Dantas de Paula, M.; Forrest, M.; Langan, L.; Bendix, J.; Homeier, J.; Velescu, A.; Wilcke, W. & Hickler, T. (2021): <b>Nutrient cycling drives plant community trait assembly and ecosystem functioning in a tropical mountain biodiversity hotspot</b>. <i>New Phytologist</i> <b>2021</b>, 1-16.
Resource Description
Title:
Nutrient cycling drives plant community trait assembly and ecosystem functioning in a tropical mountain biodiversity hotspot
FOR816dw ID:
436
Publication Date:
2021-08-09
License and Usage Rights:
Resource Owner(s):
Individual:
Mateus Dantas de Paula
Contact:
email:
webmaster <at> lcrs.de
Individual:
Matthew Forrest
Contact:
email:
webmaster <at> lcrs.de
Individual:
Liam Langan
Contact:
email:
webmaster <at> lcrs.de
Individual:
Joerg Bendix
Contact:
email:
webmaster <at> lcrs.de
Individual:
Jürgen Homeier
Contact:
email:
webmaster <at> lcrs.de
Individual:
Andre Velescu
Contact:
email:
webmaster <at> lcrs.de
Individual:
Wolfgang Wilcke
Contact:
email:
webmaster <at> lcrs.de
Individual:
Thomas Hickler
Contact:
email:
webmaster <at> lcrs.de
Abstract:
Community trait assembly in highly diverse tropical rainforests is still poorly understood.<br/>
Based on more than a decade of field measurements in a biodiversity hotspot of southern<br/>
Ecuador, we implemented plant trait variation and improved soil organic matter dynamics in a<br/>
widely used dynamic vegetation model (the Lund-Potsdam-Jena General Ecosystem Simulator,<br/>
LPJ-GUESS) to explore the main drivers of community assembly along an elevational gradient.<br/>
In the model used here (LPJ-GUESS-NTD, where NTD stands for nutrient-trait dynamics),<br/>
each plant individual can possess different trait combinations, and the community trait composition<br/>
emerges via ecological sorting. Further model developments include plant growth<br/>
limitation by phosphorous (P) and mycorrhizal nutrient uptake.<br/>
The new model version reproduced the main observed community trait shift and related<br/>
vegetation processes along the elevational gradient, but only if nutrient limitations to plant<br/>
growth were activated. In turn, when traits were fixed, low productivity communities<br/>
emerged due to reduced nutrient-use efficiency. Mycorrhizal nutrient uptake, when deactivated,<br/>
reduced net primary production (NPP) by 61–72% along the gradient.<br/>
Our results strongly suggest that the elevational temperature gradient drives community<br/>
assembly and ecosystem functioning indirectly through its effect on soil nutrient dynamics<br/>
and vegetation traits. This illustrates the importance of considering these processes to yield<br/>
realistic model predictions.
Keywords:
| South Ecuador | Modeling | LPJ |
Literature type specific fields:
ARTICLE
Journal:
New Phytologist
Volume:
2021
Page Range:
1-16
Publisher:
Wiley Online Library
Metadata Provider:
Individual:
Jörg Bendix
Contact:
email:
bendix <at> staff.uni-marburg.de
Deutschhausstraße 12
Room No. 02 A 48
35032 Marburg
Faculty of Geography
Germany
