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1. Intraspecific Functional Trait Variation and Coordination in Schizachyrium scoparium

   https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.71635  

   Zeldin, Jacob; Dethlefs, Tessa; Caeiro, Stacy; Puga, Daniel; Kramer, Andrea (July 2025, Ecology and Evolution)

   Plant functional traits are vital tools in ecological restoration and biodiversity conservation. While functional traits and functional diversity are increasingly being used to inform restoration efforts, challenges remain in the characterization of trait variation in many systems, including within‐species. Likewise, understanding axes of trait variation describing trade‐offs in plant function is important for trait‐based restoration frameworks, yet the degree of coordination between above‐ground functional traits and their below‐ ground counterparts is often unknown. Here, we investigate intraspecific trait variation among five populations ofSchizachyrium scoparium(little bluestem), a species commonly used for restoration, from different habitat types across a gradient from southern Wisconsin to Northern Illinois. We asked (1) how regional populations ofS. scopariumdiffer in their functional traits, (2) how functional trait variation inS. scopariumis structured among and within populations, and (3) how above‐ and below‐ground functional traits ofS. scopariumcoordinate and describe axes of functional trade‐offs. We found that populations differed in multivariate trait space, but evidence for differences in individual traits among populations was mixed. Trait relationships with habitat types were idiosyncratic and often misaligned with expectations of plant economic spectra. Variation within populations was as high, or higher, than between populations across traits. We found evidence for weak coordination in several trait pairs, including two above‐ and below‐ground trait combinations, while others appeared to be uncoordinated. Our findings support previous research that trait differentiation can occur at multiple scales, both between and within populations. Extensive within‐population trait variability could be leveraged in trait‐based restoration frameworks targeting intraspecific functional diversity. The lack of strong signals of coordination between above‐ and below‐ground functional traits suggest that sourcing decisions meant to match below‐ground functional traits to recipient restored communities should rely on direct measurement of root traits associated with desired functions rather than above‐ground proxies. 

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2. Montane Temperate-Boreal Forests Retain the Leaf Economic Spectrum Despite Intraspecific Variability

   https://doi.org/10.3389/ffgc.2021.754063  

   Hecking, Matthew J.; Zukswert, Jenna M.; Drake, John E.; Dovciak, Martin; Burton, Julia I. (January 2022, Frontiers in Forests and Global Change)

   Trait-based analyses provide powerful tools for developing a generalizable, physiologically grounded understanding of how forest communities are responding to ongoing environmental changes. Key challenges lie in (1) selecting traits that best characterize the ecological performance of species in the community and (2) determining the degree and importance of intraspecific variability in those traits. Recent studies suggest that globally evident trait correlations (trait dimensions), such as the leaf economic spectrum, may be weak or absent at local scales. Moreover, trait-based analyses that utilize a mean value to represent a species may be misleading. Mean trait values are particularly problematic if species trait value rankings change along environmental gradients, resulting in species trait crossover. To assess how plant traits (1) covary at local spatial scales, (2) vary across the dominant environmental gradients, and (3) can be partitioned within and across taxa, we collected data on 9 traits for 13 tree species spanning the montane temperate—boreal forest ecotones of New York and northern New England. The primary dimension of the trait ordination was the leaf economic spectrum, with trait variability among species largely driven by differences between deciduous angiosperms and evergreen gymnosperms. A second dimension was related to variability in nitrogen to phosphorous levels and stem specific density. Levels of intraspecific trait variability differed considerably among traits, and was related to variation in light, climate, and tree developmental stage. However, trait rankings across species were generally conserved across these gradients and there was little evidence of species crossover. The persistence of the leaf economics spectrum in both temperate and high-elevation conifer forests suggests that ecological strategies of tree species are associated with trade-offs between resource acquisition and tolerance, and may be quantified with relatively few traits. Furthermore, the assumption that species may be represented with a single trait value may be warranted for some trait-based analyses provided traits were measured under similar light levels and climate conditions. 

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3. Climate-linked biogeography of mycorrhizal fungal spore traits

   https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2505059122  

   Pehim_Limbu, Smriti; Stürmer, Sidney L; Zahn, Geoffrey; Aguilar-Trigueros, Carlos A; Rogers, Noah; Chaudhary, V Bala (July 2025, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences)

