Institute of Ecological Science, Department of Systems Ecology, de Boelelaan 1085, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Am Nat. 2010 Feb;175(2):225-39. doi: 10.1086/649582.
In ecology, strategy schemes based on propositions about the selection of plant attributes are common, but quantification of such schemes in relation to nutrient and water supply is lacking. Through structural equation modeling, we tested whether plant strategies related to nutrient and water/oxygen supply are reflected in a coordination of traits in natural communities. Structural equation models, based on accepted ecological concepts, were tested with measured plant traits of 105 different species across 50 sites in mesic to wet plant communities in the Netherlands. For each site, nutrient and water supply were measured and modeled. Hypothesized multivariate strategy models only partly reflected current theoretical schemes. Alternative models were consistent, showing that lack of consistency of the original models was because of (i) strong correlations among traits that supposedly belong to different strategy components; (ii) poor understanding of mechanisms determining the covariation of plant maximum height, leaf size, and stem density; and (iii) lack of integrative and long-term measures of nutrient supply needed to predict coordinated plant trait responses. Our main conclusion is that a combination of trade-offs (partly) across different plant organs and diverging effects of resource supply ultimately determines the coordination of plant traits needed to "make a living."
在生态学中，基于植物属性选择的策略方案很常见，但缺乏与养分和水分供应相关的此类方案的量化。通过结构方程建模，我们测试了与养分和水/氧供应相关的植物策略是否反映在自然群落的特征协调中。基于公认的生态概念的结构方程模型，使用荷兰中湿至湿润植物群落 50 个地点的 105 种不同物种的实测植物特征进行了测试。对于每个地点，都测量和模拟了养分和水分供应。假设的多变量策略模型仅部分反映了当前的理论方案。替代模型是一致的，表明原始模型的不一致性是由于（i）假定属于不同策略成分的特征之间存在强烈的相关性；（ii）对决定植物最大高度、叶片大小和茎密度共变的机制理解不足；以及（iii）缺乏综合和长期的养分供应措施，以预测协调的植物特征响应。我们的主要结论是，不同植物器官之间的权衡（部分）和资源供应的发散效应的结合最终决定了协调植物特征的需要，以“谋生”。
