A ‘functional trait’ is any morpho-physio-phenological trait that impacts fitness indirectly via its effects on individual performance (i.e., growth, reproduction and survival). It has been given high priority in the research agenda of plant ecology. However, functional traits of epiphytic bryophytes remain relatively unexplored, and in particular, very few studies have analyzed how bryophytes adapt to understory microhabitats from the perspective of functional trait clusters (hereafter used interchangeably with syndromes).
Prof. LIU Wenyao and his team of xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (XTBG) conducted a study a 6- ha plot (2450 m a.s.l.) in the Ailao Mountains National Nature Reserve (23°36′–24°56′N, 100°44′–101°30′E), Yunnan, China. They aimed to explore the leaf trait dimensions and their relationship to the photosynthetic performance of three trunk-dwelling bryophytes (two epiphytic mosses and one liverwort) in their typical habitat. They also wanted to reveal the underlying mechanisms epiphytic bryophytes use to adapt to the understory from the perspective functional traits.
The tree epiphytic bryophytes exhibited exhibited distinctive adaptation to a low-light environment. Concomitantly, their functional traits were well coordinated with their adaptation to the shade habitat. They showed low gas exchange rates, low light saturation points and compensation points. Those species demonstrated high total chlorophyll concentrations (Chl), specific leaf area, and high ration of chlorophyll concentrations and nitrogen. They also showed low ratio of chlorophyll a to chlorophyll b (Chl a/b) and photosynthetic nitrogen-use efficiency.
The results suggested that the bryophytes adapted to the shaded understory microhabitats through a series of correlations and trade-offs between functional traits.
The study entitled “Adaptation of epiphytic bryophytes in the understorey attributing to the correlations and trade-offs between functional trait” has been published online in Journal of Bryology.
Contac
LIU Wenyao, Ph.D Principal Investigator
Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla, Yunnan 666303, China
Tel: 86-871-65153787
E-mail: liuwy@xtbg.ac.cn |
