Abstract
Earth system models are incorporating plant trait diversity into their land components to better predict vegetation dynamics in a changing climate. However, extant plant trait distributions will not allow extrapolations to novel community assemblages in future climates, which will require a mechanistic understanding of the trade-offs that determine trait diversity. In this study, we show how physiological trade-offs involving leaf mass per unit area (LMA), leaf lifespan, leaf nitrogen, and leaf respiration may explain the distribution patterns of evergreen and deciduous trees in the temperate and boreal zones based on (1) an evolutionary analysis of a simple mathematical model and (2) simulation experiments of an individual-based dynamic vegetation model (i.e., LM3-PPA). The evolutionary analysis shows that these leaf traits set up a trade-off between carbon- and nitrogen-use efficiency at the scale of individual trees and therefore determine competitively dominant leaf strategies. As soil nitrogen availability increases, the dominant leaf strategy switches from one that is high in nitrogen-use efficiency to one that is high in carbon-use efficiency or, equivalently, from high-LMA/long-lived leaves (i.e., evergreen) to low-LMA/short-lived leaves (i.e., deciduous). In a region of intermediate soil nitrogen availability, the dominant leaf strategy may be either deciduous or evergreen depending on the initial conditions of plant trait abundance (i.e., founder controlled) due to feedbacks of leaf traits on soil nitrogen mineralization through litter quality. Simulated successional patterns by LM3-PPA from the leaf physiological trade-offs are consistent with observed successional dynamics of evergreen and deciduous forests at three sites spanning the temperate to boreal zones.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 2482-2498 |
| Number of pages | 17 |
| Journal | Global Change Biology |
| Volume | 23 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jun 2017 |
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All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Global and Planetary Change
- Environmental Chemistry
- Ecology
- Environmental Science(all)
Keywords
- LM3-PPA
- dynamic global vegetation model
- evolutionarily stable strategy
- forest succession
- game theory
- leaf traits
- nitrogen cycle
Cite this
}
Predicting vegetation type through physiological and environmental interactions with leaf traits : evergreen and deciduous forests in an earth system modeling framework. / Weng, Ensheng; Farrior, Caroline E.; Dybzinski, Ray; Pacala, Stephen Wilson.
In: Global Change Biology, Vol. 23, No. 6, 06.2017, p. 2482-2498.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
TY - JOUR
T1 - Predicting vegetation type through physiological and environmental interactions with leaf traits
T2 - evergreen and deciduous forests in an earth system modeling framework
AU - Weng, Ensheng
AU - Farrior, Caroline E.
AU - Dybzinski, Ray
AU - Pacala, Stephen Wilson
PY - 2017/6
Y1 - 2017/6
N2 - Earth system models are incorporating plant trait diversity into their land components to better predict vegetation dynamics in a changing climate. However, extant plant trait distributions will not allow extrapolations to novel community assemblages in future climates, which will require a mechanistic understanding of the trade-offs that determine trait diversity. In this study, we show how physiological trade-offs involving leaf mass per unit area (LMA), leaf lifespan, leaf nitrogen, and leaf respiration may explain the distribution patterns of evergreen and deciduous trees in the temperate and boreal zones based on (1) an evolutionary analysis of a simple mathematical model and (2) simulation experiments of an individual-based dynamic vegetation model (i.e., LM3-PPA). The evolutionary analysis shows that these leaf traits set up a trade-off between carbon- and nitrogen-use efficiency at the scale of individual trees and therefore determine competitively dominant leaf strategies. As soil nitrogen availability increases, the dominant leaf strategy switches from one that is high in nitrogen-use efficiency to one that is high in carbon-use efficiency or, equivalently, from high-LMA/long-lived leaves (i.e., evergreen) to low-LMA/short-lived leaves (i.e., deciduous). In a region of intermediate soil nitrogen availability, the dominant leaf strategy may be either deciduous or evergreen depending on the initial conditions of plant trait abundance (i.e., founder controlled) due to feedbacks of leaf traits on soil nitrogen mineralization through litter quality. Simulated successional patterns by LM3-PPA from the leaf physiological trade-offs are consistent with observed successional dynamics of evergreen and deciduous forests at three sites spanning the temperate to boreal zones.
AB - Earth system models are incorporating plant trait diversity into their land components to better predict vegetation dynamics in a changing climate. However, extant plant trait distributions will not allow extrapolations to novel community assemblages in future climates, which will require a mechanistic understanding of the trade-offs that determine trait diversity. In this study, we show how physiological trade-offs involving leaf mass per unit area (LMA), leaf lifespan, leaf nitrogen, and leaf respiration may explain the distribution patterns of evergreen and deciduous trees in the temperate and boreal zones based on (1) an evolutionary analysis of a simple mathematical model and (2) simulation experiments of an individual-based dynamic vegetation model (i.e., LM3-PPA). The evolutionary analysis shows that these leaf traits set up a trade-off between carbon- and nitrogen-use efficiency at the scale of individual trees and therefore determine competitively dominant leaf strategies. As soil nitrogen availability increases, the dominant leaf strategy switches from one that is high in nitrogen-use efficiency to one that is high in carbon-use efficiency or, equivalently, from high-LMA/long-lived leaves (i.e., evergreen) to low-LMA/short-lived leaves (i.e., deciduous). In a region of intermediate soil nitrogen availability, the dominant leaf strategy may be either deciduous or evergreen depending on the initial conditions of plant trait abundance (i.e., founder controlled) due to feedbacks of leaf traits on soil nitrogen mineralization through litter quality. Simulated successional patterns by LM3-PPA from the leaf physiological trade-offs are consistent with observed successional dynamics of evergreen and deciduous forests at three sites spanning the temperate to boreal zones.
KW - LM3-PPA
KW - dynamic global vegetation model
KW - evolutionarily stable strategy
KW - forest succession
KW - game theory
KW - leaf traits
KW - nitrogen cycle
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85003781961&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85003781961&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/gcb.13542
DO - 10.1111/gcb.13542
M3 - Article
C2 - 27782353
AN - SCOPUS:85003781961
VL - 23
SP - 2482
EP - 2498
JO - Global Change Biology
JF - Global Change Biology
SN - 1354-1013
IS - 6
ER -