IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jlands/v10y2021i10p1057-d652064.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Plant Trait Assembly in Species-Rich Forests at Varying Elevations in the Northwest Andes of Colombia

Author

Listed:
  • Angélica Ochoa-Beltrán

    (Departamento de Ciencias Forestales, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Medellín 050034, Colombia)

  • Johanna Andrea Martínez-Villa

    (Département des Sciences Biologiques, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montreal, QC H2L 2C4, Canada)

  • Peter G. Kennedy

    (Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, MN 55108, USA)

  • Beatriz Salgado-Negret

    (Programa Ciencias Básicas de la Biodiversidad, Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humboldt, Bogotá 111311, Colombia)

  • Alvaro Duque

    (Departamento de Ciencias Forestales, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Medellín 050034, Colombia)

Abstract

Andean forests are home to a strikingly high diversity of plants, making it difficult to understand the main drivers of species assembly. Trait-based approaches, however, help overcome some challenges associated with high taxonomic complexity, providing insights into the main drivers of species coexistence. Here, we evaluated the roles of climate, soil fertility, and symbiotic root associations on shaping the assembly of six plant functional traits (leaf area, specific leaf area, dry leaf matter content, leaf thickness, leaf toughness, and wood density) along an elevational gradient in the species-rich northwestern Andean forests of Colombia. The two main axes of the correspondence RLQ analysis explained 95.75% of the variability. The first axis was associated with the leaf economic spectrum, while the second axis with the tradeoff between growth and survival. Furthermore, the fourth corner method showed that both regional (climatic variables) and local factors (soil fertility, symbiotic root associations, and light distribution) played a key role in determining plant trait assembly. In summary, our study emphasizes the importance of considering both individual size and local factors to better understand drivers of plant trait assembly along environmental gradients.

