Meng Ting-Ting, Ni Jian, Harrison Sandy P
State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiangshan Nanxincun 20, 100093 Beijing, China.
Ann Bot. 2009 Nov;104(6):1217-29. doi: 10.1093/aob/mcp230. Epub 2009 Oct 4.
The collection of field data on plant traits is time consuming and this makes it difficult to examine changing patterns of traits along large-scale climate gradients. The present study tests whether trait information derived from regional floras can be used in conjunction with pre-existing quadrat data on species presence to derive meaningful relationships between specific morphometric traits and climate.
Quadrat records were obtained for 867 species in 404 sites from northern China (38-49 degrees N, 82-132 degrees E) together with information on the presence/absence of key traits from floras. Bioclimate parameters for each site were calculated using the BIOME3 model. Principal component analysis and correlation analysis were conducted to determine the most important climate factors. The Akaike Information Criterion was used to select the best relationship between each trait and climate. Canonical correspondence analysis was used to explore the relationships between climate and trait occurrence.
The changing abundance of life form, leaf type, phenology, photosynthetic pathway, leaf size and several other morphometric traits are determined by gradients in plant-available moisture (as measured by the ratio of actual to potential evapotranspiration: alpha), growing-season temperature (as measured by growing degree-days on a 0 degrees base: GDD(0)) or a combination of these. Different plant functional types (PFTs, as defined by life form, leaf type and phenology) reach maximum abundance in distinct areas of this climate space: for example, evergreen trees occur in the coldest, wettest environments (GDD(0) < 2500 degrees Cd, alpha > 0.38), and deciduous scale-leaved trees occur in drier, warmer environments than deciduous broad-leaved trees. Most leaf-level traits show similar relationships with climate independently of PFT: for example, leaf size in all PFTs increases as the environment becomes wetter and cooler. However, some traits (e.g. petiole length) display different relationships with climate in different PFTs.
Based on presence/absence species data and flora-based trait assignments, the present study demonstrates ecologically plausible trends in the occurrence of key plant traits along climate gradients in northern China. Life form, leaf type, phenology, photosynthetic pathway, leaf size and other key traits reflect climate. The success of these analyses opens the possibility of using quadrat- and flora-based trait analyses to examine climate-trait relationships in other regions of the world.
收集植物性状的实地数据耗时费力，这使得研究沿大规模气候梯度的性状变化模式变得困难。本研究检验了源自区域植物志的性状信息是否可与已有的物种存在情况样方数据结合使用，以得出特定形态特征与气候之间有意义的关系。
获取了中国北方（北纬38 - 49度，东经82 - 132度）404个样地中867个物种的样方记录，以及植物志中关键性状存在与否的信息。使用BIOME3模型计算每个样地的生物气候参数。进行主成分分析和相关分析以确定最重要的气候因素。使用赤池信息准则来选择每个性状与气候之间的最佳关系。使用典范对应分析来探究气候与性状出现之间的关系。
生活型、叶型、物候、光合途径、叶大小和其他几个形态特征丰度的变化由植物可利用水分梯度（以实际蒸散与潜在蒸散之比衡量：α）、生长季温度（以0℃为基准的生长度日衡量：GDD(0)）或两者的组合决定。不同的植物功能型（根据生活型、叶型和物候定义的PFTs）在这个气候空间的不同区域达到最大丰度：例如，常绿乔木出现在最冷、最湿润的环境中（GDD(0) < 2500℃d，α > 0.38），落叶鳞叶树比落叶阔叶树出现在更干燥、更温暖的环境中。大多数叶水平性状与气候呈现相似的关系，与植物功能型无关：例如，所有植物功能型的叶大小随着环境变得更湿润和更凉爽而增加。然而，一些性状（如叶柄长度）在不同的植物功能型中与气候呈现不同的关系。
基于物种存在与否的数据和基于植物志的性状赋值，本研究证明了中国北方关键植物性状沿气候梯度出现的生态合理趋势。生活型、叶型、物候、光合途径、叶大小和其他关键性状反映了气候。这些分析的成功为利用基于样方和植物志的性状分析来研究世界其他地区的气候 - 性状关系开辟了可能性。
