Reinforcing loose foundation stones in trait-based plant ecology

Oecologia
Bill ShipleyPeter B Reich

Abstract

The promise of "trait-based" plant ecology is one of generalized prediction across organizational and spatial scales, independent of taxonomy. This promise is a major reason for the increased popularity of this approach. Here, we argue that some important foundational assumptions of trait-based ecology have not received sufficient empirical evaluation. We identify three such assumptions and, where possible, suggest methods of improvement: (i) traits are functional to the degree that they determine individual fitness, (ii) intraspecific variation in functional traits can be largely ignored, and (iii) functional traits show general predictive relationships to measurable environmental gradients.

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Citations

Jan 23, 2016·Oecologia·Alex Fajardo, Andrew Siefert
Oct 14, 2016·The New Phytologist·Etienne Laliberté
Jun 1, 2017·The New Phytologist·Richard J Norby, Colleen M Iversen
Jun 10, 2017·Biological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society·David J PerovićNicolas Desneux
Mar 24, 2018·Ecology Letters·Leander D L AndereggJanneke HilleRisLambers
May 22, 2018·Ecology·Caroline M TuckerWilliam D Pearse
Apr 20, 2018·The Journal of Animal Ecology·Pierre-Marc BrousseauIra Tanya Handa
Nov 24, 2018·Ecology Letters·Niv DeMalachRonen Kadmon
Nov 18, 2018·The New Phytologist·Isla H Myers-SmithAnne D Bjorkman
Jan 14, 2019·The New Phytologist·Teresa RosasJordi Martínez-Vilalta
Aug 11, 2017·Proceedings. Biological Sciences·Jamie R StavertIgnasi Bartomeus
Nov 7, 2019·Ecology and Evolution·Arthur EscalasJizhong Zhou
May 23, 2020·The Journal of Animal Ecology·David Cunillera-MontcusíAna Inés Borthagaray
Oct 18, 2019·Conservation Biology : the Journal of the Society for Conservation Biology·H Resit AkçakayaP J Stephenson
Jun 16, 2017·Ecology and Evolution·Miles E McCoy-SulenticDaniel A Sarr
Jun 25, 2019·Frontiers in Plant Science·Ivano BrunnerArthur Gessler
Aug 8, 2020·Plants·Muhammad Adnan AkramJianming Deng
Apr 3, 2020·American Journal of Botany·Julia I BurtonKlaus J Puettmann
Sep 11, 2020·Nature Communications·Yingji PanPeter M van Bodegom
Dec 5, 2016·Oecologia·Juan C Álvarez-YépizMartin Dovciak
May 29, 2018·The New Phytologist·Bruno H P RosadoRafael S Oliveira

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