Plant Trait Assembly in Species-Rich Forests at Varying Elevations in the Northwest Andes of Colombia
Andean forests are home to a strikingly high diversity of plants, making it difficult to understand the main drivers of species assembly. Trait-based approaches, however, help overcome some challenges associated with high taxonomic complexity, providing insights into the main drivers of species coex...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-10-01
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| Series: | Land |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/10/10/1057 |
| _version_ | 1797514108464005120 |
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| author | Angélica Ochoa-Beltrán Johanna Andrea Martínez-Villa Peter G. Kennedy Beatriz Salgado-Negret Alvaro Duque |
| author_facet | Angélica Ochoa-Beltrán Johanna Andrea Martínez-Villa Peter G. Kennedy Beatriz Salgado-Negret Alvaro Duque |
| author_sort | Angélica Ochoa-Beltrán |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Andean forests are home to a strikingly high diversity of plants, making it difficult to understand the main drivers of species assembly. Trait-based approaches, however, help overcome some challenges associated with high taxonomic complexity, providing insights into the main drivers of species coexistence. Here, we evaluated the roles of climate, soil fertility, and symbiotic root associations on shaping the assembly of six plant functional traits (leaf area, specific leaf area, dry leaf matter content, leaf thickness, leaf toughness, and wood density) along an elevational gradient in the species-rich northwestern Andean forests of Colombia. The two main axes of the correspondence RLQ analysis explained 95.75% of the variability. The first axis was associated with the leaf economic spectrum, while the second axis with the tradeoff between growth and survival. Furthermore, the fourth corner method showed that both regional (climatic variables) and local factors (soil fertility, symbiotic root associations, and light distribution) played a key role in determining plant trait assembly. In summary, our study emphasizes the importance of considering both individual size and local factors to better understand drivers of plant trait assembly along environmental gradients. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T06:26:57Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7d4d5c4c6bd24e889d28c0d00b46eb43 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-445X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T06:26:57Z |
| publishDate | 2021-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Land |
| spelling | doaj.art-7d4d5c4c6bd24e889d28c0d00b46eb432023-11-22T18:51:02ZengMDPI AGLand2073-445X2021-10-011010105710.3390/land10101057Plant Trait Assembly in Species-Rich Forests at Varying Elevations in the Northwest Andes of ColombiaAngélica Ochoa-Beltrán0Johanna Andrea Martínez-Villa1Peter G. Kennedy2Beatriz Salgado-Negret3Alvaro Duque4Departamento de Ciencias Forestales, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Medellín 050034, ColombiaDépartement des Sciences Biologiques, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montreal, QC H2L 2C4, CanadaDepartment of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, MN 55108, USAPrograma Ciencias Básicas de la Biodiversidad, Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humboldt, Bogotá 111311, ColombiaDepartamento de Ciencias Forestales, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Medellín 050034, ColombiaAndean forests are home to a strikingly high diversity of plants, making it difficult to understand the main drivers of species assembly. Trait-based approaches, however, help overcome some challenges associated with high taxonomic complexity, providing insights into the main drivers of species coexistence. Here, we evaluated the roles of climate, soil fertility, and symbiotic root associations on shaping the assembly of six plant functional traits (leaf area, specific leaf area, dry leaf matter content, leaf thickness, leaf toughness, and wood density) along an elevational gradient in the species-rich northwestern Andean forests of Colombia. The two main axes of the correspondence RLQ analysis explained 95.75% of the variability. The first axis was associated with the leaf economic spectrum, while the second axis with the tradeoff between growth and survival. Furthermore, the fourth corner method showed that both regional (climatic variables) and local factors (soil fertility, symbiotic root associations, and light distribution) played a key role in determining plant trait assembly. In summary, our study emphasizes the importance of considering both individual size and local factors to better understand drivers of plant trait assembly along environmental gradients.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/10/10/1057functional traitsenvironmental driversmycorrhizasfourth cornerRLQAndean forests |
| spellingShingle | Angélica Ochoa-Beltrán Johanna Andrea Martínez-Villa Peter G. Kennedy Beatriz Salgado-Negret Alvaro Duque Plant Trait Assembly in Species-Rich Forests at Varying Elevations in the Northwest Andes of Colombia Land functional traits environmental drivers mycorrhizas fourth corner RLQ Andean forests |
| title | Plant Trait Assembly in Species-Rich Forests at Varying Elevations in the Northwest Andes of Colombia |
| title_full | Plant Trait Assembly in Species-Rich Forests at Varying Elevations in the Northwest Andes of Colombia |
| title_fullStr | Plant Trait Assembly in Species-Rich Forests at Varying Elevations in the Northwest Andes of Colombia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Plant Trait Assembly in Species-Rich Forests at Varying Elevations in the Northwest Andes of Colombia |
| title_short | Plant Trait Assembly in Species-Rich Forests at Varying Elevations in the Northwest Andes of Colombia |
| title_sort | plant trait assembly in species rich forests at varying elevations in the northwest andes of colombia |
| topic | functional traits environmental drivers mycorrhizas fourth corner RLQ Andean forests |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/10/10/1057 |
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