Tovar Carolina, Bellot Sidonie, Llerena-Zambrano Melissa, Leitch Ilia, Carpio-Cordero Priscila, Granda-Albuja María Genoveva, Rondal Jonathan Dario, Duchicela Sisimac, Bernardi Antonella Luciana, Salazar Edison, Mian Sahr, Tejera Eduardo, Echevarría Gabriela, Cuesta Francisco
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, London, UK.
Grupo de Investigación en Biodiversidad Medio Ambiente y Salud-BIOMAS, Universidad de las Américas, Quito, Pichincha, Ecuador.
Proc Biol Sci. 2025 Jun;292(2049):20250245. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2025.0245. Epub 2025 Jun 18.
Understanding the impact of climate change on the functional trait composition (and hence ecosystem functioning) of tropical alpine regions is critical for predicting biodiversity responses. We tested the effects of a decade of warming on the morphological, chemical and genomic traits of Páramo species using open-top chambers (OTCs). We conducted vegetation surveys and collected samples from individuals inside and outside the OTC plots to estimate differences between treatments (warming versus control). Vegetation cover decreased over time in both treatments suggesting a potential decline in soil moisture in our study area. Warming led to a reorganization of the trait space and trait network structure. Species showed a wide range of responses to warming, with significant changes across different trait combinations. Nevertheless, we did not find significant differences in trait values or the direction of change between species whose percentage vegetation cover increased in OTC (or decreased less) over time, compared with control. Community-weighted mean values of plant height, leaf area, leaf dry matter content, genome size, leaf C and P, significantly increased over time only in OTC plots (i.e. traits associated with carbon storage and decomposition). While warming and reduced soil moisture lead to heterogeneous species responses without a clear winning trait strategy, changes at the community level may have important implications for Páramo ecosystem functioning.
了解气候变化对热带高山地区功能性状组成(进而对生态系统功能)的影响对于预测生物多样性响应至关重要。我们使用开顶式气室(OTC)测试了十年变暖对帕拉莫物种形态、化学和基因组性状的影响。我们进行了植被调查,并从OTC样地内外的个体采集样本,以估计处理之间(变暖与对照)的差异。两种处理下植被覆盖度均随时间下降,这表明我们研究区域的土壤湿度可能下降。变暖导致性状空间和性状网络结构的重新组织。物种对变暖表现出广泛的响应,不同性状组合有显著变化。然而,与对照相比,我们没有发现OTC中植被覆盖度随时间增加(或减少较少)的物种在性状值或变化方向上有显著差异。仅在OTC样地中,植物高度、叶面积、叶干物质含量、基因组大小、叶碳和磷的群落加权平均值随时间显著增加(即与碳储存和分解相关的性状)。虽然变暖和土壤湿度降低导致物种反应异质,没有明确的优势性状策略,但群落水平的变化可能对帕拉莫生态系统功能有重要影响。