Intraspecific Functional Trait Response to Advanced Snowmelt Suggests Increase of Growth Potential but Decrease of Seed Production in Snowbed Plant Species.

ABSTRACT: In ecological theory, it is currently unclear if intraspecific trait responses to environmental variation are shared across plant species. We use one of the strongest environmental variations in alpine ecosystems, i.e., advanced snowmelt due to climate warming, to answer this question for alpine snowbed plants. Snowbeds are extreme habitats where long-lasting snow cover represents the key environmental factor affecting plant life. Intraspecific variation in plant functional traits is a key to understanding the performance and vulnerability of species in a rapidly changing environment. We sampled snowbed species after an above-average warm winter to assess their phenotypic adjustment to advanced snowmelt, based on differences in the natural snowmelt dynamics with magnitudes reflecting predi

SUBMITTER: Tonin R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6426784 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature