Plant size and leaf area influence phenological and reproductive responses to warming in semiarid Mediterranean species.

ABSTRACT: Changes in vegetative and reproductive phenology rank among the most obvious plant responses to climate change. These responses vary broadly among species, but it is largely unknown whether they are mediated by functional attributes, such as size or foliar traits. Using a manipulative experiment conducted over two growing seasons, we evaluated the responses in reproductive phenology and output of 14 Mediterranean semiarid species belonging to three functional groups (grasses, nitrogen-fixing legumes and forbs) to a ~3°C increase in temperature, and assessed how leaf and size traits influenced them. Overall, warming advanced flowering and fruiting phenology, extended the duration of flowering and reduced the production of flowers and fruits. The observed reduction in flower and fruit produc

SUBMITTER: Valencia E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4910860 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature