Article Figures & Data
Figures
Photos taken in the beginning of May show the diversity of plant communities and environmental conditions among 3 sites.
View looking up at the general location of our sites to show the range of habitats.
- Figure 1
Overview map of the 21 sites included in this study.
- Figure 2
Trait variation by species. Absolute values for each trait were relativized around the mean for each species (panel A). The median is represented by the line across the box and dots represent outliers. After relativizing values, we tested for homogeneity of variance across species (panel B) and trait (panel C). Groups with larger values on the x-axis had greater variance. Post hoc testing (letters left of boxes in B and C) showed blue-eyed Mary had greater trait variance than all other species except threadleaf phacelia, which was among the most widely distributed in our study. Flower count and shoot biomass appear to have the largest amount of variation among traits. We did not measure SLA on threadleaf phacelia.
Cutleaf daisy (Erigeron compositus) at a high insolation and high-elevation site.
Blanketflower (Gaillardia aristata) at a high insolation and low-elevation site.
Tables
- TABLE 1
Statistical results for linear regression of site / soil properties with elevation and insolation.
Site / Soil property Range, mean, and variation Elevation Insolation Elevation * Insolation Range Mean sd F P + / − F P + / − F P Site productivity (g / 0.25m2) 8.71–68.9 28.1 16.5 3.37 0.084 23.89 < 0.001 − 7.46 0.014 pH 6.00–6.80 6.45 0.211 3.71 0.071 0.960 0.341 11.72 0.003 OM (log; %) 3.00–19.7 0.069 0.037 0.477 0.499 7.55 0.014 − 0.002 0.970 Nitrate (log; ppm) 0.500–4.90 1.95 1.27 0.726 0.406 0.094 0.763 3.04 0.099 Potassium (ppm) 163–431 257 70.3 1.26 0.278 11.11 0.004 − 16.17 < 0.001 Sulfate (ppm) 7.00–24.7 13.1 4.34 0.270 0.610 3.16 0.093 9.77 0.006 Zinc (log: ppm) 1.37–5.35 2.88 1.21 0.505 0.487 0.251 0.623 0.253 0.621 Iron (ppm) 21.2–61.0 0.5 9.18 3.25 0.089 10.38 0.005 − 8.50 0.010 Manganese (log; ppm) 12.7–45.0 22.0 8.1 0.053 0.820 2.18 0.158 0.587 0.454 Copper (ppm) 0.460–93.8 6.48 21.3 1.39 0.256 2.62 0.124 1.19 0.290 Calcium (ppm) 982–2995 1853 472 0.008 0.931 9.34 0.007 − 5.89 0.027 Magnesium (ppm) 151–330 217 44.8 0.050 0.826 4.80 0.043 − 1.11 0.308 Sodium (ppm) 8.00–22.0 10.7 2.91 0.267 0.612 1.95 0.181 0.440 0.516 Phosphorus (ppm) 45.0–102 68.0 15.8 1.87 0.189 0.358 0.558 2.19 0.158 June gravimetric water content (log; g/g) 0.030–0.260 0.093 0.064 0.703 0.413 35.32 < 0.001 − 0.673 0.424 June soil temperature (°C) Maximum 35.0–66.0 49.5 8.46 0.021 0.886 11.07 0.004 + 0.106 0.749 Minimum 3.00–8.50 5.14 1.31 13.42 0.002 − 0.026 0.873 0.448 0.513 Relative abundance (log) Mutualistic Fungi 0.500–13.1 4.00 4.00 9.00 0.008 − 2.55 0.128 0.042 0.839 Pathogenic Fungi 4.10–42.9 16.0 10.0 0.087 0.772 0.368 0.552 0.204 0.657 Notes: We used the inverse of insolation due to an opposing effect of elevation and insolation found during preliminary data exploration. Data transformation noted. +/− denote the direction of relationship (positive or negative). Boldface indicates variables with significant results.
- TABLE 2
Statistical results for linear regression of functional traits with elevation and insolation.
Species Trait Range, mean, and variation Elevation Insolation Elevation * Insolation Range Mean sd F P + / − F P + / − F P Blue-eyed Mary SLA (log; cm2/g) 15.4–61.0 28.0 10.6 2.08 0.173 1.06 0.322 1.51 0.241 Seed Weight (mg) 0.300–1.03 0.629 0.163 0.911 0.357 1.46 0.248 0.838 0.377 Aboveground Biomass (g) 0.013–0.122 0.054 0.031 4.53 0.053 + 1.14 0.305 1.60 0.228 Flower Count 2–30 12.3 9.90 44.6 < 0.001 + 3.70 0.055 + 1.03 0.311 Cutleaf daisy SLA (cm2/g) 8.84–13.1 10.5 1.15 0.650 0.439 1.13 0.312 7.08 0.024 Seed Weight (mg) 0.072–0.303 0.207 0.070 45.4 < 0.001 + 0.377 0.553 6.30 0.031 Aboveground Biomass (g) 0.616–1.47 0.910 0.231 0.079 0.784 0.017 0.898 0.016 0.903 Flower Count 2–6 3.43 1.40 0.049 0.825 0.134 0.714 0.500 0.480 Blanketflower SLA (cm2/g) 9.24–14.5 11.8 1.38 7.51 0.015 + 8.51 0.011 − 0.217 0.648 Seed Weight (mg) 1.51–2.85 2.11 0.286 0.257 0.620 2.26 0.153 1.03 0.326 Aboveground Biomass (g) 0.658–2.42 1.46 0.512 0.258 0.619 0.081 0.779 2.25 0.154 Flower Count 1–3 1.84 0.765 0.039 0.843 0.005 0.942 0.769 0.380 Prairie smoke SLA (cm2/g) 9.56–12.7 10.8 0.988 3.66 0.085 1.04 0.331 0.050 0.828 Seed Weight (mg) 0.609–1.34 0.922 0.188 2.13 0.175 0.500 0.496 2.08 0.180 Aboveground Biomass (g) 0.680–2.18 1.27 0.412 0.040 0.845 0.050 0.827 0.314 0.588 Flower Count 0–3 1.59 1.02 0.962 0.327 1.59 0.207 1.25 0.264 Threadleaf phacelia SLA (cm2/g) — — — — — — — — — Seed Weight (mg) 0.179–0.362 0.296 0.052 0.298 0.605 4.59 0.076 3.14 0.127 Aboveground Biomass (log; g) 0.174–0.984 0.349 0.249 0.016 0.903 0.131 0.730 1.02 0.351 Flower Count 18–83 35.3 18.2 1.84 0.175 0.072 0.788 3.48 0.062 Notes: We used the inverse of insolation because of an opposing effect of elevation and insolation found during preliminary data exploration. Data transformation noted. +/− denote the direction of the relationship (positive or negative). Boldface indicates variables with significant results.
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