TY  - JOUR
A1  - Lemke, Isgard H.
A1  - Kolb, Annette
A1  - Graae, Bente J.
A1  - De Frenne, Pieter
A1  - Acharya, Kamal P.
A1  - Blandino, Cristina
A1  - Brunet, Jorg
A1  - Chabrerie, Olivier
A1  - Cousins, Sara A. O.
A1  - Decocq, Guillaume
A1  - Heinken, Thilo
A1  - Hermy, Martin
A1  - Liira, Jaan
A1  - Schmucki, Reto
A1  - Shevtsova, Anna
A1  - Verheyen, Kris
A1  - Diekmann, Martin
T1  - Patterns of phenotypic trait variation in two temperate forest herbs along a broad climatic gradient
JF  - Plant ecology : an international journal
N2  - Phenotypic trait variation plays a major role in the response of plants to global environmental change, particularly in species with low migration capabilities and recruitment success. However, little is known about the variation of functional traits within populations and about differences in this variation on larger spatial scales. In a first approach, we therefore related trait expression to climate and local environmental conditions, studying two temperate forest herbs, Milium effusum and Stachys sylvatica, along a similar to 1800-2500 km latitudinal gradient. Within each of 9-10 regions in six European countries, we collected data from six populations of each species and recorded several variables in each region (temperature, precipitation) and population (light availability, soil parameters). For each plant, we measured height, leaf area, specific leaf area, seed mass and the number of seeds and examined environmental effects on within-population trait variation as well as on trait means. Most importantly, trait variation differed both between and within populations. Species, however, differed in their response. Intrapopulation variation in Milium was consistently positively affected by higher mean temperatures and precipitation as well as by more fertile local soil conditions, suggesting that more productive conditions may select for larger phenotypic variation. In Stachys, particularly light availability positively influenced trait variation, whereas local soil conditions had no consistent effects. Generally, our study emphasises that intra-population variation may differ considerably across larger scales-due to phenotypic plasticity and/or underlying genetic diversity-possibly affecting species response to global environmental change.
KW  - Climate change
KW  - Global environmental change
KW  - Milium effusum
KW  - Phenotypic plasticity
KW  - Intraspecific variation
KW  - Stachys sylvatica
Y1  - 2015
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-015-0534-0
SN  - 1385-0237
SN  - 1573-5052
VL  - 216
IS  - 11
SP  - 1523
EP  - 1536
PB  - Springer
CY  - Dordrecht
ER  -