RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Fine-scale trait variation of five native forbs along environmental gradients
JF Native Plants Journal
JO NATIVE PLANTS JOURNAL
FD University of Wisconsin Press
SP 192
OP 205
DO 10.3368/npj.24.3.192
VO 24
IS 3
A1 Victor, Sasha
A1 Doherty, Kyle
A1 DuPre, Mary Ellyn
A1 Ramsey, Philip W
A1 Lekberg, Ylva
YR 2023
UL http://npj.uwpress.org/content/24/3/192.abstract
AB Seed-transfer zones attempt to match seed source and habitat, but the extent of environmental variation within climate-based zones can be substantial and potentially relevant to seed-transfer guidelines. We surveyed abiotic and biotic soil properties across elevation and insolation (amount of solar radiation) gradients within a 5 km2 (1.9 mi2) area in Montana and assessed relationships with plant traits in 5 native species. We detected substantial variation in soil physical, chemical, and biological properties along gradients. Differences in insolation due to topographical features predicted variation in soil moisture and maximum temperature, organic matter content, and magnesium, whereas elevation predicted minimum soil temperature and relative abundance of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. Elevation and insolation combined predicted plant productivity, soil potassium, calcium, sulfate, and iron concentrations. Yet, neither elevation nor insolation consistently correlated with variation in plant traits across species, potentially because of insufficient selection pressure or widespread seed dispersal throughout the area. Nonetheless, specific leaf area and seed weight, both heritable traits, correlated with changes in elevation and insolation in some species. Whether this variation is attributable to local adaptation or plasticity requires reciprocal transplant experiments and longer-term monitoring of the survival and fitness of plants. We show that elevation and insolation gradients can be effective predictors of some aspects of the soil environment. Systematically collecting seeds along elevation and insolation gradients can provide a breadth of plant traits to test trait-by-environment interactions in reciprocal transplant studies and reveal if matching heritable traits to environments within a climatic seed zone is beneficial.