Advancing trait-based plant ecology: understanding the causes and consequences of trait covariation across biological scales

推进基于性状的植物生态学：了解跨生物尺度性状共变的原因和后果

• 批准号: RGPIN-2020-04832
• 负责人: Messier, Julie
• 金额: $ 2.04万
• 依托单位: University of Waterloo
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2022-01-01 至 2023-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=745817
• 关键词: Advancing; trait; based; plant; ecology

As anthropogenic environmental changes are leading to a 6th mass extinction, Ecology's place in society is more central than ever. Studying ~9 million species with unique genes and traits, generality is both a central goal and challenge of ecology. To that end, plant ecology has recently shifted toward a trait-based approach. Measuring traits common to all plants, this approach provides a common currency to compare species. Trait-based plant ecology has made significant progress toward improving generality by describing trait dimensions, major axes of variation in plant form and function organizing diversity worldwide, each representing multiple correlated traits. My research has highlighted two crucial gaps in our understanding of trait covariation at local scales which this research will address. The long-term goal of my program is to improve our understanding of the ecological and evolutionary (i) causes and (ii) consequences of plant trait covariation across biological scales. First, strong at global scales, trait dimensions can disappear at more local scales and we do not know why. We do not know how local-scale processes affect the mechanisms underpinning global patterns of trait covariation. Second, the effects of trait-trait interactions on plant performance across environments is currently not taken into account in trait-based ecology. To address these gaps, I will examine the coordination among carbon- and water-use traits in model, crop and commercial temperate tree species. My short-term objectives (O) are to: O1. Determine the local causes of intraspecific covariation in carbon-use foliar traits; O2. Assess the role of water-use traits in modulating relationships among carbon-use foliar traits; O3. Assess how intraspecific covariation in carbon- and water-use traits constrain the response of tree species to climate change. The research is of broad interest for ecology and evolution as, no matter the results, it will produce globally significant advances in our understanding of the causes of trait-function relationships across scales. O1 uses an innovative cross-scale approach rarely adopted in ecology that assesses the relative role of different causes of integration. O2 is novel because trait-based ecology has paid little attention to how water-use traits affect relationships among carbon-economic traits, shown to affect ecological processes from tree growth to ecosystem function. O3 will improve our ability to predict how trees respond to climate change, which is essential to mitigate the effects of climate change on forest ecosystems. Covering over 40% of Canada and strongly impacted by climate change, forests provide the basic habitats for other organisms and are a resource critical to the forestry industry and social well-being of Canadians. Trainees will gain valuable professional and technical skills in ecology and ecophysiology that will advance their careers in consulting, scientific communication, education or research.

由于人为的环境变化导致了第六次弥漫，因此生态学在社会中的地位比以往任何时候都更为重要。一般性研究〜900万种具有独特基因和特征的物种，既是生态学的核心目标，又是挑战。为此，植物生态学最近已转向基于特质的方法。测量所有植物共有的特征，这种方法提供了一种比较物种的共同货币。基于特征的植物生态学通过描述特质维度，植物形式的主要变化轴和全球组织多样性的功能来改善普遍性取得了重大进展，每个轴都代表了多个相关性状。我的研究强调了我们对本地量表的特质协方差的理解，这将解决这一研究。我计划的长期目标是提高我们对生态和进化的理解（i）原因和（ii）跨生物量表的植物特质协方差的后果。 首先，在全球尺度上，特质维度可以在更多的本地尺度上消失，我们不知道为什么。我们不知道地方规模的过程如何影响基于特质协变的全球模式的机制。其次，目前尚未在基于特质的生态学中考虑特征性状相互作用对跨环境植物性能的影响。为了解决这些差距，我将研究模型，农作物和商业温带树种中碳和水利用性状之间的协调性。我的短期目标（O）是：O1。确定碳使用性叶面性状中种内协变的局部原因； O2。评估水利用性状在调节碳使用叶面性状之间关系中的作用； O3。评估碳和水利用性状的种内协方差如何限制树种对气候变化的反应。这项研究对生态和进化具有广泛的兴趣，因为无论结果如何，它都将在我们对跨尺度的性状 - 功能关系的原因的理解中产生重大的进步。 O1使用生态学中很少采用的创新跨尺度方法，该方法评估了不同融合原因的相对作用。 O2之所以新颖，是因为基于特征的生态学几乎不关注水的特征如何影响碳 - 经济性状之间的关系，这表明会影响从树木生长到生态系统功能的生态过程。 O3将提高我们预测树木如何应对气候变化的能力，这对于减轻气候变化对森林生态系统的影响至关重要。森林覆盖了加拿大40％以上的加拿大，并受到气候变化的强烈影响，为其他生物体提供了基本栖息地，是对加拿大人的林业行业和社会福祉至关重要的资源。受训人员将获得宝贵的生态和生态生理学专业和技术技能，这些技能将在咨询，科学沟通，教育或研究方面提高其职业。