TY - JOUR A1 - De Frenne, Pieter A1 - Graae, Bente J. A1 - Brunet, Jörg A1 - Shevtsova, Anna A1 - De Schrijver, An A1 - Chabrerie, Olivier A1 - Cousins, Sara A. O. A1 - Decocq, Guillaume A1 - Diekmann, Martin A1 - Hermy, Martin A1 - Heinken, Thilo A1 - Kolb, Annette A1 - Nilsson, Christer A1 - Stanton, Sharon A1 - Verheyen, Kris T1 - The response of forest plant regeneration to temperature variation along a latitudinal gradient JF - Annals of botany N2 - The response of forest herb regeneration from seed to temperature variations across latitudes was experimentally assessed in order to forecast the likely response of understorey community dynamics to climate warming. Seeds of two characteristic forest plants (Anemone nemorosa and Milium effusum) were collected in natural populations along a latitudinal gradient from northern France to northern Sweden and exposed to three temperature regimes in growth chambers (first experiment). To test the importance of local adaptation, reciprocal transplants were also made of adult individuals that originated from the same populations in three common gardens located in southern, central and northern sites along the same gradient, and the resulting seeds were germinated (second experiment). Seedling establishment was quantified by measuring the timing and percentage of seedling emergence, and seedling biomass in both experiments. Spring warming increased emergence rates and seedling growth in the early-flowering forb A. nemorosa. Seedlings of the summer-flowering grass M. effusum originating from northern populations responded more strongly in terms of biomass growth to temperature than southern populations. The above-ground biomass of the seedlings of both species decreased with increasing latitude of origin, irrespective of whether seeds were collected from natural populations or from the common gardens. The emergence percentage decreased with increasing home-away distance in seeds from the transplant experiment, suggesting that the maternal plants were locally adapted. Decreasing seedling emergence and growth were found from the centre to the northern edge of the distribution range for both species. Stronger responses to temperature variation in seedling growth of the grass M. effusum in the north may offer a way to cope with environmental change. The results further suggest that climate warming might differentially affect seedling establishment of understorey plants across their distribution range and thus alter future understorey plant dynamics. KW - Anemone nemorosa KW - climate change KW - common garden KW - growth chambers KW - latitudinal gradient KW - local adaptation KW - Milium effusum KW - plant regeneration KW - range edges KW - recruitment KW - seedling establishment KW - temperature Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcs015 SN - 0305-7364 VL - 109 IS - 5 SP - 1037 EP - 1046 PB - Oxford Univ. Press CY - Oxford ER - 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 -