Rapid plant functional trait responses to warming, flooding, and herbivory in high-latitude coastal wetlands

Abstract

Climate change is rapidly altering high-latitude coastal wetlands through increasing temperatures, more frequent flooding, and changing herbivore abundance and distribution. Examining plant functional trait responses to these drivers provides insight into how plant communities are shaped by climate change. We used a one-year full-factorial mesocosm experiment in coastal Alaska to assess immediate responses of two size-related traits (vegetative height and leaf area) and two leaf economics traits (specific leaf area [SLA] and leaf dry matter content [LDMC]) to warming, flooding, and goose herbivory in three dominant species across two wetland communities (Lowland and Upland) differing in landscape position. We sampled different sedges ( Carex rariflora and Carex lyngbyei ) and the same deciduous dwarf-shrub ( Salix fuscescens ) in the two wetlands. Warming increased plant size for the sedge (leaf area: + 15%) and the shrub (height: + 15%; leaf area: + 19%) in the Lowland wetland only. Flooding promoted acquisitive trait values for the Lowland sedge (SLA: + 8%; LDMC: − 6%) and conservative values for the Upland shrub (SLA: − 9%; LDMC: + 11%). The shrub thus showed clear wetland-specific responses to warming and flooding. Herbivory triggered coordinated responses across all three species, consistently decreasing size-related trait values (height: − 17–35%; leaf area: − 33–50%) and promoting acquisitive trait values (SLA: + 14–40%; LDMC: − 12–23%). Despite the absence of interactions, each driver contributed significantly to trait variation, underscoring the value of multifactorial approaches. The combination of consistent (herbivory) and context-dependent (flooding and warming) responses highlights the complexity of trait responses and improves predictions of rapid phenotypic adjustments in coastal high-latitude wetlands.

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