), Carlos Roberto Fonseca(Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte), Grégoire T. Freschet(Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique), Stéphanie Gaucherand, Nicolas Gross(Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique), Kouki Hikosaka(Tohoku University), Benjamin G. Jackson(UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology), Vincent Jung(Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique), Chiho Kamiyama(United Nations University Institute for Sustainability and Peace), Masatoshi Katabuchi(University of Florida), Steven W. Kembel(Université du Québec à Montréal), Emilie Kichenin(Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences), Nathan J. B. Kraft(University of Maryland, College Park), Anna Lagerström(Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences), Yoann Le Bagousse‐Pinguet(University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice), Yuanzhi Li(Université de Sherbrooke), Norman W. H. Mason(Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research), Julie Messier(University of Arizona), Tohru Nakashizuka(Tohoku University), Jacob McC. Overton(Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research), Duane A. Peltzer(Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research), Ignacio Manuel Pérez-Ramos(Instituto de Recursos Naturales y Agrobiología de Sevilla), Valério D. Pillar(Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul), Honor C. Prentice(Lund University), Sarah J. Richardson(Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research), Takehiro Sasaki(The University of Tokyo), Brandon S. Schamp(Algoma University), Christian Schöb(University of Zurich), Bill Shipley(Université de Sherbrooke), Maja K. Sundqvist(University of Copenhagen), Martin T. Sykes(Lund University), Marie Vandewalle(Lund University), David A. Wardle(Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences)
Zurich Open Repository and Archive (University of Zurich)
January 1, 2015
10.5167/uzh-123320
Cited by 650Open Access

Abstract

Recent studies have shown that accounting for intraspecific trait variation (ITV) may better address major questions in community ecology. However, a general picture of the relative extent of ITV compared to interspecific trait variation in plant communities is still missing. Here, we conducted a meta-analysis of the relative extent of ITV within and among plant communities worldwide, using a data set encompassing 629 communities (plots) and 36 functional traits. Overall, ITV accounted for 25% of the total trait variation within communities and 32% of the total trait variation among communities on average. The relative extent of ITV tended to be greater for whole-plant (e.g. plant height) vs. organ-level traits and for leaf chemical (e.g. leaf N and P concentration) vs. leaf morphological (e.g. leaf area and thickness) traits. The relative amount of ITV decreased with increasing species richness and spatial extent, but did not vary with plant growth form or climate. These results highlight global patterns in the relative importance of ITV in plant communities, providing practical guidelines for when researchers should include ITV in trait-based community and ecosystem studies.

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