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Hurtado P, Prieto M, Martínez-Vilalta J, Giordani P, Aragón G, López-Angulo J, Košuthová A, Merinero S, Díaz-Peña EM, Rosas T, Benesperi R, Bianchi E, Grube M, Mayrhofer H, Nascimbene J, Wedin M, Westberg M, Martínez I. Disentangling functional trait variation and covariation in epiphytic lichens along a continent-wide latitudinal gradient. Proc Biol Sci 2020; 287:20192862. [PMID: 32156209 PMCID: PMC7126072 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2019.2862] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2019] [Accepted: 02/17/2020] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Characterizing functional trait variation and covariation, and its drivers, is critical to understand the response of species to changing environmental conditions. Evolutionary and environmental factors determine how traits vary among and within species at multiple scales. However, disentangling their relative contribution is challenging and a comprehensive trait-environment framework addressing such questions is missing in lichens. We investigated the variation in nine traits related to photosynthetic performance, water use and nutrient acquisition applying phylogenetic comparative analyses in lichen epiphytic communities on beech across Europe. These poikilohydric organisms offer a valuable model owing to their inherent limitations to buffer contrasting environmental conditions. Photobiont type and growth form captured differences in certain physiological traits whose variation was largely determined by evolutionary processes (i.e. phylogenetic history), although the intraspecific component was non-negligible. Seasonal temperature fluctuations also had an impact on trait variation, while nitrogen content depended on photobiont type rather than nitrogen deposition. The inconsistency of trait covariation among and within species prevented establishing major resource use strategies in lichens. However, we did identify a general pattern related to the water-use strategy. Thus, to robustly unveil lichen responses under different climatic scenarios, it is necessary to incorporate both among and within-species trait variation and covariation.
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Affiliation(s)
- P. Hurtado
- Área de Biodiversidad y Conservación, Departmento de Biología y Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Móstoles, Madrid, Spain
| | - M. Prieto
- Área de Biodiversidad y Conservación, Departmento de Biología y Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Móstoles, Madrid, Spain
| | | | | | - G. Aragón
- Área de Biodiversidad y Conservación, Departmento de Biología y Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Móstoles, Madrid, Spain
| | - J. López-Angulo
- Área de Biodiversidad y Conservación, Departmento de Biología y Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Móstoles, Madrid, Spain
| | - A. Košuthová
- Department of Botany, Swedish Museum of Natural History, Stockholm, Sweden
- Institute of Botany, Plant Science and Biodiversity Center, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovak Republic
| | - S. Merinero
- Área de Biodiversidad y Conservación, Departmento de Biología y Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Móstoles, Madrid, Spain
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - E. M. Díaz-Peña
- Área de Biodiversidad y Conservación, Departmento de Biología y Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Móstoles, Madrid, Spain
| | - T. Rosas
- CREAF, Bellaterra (Cerdanyola del Valles), Catalonia, Spain
| | - R. Benesperi
- Department of Biology, University of Florence, Firenze, Italy
| | - E. Bianchi
- Department of Biology, University of Florence, Firenze, Italy
| | - M. Grube
- Institute of Biology, Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz, Graz, Austria
| | - H. Mayrhofer
- Institute of Biology, Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz, Graz, Austria
| | - J. Nascimbene
- Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - M. Wedin
- Department of Botany, Swedish Museum of Natural History, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - M. Westberg
- Museum of Evolution, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - I. Martínez
- Área de Biodiversidad y Conservación, Departmento de Biología y Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Móstoles, Madrid, Spain
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Abstract
Northern peatlands represent one of the largest biospheric carbon (C) reservoirs; however, the role of peatlands in the global carbon cycle remains intensely debated, owing in part to the paucity of detailed regional datasets and the complexity of the role of climate, ecosystem processes, and environmental factors in controlling peatland C dynamics. Here we used detailed C accumulation data from four peatlands and a compilation of peatland initiation ages across Alaska to examine Holocene peatland dynamics and climate sensitivity. We find that 75% of dated peatlands in Alaska initiated before 8,600 years ago and that early Holocene C accumulation rates were four times higher than the rest of the Holocene. Similar rapid peatland expansion occurred in West Siberia during the Holocene thermal maximum (HTM). Our results suggest that high summer temperature and strong seasonality during the HTM in Alaska might have played a major role in causing the highest rates of C accumulation and peatland expansion. The rapid peatland expansion and C accumulation in these vast regions contributed significantly to the peak of atmospheric methane concentrations in the early Holocene. Furthermore, we find that Alaskan peatlands began expanding much earlier than peatlands in other regions, indicating an important contribution of these peatlands to the pre-Holocene increase in atmospheric methane concentrations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miriam C Jones
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA 18015, USA.
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