Unpublished conference/Abstract (Scientific congresses and symposiums)
Extent of intra-population functional variability along a local environmental gradient for four calcareous grasslands species
Harzé, Mélanie; Monty, Arnaud; Mahy, Grégory
201311th INTECOL Congress, Ecology: Into the next 100 years
 

Files


Full Text
INTECOL 2013 - Harzé Mélanie.pptx
Publisher postprint (10.05 MB)
Download

All documents in ORBi are protected by a user license.

Send to



Details



Abstract :
[en] In the last few years, an increasing body of evidence has highlighted the role of functional traits as reliable predictors of species resistance to disturbance and response to environmental gradients. However, most studies focused on functional comparisons at the interspecific level while intraspecific functional trait variation has received remarkably little attention. As intraspecific traits variability is a necessary condition for species to adapt to environmental changes, studying intraspecific functional traits variation along environmental gradients is a major issue in a context of global change. The aim of our study was to evaluate the extent of intraspecific functional variability of four species along an environmental gradient of water stress at a local scale and to compare species response to the gradient. Calcareous grasslands species are present along a xeric gradient from mesophilous to xerophilous grasslands. Changes of exposure, slope and soil depth lead to differences of water availability for plants along the gradient. We measured the maximum vegetative height (MVH), the specific leaf area (SLA, one side area of a fresh leaf divided by its oven-dry mass) and the leaf dry matter content (LDMC, leaf oven-dry mass divided by its water-saturated fresh mass) on randomly selected individuals along a gradient of xericity on three study sites located in south Belgium. Functional traits were measured on about 60 individuals per site and per species. The soil depth was measured around each individual. The exposure and the slope were measured in order to calculate a heat load index for each individual. The extent of local intraspecific functional variability of our data was compared to data covering the species European range. Results are species dependent but for some study species intraspecific functional variability at local scale is not negligible compared to European data. Species functional responses to the gradient (soil depth and heat load index) showed a decrease in SLA and MVH and an increase in LDMC with increasing xericity for all study species. Response extent was species dependent. Main implications for species resistance to disturbance and climate change adaptation will be discussed.
Disciplines :
Environmental sciences & ecology
Author, co-author :
Harzé, Mélanie ;  Université de Liège - ULiège > Forêts, Nature et Paysage > Biodiversité et Paysage
Monty, Arnaud ;  Université de Liège - ULiège > Forêts, Nature et Paysage > Biodiversité et Paysage
Mahy, Grégory ;  Université de Liège - ULiège > Forêts, Nature et Paysage > Biodiversité et Paysage
Language :
English
Title :
Extent of intra-population functional variability along a local environmental gradient for four calcareous grasslands species
Alternative titles :
[en] Magnitude de la variabilité fonctionnelle intra-population le long d'un gradient environnemental pour 4 espèces de pelouses calcicoles
Publication date :
19 August 2013
Event name :
11th INTECOL Congress, Ecology: Into the next 100 years
Event organizer :
British Ecological Society
Event place :
London, United Kingdom
Event date :
du 18 août 2013 au 23 août 2013
Audience :
International
Available on ORBi :
since 06 October 2013

Statistics


Number of views
95 (18 by ULiège)
Number of downloads
136 (3 by ULiège)

Bibliography


Similar publications



Contact ORBi