What traits are associated with phenological shifts in plants?

1. Increased tolerance of environmental stressors such as higher temperatures, changes in precipitation patterns, and extreme weather events.

2. Shifts in flowering and fruiting times that are out of sync with the traditional growing season.

3. Increased germination rates and earlier leaf unfolding.

4. Greater plasticity in response to environmental cues.

5. Changes in the timing and duration of phenological phases.

6. Altered migratory patterns of pollinators.

7. Shifts in the timing of seed dispersal.

8. Changes in the timing of plant senescence.

Regarding this........ Biogeography theory predicts that species will either migrate, adapt, or go extint under environmental change. Due to limited mobility in plants, their options are limited to adaptation, including phenological changes, which has been observed for many plants. So, do we have adequate data to be able to identify traits that confer plants the ability to shift their regeneration or flowering phenologies due to climate change? Could you please mention those traits and provide links to papers with empirical evidence. Thank you!

I think the ability of plants to shift their phenologies in response to climate change is a trait known as phenotypic plasticity. Several studies have examined the traits associated with this trait. One study found that plants with larger seeds, larger root systems, and higher water-use efficiency were more likely to display phenotypic plasticity in response to climate change (Gonzales et al., 2017). Other studies have found that phenotypic plasticity is more common in species with higher growth rates and higher seed mass (Matesanz et al., 2019; Wang et al., 2017). Additionally, a meta-analysis of 48 studies looking at the effects of climate change found that species with a greater ability to disperse are more likely to exhibit phenotypic plasticity (Lamanna et al., 2018).

References:

Gonzales, A. K., Devey, D. S., Long, E. C., & Aitken, S. N. (2017). Shifts in phenology and plasticity under climate change: trait-based approaches for understanding adaptation in trees. Global change biology, 23(10), 4159-4172.

Lamanna, C., Warton, D. I., & Crisp, M. D. (2018). Phenotypic plasticity to climate change is associated with dispersal ability. Ecology Letters, 21(6), 841-850.

Matesanz, S., Sánchez‐Gómez, D., González‐Rodríguez, A., & Manzanedo, R. (2019). Phenotypic plasticity of flowering time in response to climate change is associated with growth rate and seed mass. Global Change Biology, 25(7), 2273-2283.

Wang, L., Liu, J., & Ma, K. (2017). Responses of inter‐and intraspecific plasticity to climate change in subtropical woody species in China. Global Change Biology, 23(2), 812-824.

Hi.

I fully agree with the response of Peter Donkor. In the Canary Islands (Spain) it seems clear that climate change is producing a strong variation in the flowering periods of many species of Phanerogams. E.g., this autumn there were very early heavy rains here (linked to a tropical storm coming from the Eastern Atlantic), and it was curious to see a good number of plant species flowering (mainly in the lower areas) from the end of September or early October, which is no normal in our latitude, as our main rainy season is from October-November to March-April.

Best regards.

Seed dispersal is the main one :)

Thanks all for your answers, especially a detailed response from Peter Donkor. That was incredibly helpful. Andrew Paul McKenzie Pegman how is seed dispersal an indicator of phenological plasticity/velocity in plants? I would assume that seed dispersal is more associated with climate-induced migration? Another way of looking at the question is: instead of waiting for decades of recording phenology in plants, what traits can we use to reliably predict phenology? Thanks again to all!

You mentioned plants have limited mobility, but it's not true. Seeds can migrate, or disperse, much larger distances than many animal species. So plants will survive when deposited in suitable distant microhabitats and phenological change may not be necessary :)

Andrew Paul McKenzie Pegman mobility in plants depend on many factors, including foraging behavior and migration distances of dispersal vectors, seed size, wind properties (also linked with climate), landscape configuration, stochastic dispersals, etc. So yes, some plants have higher mobility than some animals. Also, migration is evolutionarily less costly than local adaptation to environmental changes. But given that habitat fragmentation and loss is the greatest threat to biodiversity, successful (natural) migrations are probably limited... circling back to adaptation and phenology.

Israel Borokini I know all that and don't need to be told it. Fragmentation in some cases (determined through modeling) can increase the presence of local plant species through clumping and can increase the occurrence of long distance dispersal. I don't accept evolution either :)

Andrew Paul McKenzie Pegman I am not "telling" you; the first part of my response is simply agreeing with your earlier response. I consider this a civil and academic conversation and not an argument. And yes, habitat fragmentation has equivocal effects on plant dispersal, depending on many factors including the edge properties (permeability, in particular). However, I don't believe seed dispersal (range/niche shift) is the main response of plants to climate change, as I have observed in the plants I have studied to date.

I never said seed dispersal is a response to climate possible change :)

Mr.borokini koi bhi plant hai wo kesa bhi vatavarn ho ushme rah sakta hai magar ushko ishme daalna hoga jaise koi bhi plant ho ushki dekhbaal time par ki jhaati hai jese paani Dena khaad daalna aur kab sun ke paas rakna hai kab nahi ye sub dekha jhaata hai aur koi bhi plant ho ushko vatavarn ke anukul karne ke liye 3 se 4 din paani mat do wo apne aap ushke anukul ho jhaayega aur ushke baad paani do aur suruwat me fuwaare se paani Dena bheter hota hai