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Hypotheses, mechanisms and trade‐offs of tolerance and adaptation to serpentine soils: from species to ecosystem level
Author(s) -
Kazakou E.,
Dimitrakopoulos P. G.,
Baker A. J. M.,
Reeves R. D.,
Troumbis A. Y.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
biological reviews
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.993
H-Index - 165
eISSN - 1469-185X
pISSN - 1464-7931
DOI - 10.1111/j.1469-185x.2008.00051.x
Subject(s) - ecosystem , abiotic component , ecology , adaptation (eye) , abundance (ecology) , biology , productivity , ecosystem ecology , ecosystem services , community structure , neuroscience , economics , macroeconomics
Understanding the relative importance of the abiotic environment and species interactions in determining the distribution and abundance of organisms has been a challenge in ecological research. Serpentine substrata are stressful environments for plant growth due to multiple limitations, collectively called the “serpentine syndrome”. In the present review, our aim is not only to describe recent work in serpentine ecology, but also to highlight specific mechanisms of species tolerance and adaptation to serpentine soils and their effects on community structure and ecosystem functioning. We present hypotheses of the development of serpentine endemism and a description of functional traits of serpentine plants together with a synthesis of species interactions in serpentine soils and their effects on community structure and ecosystem productivity. In addition, we propose hypotheses about the effects of the ‘serpentine syndrome’ on ecosystem processes including productivity and decomposition.