Rapid plant trait evolution can alter coastal wetland resilience to sea level rise

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Vahsen, M. L.; Blum, M. J.; Megonigal, J. P.; Emrich, S. J.; Holmquist, J. R.; Stiller, B.; Todd-Brown, K. E. O.; McLachlan, J. S.
• 署名单位: University of Notre Dame; University of Tennessee System; University of Tennessee Knoxville; Smithsonian Institution; Smithsonian Environmental Research Center; University of Tennessee System; University of Tennessee Knoxville; State University System of Florida; University of Florida
• 刊物名称: SCIENCE
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0036-10297
• DOI: 10.1126/science.abq0595
• 发表日期: 2023-01-27
• 页码: 393-398
• 关键词: genetic diversity; carbon

摘要

Rapid evolution remains a largely unrecognized factor in models that forecast the fate of ecosystems under scenarios of global change. In this work, we quantified the roles of heritable variation in plant traits and of trait evolution in explaining variability in forecasts of the state of coastal wetland ecosystems. A common garden study of genotypes of the dominant sedge Schoenoplectus americanus, resurrected from time-stratified seed banks, revealed that heritable variation and evolution explained key ecosystem attributes such as the allocation and distribution of belowground biomass. Incorporating heritable trait variation and evolution into an ecosystem model altered predictions of carbon accumulation and soil surface accretion (a determinant of marsh resilience to sea level rise), demonstrating the importance of accounting for evolutionary processes when forecasting ecosystem dynamics.