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PLANT FUNCTIONAL MARKERS CAPTURE ECOSYSTEM PROPERTIES DURING SECONDARY SUCCESSION
Author(s) -
Garnier Eric,
Cortez Jacques,
Billès Georges,
Navas Marie-Laure,
Roumet Catherine,
Debussche Max,
Laurent Gérard,
Blanchard Alain,
Aubry David,
Bellmann Astrid,
Neill Cathy,
Toussaint Jean-Patrick
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.144
H-Index - 294
eISSN - 1939-9170
pISSN - 0012-9658
DOI - 10.1890/03-0799
Subject(s) - ecosystem , ecological succession , biomass (ecology) , ecology , secondary succession , plant functional type , plant community , plant litter , ecosystem ecology , litter , productivity , abundance (ecology) , primary production , biology , environmental science , economics , macroeconomics
Although the structure and composition of plant communities is known to influence the functioning of ecosystems, there is as yet no agreement as to how these should be described from a functional perspective. We tested the biomass ratio hypothesis, which postulates that ecosystem properties should depend on species traits and on species contribution to the total biomass of the community, in a successional sere following vineyard abandonment in the Mediterranean region of France. Ecosystem‐specific net primary productivity, litter decomposition rate, and total soil carbon and nitrogen varied significantly with field age, and correlated with community‐aggregated (i.e., weighed according to the relative abundance of species) functional leaf traits. The three easily measurable traits tested, specific leaf area, leaf dry matter content, and nitrogen concentration, provide a simple means to scale up from organ to ecosystem functioning in complex plant communities. We propose that they be called “functional markers,” and be used to assess the impacts of community changes on ecosystem properties induced, in particular, by global change drivers.