Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 14-Day Trial for You or Your Team.

Learn More →

Plant functional types and climate at the global scale

Plant functional types and climate at the global scale Abstract. Globally applicable sets of terrestrial plant functional types (PFTs) have been identified as a major need in the development of dynamic global vegetation models for use with global atmospheric models. Global sets of PFTs should represent the world's most important plant types; characterize them through their functional behavior; and provide complete, geographically representative coverage of the world's land areas. Three main schools of thought on PFTs have emerged: (1) a physiological focus on internal function, especially at the level of basic metabolism; (2) an ecological focus on function in relation to plant form and environmental conditions; and (3) a geophysical focus on how plant functions affect the adjacent atmosphere. A structural approach based on pheno‐physiognomy permits ready identification of relatively familiar, recognizable plant types. Many of the criteria cited by other approaches also are intimately related to structure and its seasonal changes. An earlier global system of structural‐functional PFTs and their climatic relations has been improved, including addition of less well‐known plant types, and is briefly described. A more strictly ‘functional’ approach is proposed, in which major aspects of plant function, initially metabolism and water balance, are used to classify functional types and suggest how these are constrained by climate. Such functional considerations, however, are closely linked to structural manifestations ‐ but also require other functional criteria for more completely functional classifications. A recent global model of potential natural vegetation types suggested ca. 15 major plant types as necessary to cover the world's main terrestrial vegetation patterns. These essential types correspond well with a first‐cut set of structural types implied by metabolic considerations. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal of Vegetation Science Wiley

Plant functional types and climate at the global scale

Journal of Vegetation Science , Volume 7 (3) – Jun 1, 1996

Loading next page...
 
/lp/wiley/plant-functional-types-and-climate-at-the-global-scale-4bcewwb050

References (23)

Publisher
Wiley
Copyright
1996 IAVS ‐ the International Association of Vegetation Science
ISSN
1100-9233
eISSN
1654-1103
DOI
10.2307/3236274
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Abstract. Globally applicable sets of terrestrial plant functional types (PFTs) have been identified as a major need in the development of dynamic global vegetation models for use with global atmospheric models. Global sets of PFTs should represent the world's most important plant types; characterize them through their functional behavior; and provide complete, geographically representative coverage of the world's land areas. Three main schools of thought on PFTs have emerged: (1) a physiological focus on internal function, especially at the level of basic metabolism; (2) an ecological focus on function in relation to plant form and environmental conditions; and (3) a geophysical focus on how plant functions affect the adjacent atmosphere. A structural approach based on pheno‐physiognomy permits ready identification of relatively familiar, recognizable plant types. Many of the criteria cited by other approaches also are intimately related to structure and its seasonal changes. An earlier global system of structural‐functional PFTs and their climatic relations has been improved, including addition of less well‐known plant types, and is briefly described. A more strictly ‘functional’ approach is proposed, in which major aspects of plant function, initially metabolism and water balance, are used to classify functional types and suggest how these are constrained by climate. Such functional considerations, however, are closely linked to structural manifestations ‐ but also require other functional criteria for more completely functional classifications. A recent global model of potential natural vegetation types suggested ca. 15 major plant types as necessary to cover the world's main terrestrial vegetation patterns. These essential types correspond well with a first‐cut set of structural types implied by metabolic considerations.

Journal

Journal of Vegetation ScienceWiley

Published: Jun 1, 1996

There are no references for this article.