Functional traits of fossil plants.

Autor: McElwain JC; School of Natural Sciences, Botany, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, D02 PN40, Ireland., Matthaeus WJ; School of Natural Sciences, Botany, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, D02 PN40, Ireland., Barbosa C; School of Natural Sciences, Botany, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, D02 PN40, Ireland., Chondrogiannis C; School of Natural Sciences, Botany, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, D02 PN40, Ireland., O' Dea K; School of Natural Sciences, Botany, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, D02 PN40, Ireland., Jackson B; School of Natural Sciences, Botany, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, D02 PN40, Ireland., Knetge AB; School of Natural Sciences, Botany, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, D02 PN40, Ireland., Kwasniewska K; School of Natural Sciences, Botany, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, D02 PN40, Ireland., Nair R; School of Natural Sciences, Botany, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, D02 PN40, Ireland., White JD; Department of Biology, Baylor University, Waco, 76798-7388, TX, USA., Wilson JP; Department of Environmental Studies, Haverford College, Haverford, Pennsylvania, 19041, PA, USA., Montañez IP; UC Davis Institute of the Environment, University of California, Davis, CA, 95616, USA.; Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of California, Davis, CA, 95616, USA., Buckley YM; School of Natural Sciences, Zoology, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, D02 PN40, Ireland., Belcher CM; wildFIRE Lab, University of Exeter, Exeter, EX4 4PS, UK., Nogué S; Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra (Cerdanyola del Vallès), 08193, Catalonia, Spain.; CREAF, Bellaterra (Cerdanyola del Vallès), 08193, Catalonia, Spain.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: The New phytologist [New Phytol] 2024 Apr; Vol. 242 (2), pp. 392-423. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Feb 26.
DOI: 10.1111/nph.19622
Abstrakt: A minuscule fraction of the Earth's paleobiological diversity is preserved in the geological record as fossils. What plant remnants have withstood taphonomic filtering, fragmentation, and alteration in their journey to become part of the fossil record provide unique information on how plants functioned in paleo-ecosystems through their traits. Plant traits are measurable morphological, anatomical, physiological, biochemical, or phenological characteristics that potentially affect their environment and fitness. Here, we review the rich literature of paleobotany, through the lens of contemporary trait-based ecology, to evaluate which well-established extant plant traits hold the greatest promise for application to fossils. In particular, we focus on fossil plant functional traits, those measurable properties of leaf, stem, reproductive, or whole plant fossils that offer insights into the functioning of the plant when alive. The limitations of a trait-based approach in paleobotany are considerable. However, in our critical assessment of over 30 extant traits we present an initial, semi-quantitative ranking of 26 paleo-functional traits based on taphonomic and methodological criteria on the potential of those traits to impact Earth system processes, and for that impact to be quantifiable. We demonstrate how valuable inferences on paleo-ecosystem processes (pollination biology, herbivory), past nutrient cycles, paleobiogeography, paleo-demography (life history), and Earth system history can be derived through the application of paleo-functional traits to fossil plants.
(© 2024 The Authors New Phytologist © 2024 New Phytologist Foundation.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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