   Climate-driven variation in traits is crucial for predicting ecological responses to environmental change, yet global patterns and drivers of microbial trait variation remain poorly understood. Using global datasets of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungal observations linked to spore morphological traits, we show that climate shapes spore trait variation and functional diversity. Larger spore volumes were more prevalent in warm, wet climates but were associated with smaller species range sizes, suggesting a trade-off between persistence and dispersal potential. Similarly, ornamented spores were more common in warm, wet climates and were associated with narrower range sizes. Cell wall investment (i.e., wall thickness relative to volume) decreased in warmer, wetter climates compared to cooler, drier ones and was the strongest predictor of species range size, with intermediate investment associated with larger geographic distributions. Spore shape and color (i.e., melanin pigmentation) also exhibited climate-driven patterns, with spherical spores and greater pigmentation more common in warm, wet climates. Phylogenetic analyses revealed high conservatism for spore ornamentation, moderate for volume, low for color, and none for shape and cell wall investment. Additionally, functional diversity analyses showed that warm, wet climates promote higher within-community trait richness but lower trait divergence, while broader climatic variability drives higher beta diversity. These findings support growing evidence that trait–environment relationships extend to microbial communities, reflecting ecological principles such as environmental filtering, evolutionary constraint, and dispersal–persistence trade-offs. Incorporating microbial traits improves predictions of biogeographic shifts and their cascading effects on plant–microbe interactions and ecosystem stability under climate change. 

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4. Simplification of woody plant trait networks among communities along a climatic aridity gradient

   https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.70010  

   Medeiros, Camila D; Trueba, Santiago; Henry, Christian; Fletcher, Leila R; Lutz, James A; Méndez_Alonzo, Rodrigo; Kraft, Nathan_J B; Sack, Lawren (April 2025, Journal of Ecology)

   Abstract Plant ecological strategies are shaped by numerous functional traits and their trade‐offs. Trait network analysis enables testing hypotheses for the shifting of trait correlation architecture across communities differing in climate and productivity.We built plant trait networks (PTNs) for 118 species within six communities across an aridity gradient, from forest to semi‐desert across the California Floristic Province, based on 34 leaf and wood functional traits, representing hydraulic and photosynthetic function, structure, economics and size. We developed hypotheses for the association of PTN parameters with climate and ecosystem properties, based on theory for the adaptation of species to low resource/stressful environments versus higher resource availability environments with greater potential niche differentiation. Thus, we hypothesized that across community PTNs, trait network connectivity (i.e., the degree that traits are intercorrelated) and network complexity (i.e., the number of trait modules, and the degree of trait integration among modules) would be lower for communities adapted to arid climates and higher for communities adapted to greater water availability, similarly to trends expected for phylogenetic diversity, functional richness and productivity. Further, within given PTNs, we hypothesized that traits would vary strongly in their network connectivity and that the traits most centrally connected within PTNs would be those with the least across‐species variation.Across communities from more arid to wetter climates, PTN architecture varied from less to more interconnected and complex, in association with functional richness, but PTN architecture was independent of phylogenetic diversity and ecosystem productivity. Within the community PTNs, traits with lower species variation were more interconnected.Synthesis. The responsiveness of PTN architecture to climate highlights how a wide range of traits contributes to physiological and ecological strategies with an architecture that varies among plant communities. Communities in more arid environments show a lower degree of phenotypic integration, consistent with lesser niche differentiation. Our study extends the usefulness of PTNs as an approach to quantify tradeoffs among multiple traits, providing connectivity and complexity parameters as tools that clarify plant environmental adaptation and patterns of trait associations that would influence species distributions, community assembly, and ecosystem resilience in response to climate change. 

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5. Plant elemental diversity increases ecosystem productivity and temporal stability

   https://doi.org/10.1002/ecm.70061  

   Yan, Pu; He, Nianpeng; Yu, Kailiang; Sack, Lawren; Jiang, Lin; Fernández‐Martínez, Marcos (February 2026, Ecological Monographs)

   Abstract The elemental composition of organisms (i.e., the elementome) directly constrains metabolic machinery and aligns with functional traits, linking organismal performance to nutrient cycling and energy flow at the ecosystem level. In theory, elemental diversity captures the community functional heterogeneity by quantifying variation in the multidimensional elementomes of co‐occurring species within a community. However, empirical evidence connecting organismal elemental diversity to ecosystem functioning and identifying its environmental controls remains scarce. We compiled an unprecedented dataset on plant elemental concentrations, encompassing more than 2500 species and 14 analyzed elements (including macronutrients, micronutrients, and trace elements) sampled from leaves, stems, trunks, and fine roots across 8 biomes and 72 sites, covering multiple ecosystem types including forests and grasslands. Using these data, we investigated the spatial patterns and drivers of plant elemental diversity and evaluated its relationship with ecosystem productivity and stability. Our results indicate that plant elemental diversity decreased with latitude, with interannual variability in temperature and mean annual precipitation as the primary controls on its spatial distribution. Moreover, ecosystems with higher plant elemental diversity exhibit greater efficiency in the use of carbon, water, and light, thereby translating into higher productivity and greater temporal stability across and within forests and grasslands, and these effects persisted even after accounting for climate and soil factors. Taken together, our results support the influence of plant elemental diversity as a distinct dimension of biodiversity with functional implications. Complementing trait‐ and taxonomy‐based measures, plant elemental diversity improves predictions of ecosystem productivity and temporal stability under ongoing climatic variability, and can substantially advance research on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. 

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