Embracing the variability within a single plant species: how and why we need to study it
Scientists present 28 recommendations for studying plant intraspecific trait variation.
Plant Science from Cell Biology to Ecosystems
Scientists present 28 recommendations for studying plant intraspecific trait variation.
Martin and Issac quantified size-dependent variation in eight leaf traits in a single coffee genotype (Coffea arabica var. Caturra) in managed agroecosystems.
Trait sensitivity to the environment is most visible during earlier stages of development, after which intraspecific trait variation and relationships may stabilize.
One way invasive species spread through an area is by harnessing variability in traits, but this doesn’t match observations of invasive species on the slopes of Mount Teide.
Aspen possesses enormous levels of
genotype-based intraspecific variation.
Though the phenomenon was known in Goethe’s time, research didn’t start in earnest for another century.
It’s the differences in individuals that make one Protea more successful than another.
Native and invading plants vary differently in leaf shape in response to climate. Curiously, sometimes the native plants are more acquisitive than the invaders.
How functional traits modify species niche occupancy and community assembly is a vital question in ecology. He et al. measure specific leaf area for over 5000 plants with more than 1700 observational locations.