Effects of management on functional diversity in restored tallgrass prairie plant communities

EFFECTS OF MANAGEMENT ON FUNCTIONAL DIVERSITY IN RESTORED TALLGRASS PRAIRIE PLANT COMMUNITIES Anna K. Farrell, M.S. Department of Biological Sciences Northern Illinois University, 2018 Dr. Holly Jones, Director While recent studies have embraced evaluating ecosystems through functional diversity, the focus on interspecific trait changes may limit their usefulness and application. Functional traits (traits that explain species’ responses to environmental conditions and their ecosystem roles) can provide a more nuanced understanding of how disturbances shape plant communities and the functions they perform. Further, the inclusion of intraspecific trait responses can explain a significant portion of these relationships. In ecosystem restorations, management strategies can act as environmental drivers and disturbances that affect community structure. This study examined how three environmental drivers (grazer presence, prescribed fire, and age) in restored grasslands influence plant functional trait diversity and values and if these influences differ when intraspecific trait variation is incorporated. Further, relationships between functional characteristics of communities and an ecosystem function, aboveground productivity, were measured. Functional diversity consistently decreased with age across multiple functional diversity metrics, both when using fixed trait values and intraspecific trait variation. Increased functional diversity, measured as functional evenness, promoted productivity, but both evenness and productivity declined with site age. This functional diversity and ecosystem function relationship was only observed when using intraspecific trait data, emphasizing the importance of accounting for plasticity in functional ecology studies. These results of this study support the environment-trait-function framework and demonstrate the importance of intraspecific trait variation. In ecosystems with weaker environmental gradients, the inclusion of intraspecific changes may be more influential than species turnover in identifying functional diversity and ecosystem function responses. Accounting for this source of variation may improve predictive models and general community ecology rules. Additionally, testing ecology principles in the context of restoration and identifying community responses to disturbances is critical for improving the predictability and success of restoration outcomes. NORTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY DE KALB, ILLINOIS

[1]  Chad R. Zirbel,et al.  Ecosystem multifunctionality increases with beta diversity in restored prairies , 2018, Oecologia.

[2]  M. Lange,et al.  Plant diversity induces shifts in the functional structure and diversity across trophic levels , 2018 .

[3]  D. Hartnett,et al.  Bison Increase the Growth and Reproduction of Forbs in Tallgrass Prairie , 2017, The American Midland Naturalist.

[4]  Lars A. Brudvig,et al.  Plant functional traits and environmental conditions shape community assembly and ecosystem functioning during restoration , 2017 .

[5]  Rebecca S. Barak,et al.  Interpreting variation to advance predictive restoration science , 2017 .

[6]  L. Brudvig.  Toward prediction in the restoration of biodiversity , 2017 .

[7]  M. Cadotte,et al.  Functional traits explain ecosystem function through opposing mechanisms. , 2017, Ecology letters.

[8]  M. M. Moore,et al.  The hierarchy of predictability in ecological restoration: are vegetation structure and functional diversity more predictable than community composition? , 2017 .

[9]  J. Zimmerman,et al.  The role of functional uniqueness and spatial aggregation in explaining rarity in trees , 2017 .

[10]  J. Funk,et al.  Revisiting the Holy Grail: using plant functional traits to understand ecological processes , 2017, Biological reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society.

[11]  E. Borer,et al.  Food webs obscure the strength of plant diversity effects on primary productivity. , 2017, Ecology letters.

[12]  Qiang Yu,et al.  Contrasting effects of plant inter‐ and intraspecific variation on community trait responses to restoration of a sandy grassland ecosystem , 2017, Ecology and evolution.

[13]  Walter Jetz,et al.  Different clades and traits yield similar grassland functional responses , 2017, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[14]  M. Lechowicz,et al.  Grazing‐induced shifts in community functional composition and soil nutrient availability in Tibetan alpine meadows , 2016 .

[15]  D. Laughlin,et al.  Theoretical consequences of trait-based environmental filtering for the breadth and shape of the niche: New testable hypotheses generated by the Traitspace model , 2015 .

[16]  B. Wilsey,et al.  Top‐down control of rare species abundances by native ungulates in a grassland restoration , 2015 .

[17]  L. M. O. Laureto,et al.  Trait distribution patterns in savanna and forest plant assemblages and their relationship with soil features , 2015, Plant Ecology.

[18]  David A. Wardle,et al.  Contrasting effects of plant inter‐ and intraspecific variation on community‐level trait measures along an environmental gradient , 2013 .

