Functional traits explaining plant responses to past and future climate changes

摘要

Climate change ("global warming") is expected to exert serious negative effects on biodiversity. Knowledge and understanding of non-anthropogenic climate changes in previous geological eras may improve predictions about ongoing trends. In this context plant functional traits can be useful tools - the ecotype variations and plasticity of morphological, physiological and developmental traits may help to determine which plants or plant groups might overcome present severely and rapidly changing environmental conditions. The mechanisms behind these trait-environment relationships will be relevant e.g. for a more realistic modelling of biogeochemical cycles and species distributions.