Suggested Citation

  • Angélica Ochoa-Beltrán & Johanna Andrea Martínez-Villa & Peter G. Kennedy & Beatriz Salgado-Negret & Alvaro Duque, 2021. "Plant Trait Assembly in Species-Rich Forests at Varying Elevations in the Northwest Andes of Colombia," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-15, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:10:y:2021:i:10:p:1057-:d:652064
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/10/10/1057/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/10/10/1057/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. B. S. Steidinger & T. W. Crowther & J. Liang & M. E. Nuland & G. D. A. Werner & P. B. Reich & G. J. Nabuurs & S. de-Miguel & M. Zhou & N. Picard & B. Herault & X. Zhao & C. Zhang & D. Routh & K. G. Pe, 2019. "Author Correction: Climatic controls of decomposition drive the global biogeography of forest-tree symbioses," Nature, Nature, vol. 571(7765), pages 8-8, July.
    2. B. S. Steidinger & T. W. Crowther & J. Liang & M. E. Nuland & G. D. A. Werner & P. B. Reich & G. J. Nabuurs & S. de-Miguel & M. Zhou & N. Picard & B. Herault & X. Zhao & C. Zhang & D. Routh & K. G. Pe, 2019. "Climatic controls of decomposition drive the global biogeography of forest-tree symbioses," Nature, Nature, vol. 569(7756), pages 404-408, May.
    3. Dray, Stéphane & Dufour, Anne-Béatrice, 2007. "The ade4 Package: Implementing the Duality Diagram for Ecologists," Journal of Statistical Software, Foundation for Open Access Statistics, vol. 22(i04).
    4. Norman Myers & Russell A. Mittermeier & Cristina G. Mittermeier & Gustavo A. B. da Fonseca & Jennifer Kent, 2000. "Biodiversity hotspots for conservation priorities," Nature, Nature, vol. 403(6772), pages 853-858, February.
    5. C. David L. Orme & Richard G. Davies & Malcolm Burgess & Felix Eigenbrod & Nicola Pickup & Valerie A. Olson & Andrea J. Webster & Tzung-Su Ding & Pamela C. Rasmussen & Robert S. Ridgely & Ali J. Statt, 2005. "Global hotspots of species richness are not congruent with endemism or threat," Nature, Nature, vol. 436(7053), pages 1016-1019, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Robert A. Marchant & Aida Cuni-Sanchez, 2022. "Special Issue Editorial: Mountains under Pressure," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-5, August.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Fantin Mesny & Shingo Miyauchi & Thorsten Thiergart & Brigitte Pickel & Lea Atanasova & Magnus Karlsson & Bruno Hüttel & Kerrie W. Barry & Sajeet Haridas & Cindy Chen & Diane Bauer & William Andreopou, 2021. "Genetic determinants of endophytism in the Arabidopsis root mycobiome," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 12(1), pages 1-15, December.
    2. Stephanie D. Maier & Jan Paul Lindner & Javier Francisco, 2019. "Conceptual Framework for Biodiversity Assessments in Global Value Chains," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-34, March.
    3. Montague H C Neate-Clegg & Simon N Stuart & Devolent Mtui & Çağan H Şekercioğlu & William D Newmark, 2021. "Afrotropical montane birds experience upslope shifts and range contractions along a fragmented elevational gradient in response to global warming," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(3), pages 1-17, March.
    4. Pretzsch, Hans, 2022. "Facilitation and competition reduction in tree species mixtures in Central Europe: Consequences for growth modeling and forest management," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 464(C).
    5. Herkt, K. Matthias B. & Barnikel, Günter & Skidmore, Andrew K. & Fahr, Jakob, 2016. "A high-resolution model of bat diversity and endemism for continental Africa," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 320(C), pages 9-28.
    6. Lingyan Zhou & Xuhui Zhou & Yanghui He & Yuling Fu & Zhenggang Du & Meng Lu & Xiaoying Sun & Chenghao Li & Chunyan Lu & Ruiqiang Liu & Guiyao Zhou & Shahla Hosseni Bai & Madhav P. Thakur, 2022. "Global systematic review with meta-analysis shows that warming effects on terrestrial plant biomass allocation are influenced by precipitation and mycorrhizal association," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-10, December.
    7. Xuejun Yang & Carol C. Baskin & Jerry M. Baskin & Robin J. Pakeman & Zhenying Huang & Ruiru Gao & Johannes H. C. Cornelissen, 2021. "Global patterns of potential future plant diversity hidden in soil seed banks," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 12(1), pages 1-8, December.
    8. Boyd, James & Epanchin-Niell, Rebecca & Siikamaki, Juha, 2012. "Conservation Return on Investment Analysis: A Review of Results, Methods, and New Directions," RFF Working Paper Series dp-12-01, Resources for the Future.
    9. Mark A. Adams & Mathias Neumann, 2023. "Litter accumulation and fire risks show direct and indirect climate-dependence at continental scale," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-11, December.
    10. Tarquin Netherway & Jan Bengtsson & Franz Buegger & Joachim Fritscher & Jane Oja & Karin Pritsch & Falk Hildebrand & Eveline J. Krab & Mohammad Bahram, 2024. "Pervasive associations between dark septate endophytic fungi with tree root and soil microbiomes across Europe," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-17, December.
    11. Maoyuan Feng & Shushi Peng & Yilong Wang & Philippe Ciais & Daniel S. Goll & Jinfeng Chang & Yunting Fang & Benjamin Z. Houlton & Gang Liu & Yan Sun & Yi Xi, 2023. "Overestimated nitrogen loss from denitrification for natural terrestrial ecosystems in CMIP6 Earth System Models," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-9, December.
    12. Shan Luo & Richard P. Phillips & Insu Jo & Songlin Fei & Jingjing Liang & Bernhard Schmid & Nico Eisenhauer, 2023. "Higher productivity in forests with mixed mycorrhizal strategies," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-10, December.
    13. Laxmi D. Bhatta & Sunita Chaudhary & Anju Pandit & Himlal Baral & Partha J. Das & Nigel E. Stork, 2016. "Ecosystem Service Changes and Livelihood Impacts in the Maguri-Motapung Wetlands of Assam, India," Land, MDPI, vol. 5(2), pages 1-14, June.
    14. McLennan, D. & Sharma, R., 2012. "The Delivering Ecological Services Index (DESI)," Working papers 119, Rimisp Latin American Center for Rural Development.
    15. Wenzel Kröber & Martin Böhnke & Erik Welk & Christian Wirth & Helge Bruelheide, 2012. "Leaf Trait-Environment Relationships in a Subtropical Broadleaved Forest in South-East China," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 7(4), pages 1-11, April.
    16. Maeda, Eduardo Eiji & Clark, Barnaby J.F. & Pellikka, Petri & Siljander, Mika, 2010. "Modelling agricultural expansion in Kenya's Eastern Arc Mountains biodiversity hotspot," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 103(9), pages 609-620, November.
    17. Jaiswal, Sreeja & Balietti, Anca & Schäffer, Daniel, 2023. "Environmental Protection and Labor Market Composition," Working Papers 0736, University of Heidelberg, Department of Economics.
    18. Pengfei Song & Wen Qin & YanGan Huang & Lei Wang & Zhenyuan Cai & Tongzuo Zhang, 2020. "Grazing Management Influences Gut Microbial Diversity of Livestock in the Same Area," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-12, May.
    19. Elisa Barbour & Lara Kueppers, 2012. "Conservation and management of ecological systems in a changing California," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 111(1), pages 135-163, March.
    20. Tyler M Harms & Kevin T Murphy & Xiaodan Lyu & Shane S Patterson & Karen E Kinkead & Stephen J Dinsmore & Paul W Frese, 2017. "Using landscape habitat associations to prioritize areas of conservation action for terrestrial birds," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(3), pages 1-21, March.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:10:y:2021:i:10:p:1057-:d:652064. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.