[19]  Bill Shipley,et al.  Inter‐specific and intra‐specific trait variation along short environmental gradients in an old‐growth temperate forest , 2013 .

[20]  Lindsay A. Turnbull,et al.  Coexistence, niches and biodiversity effects on ecosystem functioning. , 2013, Ecology letters.

[21]  C. Schöb,et al.  Variability in functional traits mediates plant interactions along stress gradients , 2013 .

[22]  J. H. Burns,et al.  Effects of competition on phylogenetic signal and phenotypic plasticity in plant functional traits , 2012 .

[23]  Kelly A. Carscadden,et al.  Beyond species: functional diversity and the maintenance of ecological processes and services , 2011 .

[24]  R. Pakeman.  Functional diversity indices reveal the impacts of land use intensification on plant community assembly , 2011 .

[25]  Jennie R. McLaren,et al.  Plant Identity Influences Decomposition through More Than One Mechanism , 2011, PloS one.

[26]  B. Cardinale.  Biodiversity improves water quality through niche partitioning , 2011, Nature.

[27]  A. Stanley,et al.  Determining appropriate goals for restoration of imperilled communities and species , 2011 .

[28]  Wilfried Thuiller,et al.  Quantifying the relevance of intraspecific trait variability for functional diversity , 2011 .

[29]  Wilfried Thuiller,et al.  A multi‐trait approach reveals the structure and the relative importance of intra‐ vs. interspecific variability in plant traits , 2010 .

[30]  Lucien Hoffmann,et al.  Intraspecific variability and trait‐based community assembly , 2010 .

[31]  Brian J McGill,et al.  How do traits vary across ecological scales? A case for trait-based ecology. , 2010, Ecology letters.

[32]  Gregory R. Koch,et al.  Fire and grazing in a mesic tallgrass prairie: impacts on plant species and functional traits. , 2010, Ecology.

[33]  D. Debinski,et al.  Direct and indirect responses of tallgrass prairie butterflies to prescribed burning , 2010, Journal of Insect Conservation.

[34]  Wilfried Thuiller,et al.  Intraspecific functional variability: extent, structure and sources of variation , 2010 .

[35]  Frans Bongers,et al.  Functional traits and environmental filtering drive community assembly in a species-rich tropical system. , 2010, Ecology.

[36]  Nathan G. Swenson,et al.  Variation in leaf functional trait values within and across individuals and species: an example from a Costa Rican dry forest , 2010 .

[37]  O. Schmitz.  Effects of predator functional diversity on grassland ecosystem function. , 2009, Ecology.

[38]  A. Newton,et al.  Enhancement of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services by Ecological Restoration: A Meta-Analysis , 2009, Science.

[39]  Todd H. Oakley,et al.  Using Phylogenetic, Functional and Trait Diversity to Understand Patterns of Plant Community Productivity , 2009, PloS one.

[40]  David D. Ackerly,et al.  Community assembly and shifts in plant trait distributions across an environmental gradient in coastal California , 2009 .

[41]  E. Slade,et al.  Experimental evidence for the effects of dung beetle functional group richness and composition on ecosystem function in a tropical forest. , 2007, The Journal of animal ecology.

[42]  Eric Garnier,et al.  Assessing the effects of land-use change on plant traits, communities and ecosystem functioning in grasslands: a standardized methodology and lessons from an application to 11 European sites. , 2007, Annals of botany.

[43]  Roger C. Anderson,et al.  Evolution and origin of the Central Grassland of North America: climate, fire, and mammalian grazers1 , 2006 .

[44]  B. Enquist,et al.  Rebuilding community ecology from functional traits. , 2006, Trends in ecology & evolution.

[45]  L. Poorter,et al.  Plasticity in leaf traits of 38 tropical tree species in response to light; relationships with light demand and adult stature. , 2006 .

[46]  D. Hartnett,et al.  Vegetation trends in tallgrass prairie from bison and cattle grazing , 2005 .

[47]  William G. Lee,et al.  Functional richness, functional evenness and functional divergence: the primary components of functional diversity , 2005 .

[48]  W. Bond,et al.  Fire as a global 'herbivore': the ecology and evolution of flammable ecosystems. , 2005, Trends in ecology & evolution.

[49]  P. Roche,et al.  Congruency analysis of species ranking based on leaf traits: which traits are the more reliable? , 2004, Plant Ecology.

[50]  F. Samson,et al.  Great Plains ecosystems: past, present, and future , 2004 .

[51]  P. Poschlod,et al.  Plant functional trait responses to grassland succession over 25 years , 2004 .

