Characteristic and Adaptive Strategy in Leaf Functional Traits of Giant Panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) Staple Bamboo Species
Liu, Xiong (Centre de Recerca Ecològica i d'Aplicacions Forestals)
Zhou, Yilin (Sichuan Agricultural University)
Zou, Xingcheng (Sichuan Agricultural University)
Zhu, Weiyu (Sichuan Agricultural University)
Wan, Renping (Sichuan Agricultural University)
Liang, Zhengchuan (Sichuan Agricultural University)
Hu, Junxi (Sichuan Agricultural University)
Tie, Liehua (Guizhou University)
Cui, Xinglei (Sichuan Agricultural University)
Zhang, Yuanbin (Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment)
Zhou, Shixing (Sichuan Agricultural University)
Sardans i Galobart, Jordi (Centre de Recerca Ecològica i d'Aplicacions Forestals)
Huang, Congde (Sichuan Agricultural University)
Peñuelas, Josep (Centre de Recerca Ecològica i d'Aplicacions Forestals)

Date:	2025
Abstract:	Leaf functional traits are important indicators that reveal plant adaptation and response to environmental changes. Characteristics and adaptive strategies of leaf functional traits of staple bamboo species (SBSs) for the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) remain unclear, which limits conservation management of the giant panda and its habitat. Here, this study investigated 10 SBSs in 15 nature reserves across 36 counties, measured eight leaf functional traits, analyzed trait characteristics, variation, and drivers of variation, and examined trait-based strategies and strategy-environmental constraint relationships. Our results indicate that: coefficients of variation in leaf functional traits spanned from 9. 58% to 79. 16%, and significant differences were found among SBSs for leaf functional traits except chlorophyll concentration. The linear mixed-effects models revealed that the taxonomic factors explained 20. 16 to 77. 94% of variation, and environmental factors explained 17. 03 to 29. 12%. Leaf functional traits exhibited distinct environmental associations, primarily driven by geographic location, topography, and soil phosphorus availability. Hierarchical clustering and principal component analysis revealed 10 SBS clustered into two groups, corresponding to conservative and acquisitive resource-use strategies. Canonical correspondence analysis revealed that SBSs with conservative strategies were distributed in warm and moist habitats, and SBSs with acquisition strategies were distributed in habitats with high solar radiation. Our results reveal the key trait characteristics of SBSs and the strategy-environmental constraint model based on traits, which can provide scientific basis for the ecological management practice of SBSs.
Grants:	Agencia Estatal de Investigación PID2022-140808NB-I00 Agencia Estatal de Investigación TED2021-132627B-I00
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, la comunicació pública de l'obra i la creació d'obres derivades, fins i tot amb finalitats comercials, sempre i quan es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Subject:	Leaf functional traits ; Trait variation ; Trait-environment relationships ; Staple bamboo species of giant panda
Published in:	Forests, Vol. 16, Núm. 6 (June 2025) , art. 954, ISSN 1999-4907

DOI: 10.3390/f16060954

18 p, 2.8 MB

The record appears in these collections:
Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Experimental sciences > CREAF (Centre de Recerca Ecològica i d'Aplicacions Forestals)
Articles > Research articles
Articles > Published articles