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Patterns of phenotypic trait variation in two temperate forest herbs along a broad climatic gradient

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Abstract

Phenotypic trait variation plays a major role in the response of plants to global environmental change, particularly in species with low migration capabilities and recruitment success. However, little is known about the variation of functional traits within populations and about differences in this variation on larger spatial scales. In a first approach, we therefore related trait expression to climate and local environmental conditions, studying two temperate forest herbs, Milium effusum and Stachys sylvatica, along a ~1800–2500 km latitudinal gradient. Within each of 9–10 regions in six European countries, we collected data from six populations of each species and recorded several variables in each region (temperature, precipitation) and population (light availability, soil parameters). For each plant, we measured height, leaf area, specific leaf area, seed mass and the number of seeds and examined environmental effects on within-population trait variation as well as on trait means. Most importantly, trait variation differed both between and within populations. Species, however, differed in their response. Intrapopulation variation in Milium was consistently positively affected by higher mean temperatures and precipitation as well as by more fertile local soil conditions, suggesting that more productive conditions may select for larger phenotypic variation. In Stachys, particularly light availability positively influenced trait variation, whereas local soil conditions had no consistent effects. Generally, our study emphasises that intra-population variation may differ considerably across larger scales—due to phenotypic plasticity and/or underlying genetic diversity—possibly affecting species response to global environmental change.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to the Research Foundation − Flanders (FWO) for funding the Scientific Research network ‘FLEUR’ (http://www.fleur.ugent.be). We also thank Marion Ahlbrecht, Vincenzo Gonnelli, Tor Ivar Hansen, Emma Holmström, Astrid Karus, Sigrid Lindmo, Justine Louvel and Antonio Zoccola for field or lab assistance. Climate data of the Estonian sites were provided by courtesy of the Estonian Meteorological and Hydrological Institute. This paper was written while P.D.F. held a post-doctoral fellowship from the FWO.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Vegetation Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Ecology, FB2, University of Bremen, Leobener Str., 28359, Bremen, Germany

    Isgard H. Lemke, Annette Kolb & Martin Diekmann

  2. Department of Biology, NTNU, Trondheim, Norway

    Bente J. Graae & Kamal P. Acharya

  3. Forest & Nature Lab, Ghent University, Melle-Gontrode, Belgium

    Pieter De Frenne & Kris Verheyen

  4. Comparative Seed Biology Section, Comparative Plant and Fungal Biology Department, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, West Sussex, UK

    Cristina Blandino

  5. Southern Swedish Forest Research Centre, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Alnarp, Sweden

    Jörg Brunet

  6. Ecologie et Dynamique des Systèmes Anthropisés, Jules Verne University of Picardie, Amiens, France

    Olivier Chabrerie & Guillaume Decocq

  7. Department of Physical Geography, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden

    Sara A. O. Cousins

  8. Biodiversity and Systematic Botany, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany

    Thilo Heinken

  9. Division of Forest, Nature and Landscape, K.U. Leuven, Leuven, Belgium

    Martin Hermy

  10. Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia

    Jaan Liira

  11. UMR7204, MNHN-CNRS-UPMC, CESCO, 43 rue Buffon, CP 135, 75005, Paris, France

    Reto Schmucki

  12. Centre de Synthèse et d’Analyse sur la Biodiversité, Aix-en-Provence, France

    Reto Schmucki

  13. Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden

    Anna Shevtsova

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  1. Isgard H. Lemke
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  2. Annette Kolb
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  12. Martin Hermy
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Correspondence to Isgard H. Lemke.

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Communicated by Thomas Abeli.

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Lemke, I.H., Kolb, A., Graae, B.J. et al. Patterns of phenotypic trait variation in two temperate forest herbs along a broad climatic gradient. Plant Ecol 216, 1523–1536 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-015-0534-0

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