Which is a better predictor of plant traits: temperature or precipitation?

• Published in: Journal of vegetation science Vol. 25; no. 5; pp. 1167 - 1180
• Main Authors: Moles, Angela T, Perkins, Sarah E, Laffan, Shawn W, Flores‐Moreno, Habacuc, Awasthy, Monica, Tindall, Marianne L, Sack, Lawren, Pitman, Andy, Kattge, Jens, Aarssen, Lonnie W, Anand, Madhur, Bahn, Michael, Blonder, Benjamin, Cavender‐Bares, Jeannine, Cornelissen, J. Hans C, Cornwell, Will K, Díaz, Sandra, Dickie, John B, Freschet, Grégoire T, Griffiths, Joshua G, Gutierrez, Alvaro G, Hemmings, Frank A, Hickler, Thomas, Hitchcock, Timothy D, Keighery, Matthew, Kleyer, Michael, Kurokawa, Hiroko, Leishman, Michelle R, Liu, Kenwin, Niinemets, Ülo, Onipchenko, Vladimir, Onoda, Yusuke, Penuelas, Josep, Pillar, Valério D, Reich, Peter B, Shiodera, Satomi, Siefert, Andrew, Sosinski, Enio E., Jr, Soudzilovskaia, Nadejda A, Swaine, Emily K, Swenson, Nathan G, Bodegom, Peter M, Warman, Laura, Weiher, Evan, Wright, Ian J, Zhang, Hongxiang, Zobel, Martin, Bonser, Stephen P, Helm, Aveliina
• Format: Journal Article Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Opulus Press 01.09.2014; Blackwell Publishing Ltd; Blackwell
• Subjects: Animal and plant ecology; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Annual plants; atmospheric precipitation; Biological and medical sciences; Climate; compound leaves; dispersal syndrome; Ecological genetics; Forest ecology; functional traits; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; leaf life span; Moles; nitrogen fixation; photosynthetic pathway; plant available water; Plant ecology; plant height; plant life span; Plants; Precipitation; seed mass; SPECIAL FEATURE: VEGETATION PATTERNS AND THEIR UNDERLYING PROCESSES; specific leaf area; spinescence; Synecology; temperature; Vascular plants; Vegetation; Climate; Temperature; Predictor; Functional trait; Dispersal syndrome; Compound leaves; Spinescence; Plant; Precipitation; Seed mass; Nitrogen fixation; Plant sciences; Specific leaf area; Plant height; Mass surface; Leaf life span; Photosynthetic pathway; Plant ecology; Plant leaf; Longevity; Plant life span; Syndrome; Functionality; Functional traits; Photosynthesis
• ISSN: 1100-9233; 1654-1103
• DOI: 10.1111/jvs.12190

QUESTION: Are plant traits more closely correlated with mean annual temperature, or with mean annual precipitation? LOCATION: Global. METHODS: We quantified the strength of the relationships between temperature and precipitation and 21 plant traits from 447,961 species‐site combinations worldwide. We used meta‐analysis to provide an overall answer to our question. RESULTS: Mean annual temperature was significantly more strongly correlated with plant traits than was mean annual precipitation. CONCLUSIONS: Our study provides support for some of the assumptions of classical vegetation theory, and points to many interesting directions for future research. The relatively low R² values for precipitation might reflect the weak link between mean annual precipitation and the availability of water to plants.