Elevated CO2, warming and drought differentially impact reproductive and vegetative economic traits in two grassland species.

ABSTRACT:

Background and aims

Since the Industrial Revolution, rising atmospheric CO2, warming and more frequent droughts have significantly impacted ecosystems. While the responses of leaf functional traits to these climate change factors have been widely studied, reproductive traits remain relatively understudied, despite their key role in the diversification and distribution of flowering plants. Here we investigated how elevated CO2, warming, drought and their interactions affect floral, leaf and seed traits in two model grassland species. We also examined how these factors influence trait coordination.

Methods

Two common grassland species, Lotus corniculatus and Crepis capillaris, were sampled from a 10-year climate manipulation experiment. We measured resource economic traits rel

SUBMITTER: Manavalan M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12933672 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature