Intraspecific variability of leaf form and function across habitat types
Giacomo Puglielli, Alessandro Bricca, Stefano Chelli, Francesco Petruzzellis, Alicia Teresa Rosario Acosta, Giovanni Bacaro, Eleonora Beccari, Liliana Bernardo, Gianmaria Bonari, Rossano Bolpagni, Francesco Boscutti, Giacomo Calvia, Giandiego Campetella, Laura Cancellieri, Roberto Canullo, Michele Carbognani, Marta Carboni, María Laura Carranza, Maria Beatrice Castellani, Daniela Ciccarelli, Andrea Coppi, Maurizio Cutini, Alice Dalla Vecchia, Michele Dalle Fratte, Maria Carla de Francesco, Pieter De Frenne, Michele De Sanctis, Leopoldo de Simone, Valter Di Cecco, Giuliano Fanelli, Emmanuele Farris, Arianna Ferrara, Giuseppe Fenu, Goffredo Filibeck, Cristina Gasperini, Domenico Gargano, Elisabeth Kindermann, Greta La Bella, Lorenzo Lastrucci, Lorenzo Lazzaro, Simona Maccherini, Michela Marignani, Michele Mugnai, Luigi Naselli‐Flores, Nicodemo G. Passalacqua, Nicola Pavanetto, Alessandro Petraglia, Francesco Rota, Lucia Antonietta Santoianni, Aldo Schettino, Federico Selvi, Angela Stanisci, Giacomo Trotta, Pieter Vangansbeke, Marco Varricchione, Marco Vuerich, Camilla Wellstein, Enrico Tordoni
Abstract
Trait-based ecology has already revealed main independent axes of trait variation defining trait spaces that summarize plant adaptive strategies, but often ignoring intraspecific trait variability (ITV). By using empirical ITV-level data for two independent dimensions of leaf form and function and 167 species across five habitat types (coastal dunes, forests, grasslands, heathlands, wetlands) in the Italian peninsula, we found that ITV: (i) rotated the axes of trait variation that define the trait space; (ii) increased the variance explained by these axes and (iii) affected the functional structure of the target trait space. However, the magnitude of these effects was rather small and depended on the trait and habitat type. Our results reinforce the idea that ITV is context-dependent, calling for careful extrapolations of ITV patterns across traits and spatial scales. Importantly, our study provides a framework that can be used to start integrating ITV into trait space analyses.