Evolution of Plant Functional Traits Response to Global Change

Dear Colleagues,

Global change has several important components such as land use change, climate change, biological invasions, or changes in atmospheric chemistry—all of which will affect plant performance. Consequences at the ecosystem and community levels are related to habitat loss and fragmentation, and to changes in disturbance regimes (cf. recent wildfires in Australia). Community responses to these changes are dependent on and will also affect functional diversity. Plant functional traits are an important concept for understanding and predicting plant and community responses to environmental changes. Functional traits are an outcome of the ecological and evolutionary history of a plant species. The evolution of a trait results from a plant’s long-term adaptation to its environment, and its understanding is necessary for a causally motivated prediction of changes in species composition and ecosystem processes under environmental change. Due to phylogeny, trait–trait correlations and trade-offs traits evolve in coordination, leading to complex responses of communities to global change.

This Special Issue of Forests is focused on how the responses of plant functional traits to environmental factors related to global change evolve. The genetic basis, the role of phenotypic plasticity versus evolution, coordinated evolution of traits, and intraspecific trait variation will be core topics. Research articles may focus on the variation of traits along environmental gradients (e.g., elevational or climatic gradients), their adaptive value and the mechanisms behind this variation; the seasonal or developmental plasticity of traits and its role for evolution; trade-offs, trait–trait coordination and decoupled responses at the organ (leaves, stems, roots) and whole-plant levels (including mycorrhizal systems), with particular reference to plant hydraulics, and leaf and root morphology–anatomy–physiology–stoichiometry; intraspecific trait variation at different spatial scales or due to ontogeny and phenology. Studies on the evolution of the dispersal and sprouting of traits in response to habitat fragmentation and disturbance regimes—on the relevance of local adaptation and acclimatization versus species migration for plants facing climate change, and on paleoecological evidences—are also welcome.

Prof. Dr. Hermann Heilmeier
Guest Editor

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