Montpellier SupAgro, Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive UMR 5175, Montpellier, France.
Plant Biol (Stuttg). 2010 Jan;12(1):183-96. doi: 10.1111/j.1438-8677.2009.00208.x.
The aim of this study was to detect suites of traits related to whole plant and seed morphology, phenology and resource use--including water--in species differing in successional status. Twenty traits were measured on 55 species representative of 5 successional stages in Mediterranean southern France, including eight pertaining to phenology and five to water economy. Suites of traits that changed along succession in agreement with the acquisition/conservation trade-off were completed by continuous changes in phenology. Early successional species had leaves with a high specific leaf area that were produced and lost continuously through the growing season. Late-successional species were taller with long-lived, high delta(13)C leaves produced during short periods, most of them persisting during summer, and produced large seeds requiring a long ripening period. Replacement of species occurred with change in strategies of drought survival: early successional species escaped drought by dying before summer; later herbaceous species maintained favourable water status in relation to leaf shedding during summer; late successional trees with a large body allowing access to a large pool of resources, produced dense leaves that could tolerate desiccation. These changes occurred concomitantly with a shift in CSR strategies, using traits related to resource use, plant size and flowering phenology: ruderal herbs were replaced by more stress-tolerant herbs and shrubs throughout the succession, with competitive trees dominating the latest successional stage. These results suggest that the breadth of functional variability found in natura is not predicted by the CSR framework, and calls for a more integrated view of whole plant functioning.
本研究旨在检测与植物整体和种子形态、物候和资源利用（包括水分）相关的特征组合，这些特征组合在演替地位不同的物种中存在差异。在法国南部地中海地区的 5 个演替阶段中，选择了 55 个具有代表性的物种，测量了 20 个特征，包括 8 个与物候学有关的特征和 5 个与水分利用有关的特征。与获取/保护权衡一致的演替过程中发生的特征组合，通过物候学的连续变化得到了补充。早期演替物种的叶片具有较高的比叶面积，在生长季节中连续产生和消失。晚期演替物种较高，具有长寿命、高 δ(13)C 的叶片，这些叶片在短时间内产生，大部分在夏季持续存在，并且产生需要长时间成熟的大种子。物种的替代伴随着干旱生存策略的变化：早期演替物种在夏季前死亡以逃避干旱；后来的草本物种通过在夏季落叶来保持有利的水分状况；具有较大体型的晚期演替树木可以利用大量资源，产生密集的叶片，可以耐受干旱。这些变化与 CSR 策略的转变同时发生，利用与资源利用、植物大小和开花物候学相关的特征：在整个演替过程中，杂草逐渐被更能耐受胁迫的草本植物和灌木取代，具有竞争力的树木主导着最新的演替阶段。这些结果表明，自然中发现的功能变异性的广度不能用 CSR 框架来预测，需要更综合地看待植物整体功能。