[52]  P. Reich,et al.  A handbook of protocols for standardised and easy measurement of plant functional traits worldwide , 2003 .

[53]  S. Lavorel,et al.  Predicting changes in community composition and ecosystem functioning from plant traits: revisiting the Holy Grail , 2002 .

[54]  John R. Matchett,et al.  FIRE AND GRAZING REGULATE BELOWGROUND PROCESSES IN TALLGRASS PRAIRIE , 2001 .

[55]  S. Díaz,et al.  Vive la différence: plant functional diversity matters to ecosystem processes , 2001 .

[56]  Michel Loreau,et al.  Partitioning selection and complementarity in biodiversity experiments , 2001, Nature.

[57]  F. Chapin,et al.  Consequences of changing biodiversity , 2000, Nature.

[58]  J. P. Grime,et al.  Benefits of plant diversity to ecosystems: immediate, filter and founder effects , 1998 .

[59]  B. R. Coppedge,et al.  BISON GRAZING PATTERNS ON SEASONALLY BURNED TALLGRASS PRAIRIE , 1998 .

[60]  C. Mutel,et al.  The tallgrass restoration handbook : for prairies, savannas, and woodlands , 1998 .

[61]  S. Lavorel,et al.  Plant functional classifications: from general groups to specific groups based on response to disturbance. , 1997, Trends in ecology & evolution.

[62]  L. Aarssen.  High productivity in grassland ecosystems : effected by species diversity or productive species ? , 1997 .

[63]  P. Reich,et al.  The Influence of Functional Diversity and Composition on Ecosystem Processes , 1997 .

[64]  Michael A. Huston,et al.  Hidden treatments in ecological experiments: re-evaluating the ecosystem function of biodiversity , 1997, Oecologia.

[65]  K. Hickman,et al.  Effects of bison grazing, fire, and topography on floristic diversity in tallgrass prairie. , 1996 .

[66]  J. Vincent,et al.  HERBIVORY AND THE MECHANICS OF FRACTURE IN PLANTS , 1996 .

[67]  F. Samson,et al.  Prairie conservation in North America , 1994 .

[68]  Paul A. Keddy,et al.  Assembly and response rules: two goals for predictive community ecology , 1992 .

[69]  Michael E. Gilpin,et al.  Restoration Ecology: A Synthetic Approach to Ecological Research , 1989 .

[70]  T. Seastedt,et al.  Detritus Accumulation Limits Productivity of Tallgrass PrairieThe effects of its plant litter on ecosystem function make the tallgrass prairie unique among North American biomes , 1986 .

[71]  Henry C. Cowles,et al.  The Ecological Relations of the Vegetation on the Sand Dunes of Lake Michigan [Continued] , 1899, Botanical Gazette.

[72]  K. Ma,et al.  Environmental filtering drives herb community composition and functional trait changes across an elevational gradient , 2015 .

[73]  P. Choler,et al.  Fertilization decreases species diversity but increases functional diversity: A three-year experiment in a Tibetan alpine meadow , 2014 .

[74]  M. Hansen,et al.  Use of multiple criteria in an ecological assessment of a prairie restoration chronosequence , 2014 .

[75]  S. Collins,et al.  Interactive effects of grazing, drought, and fire on grassland plant communities in North America and South Africa. , 2014, Ecology.

[76]  S. Lavorel,et al.  On the importance of intraspecific variability for the quantification of functional diversity , 2012 .

[77]  P. Legendre,et al.  A distance-based framework for measuring functional diversity from multiple traits. , 2010, Ecology.

[78]  S. Biswas,et al.  Disturbance effects on species diversity and functional diversity in riparian and upland plant communities. , 2010, Ecology.

[79]  Steward T. A. Pickett,et al.  Plant litter: Its dynamics and effects on plant community structure , 2008, The Botanical Review.

[80]  R. J. Hobbs,et al.  Restoration Ecology: Repairing the Earth's Ecosystems in the New Millennium , 2001 .

[81]  Sandra Díaz,et al.  Ecological Assembly Rules: Functional implications of trait–environment linkages in plant communities , 1999 .

[82]  J. Blair,et al.  The Keystone Role of Bison in North American Tallgrass Prairie , 1999 .

[83]  I. R. Noble,et al.  What are functional types and how should we seek them , 1997 .

[84]  F. Stuart Chapin,et al.  16 – Functional Role of Growth Forms in Ecosystem and Global Processes , 1993 .

[85]  Hendrik Poorter,et al.  Inherent Variation in Growth Rate Between Higher Plants: A Search for Physiological Causes and Ecological Consequences , 1992 .