Why incorporate plant architecture into trait-based ecology?

Abstract

Trait-based ecology has improved our understanding of the functioning of organisms, communities, ecosystems, and beyond. However, its predictive ability remains limited as long as phenotypic integration and temporal dynamics are not considered. We highlight how the morphogenetic processes that shape the 3D development of a plant during its lifetime affect its performance. We show that the diversity of architectural traits allows us to go beyond organ-level traits in capturing the temporal and spatial dimensions of ecological niches and informing community assembly processes. Overall, we argue that consideration of multilevel topological, geometrical, and ontogenetic features provides a dynamic view of the whole-plant phenotype and a relevant framework for investigating phenotypic integration, plant adaptation and performance, and community structure and dynamics.

Keywords: community structure; functional trait; ontogeny; phenotypic integration; plant architecture.