Variation in floral traits: operationalizing the flower economic spectrum
| Name: | Variation in floral traits: operationalizing the flower economic spectrum |
|---|---|
| Researchers: |
Bartoš Michael (researcher) E-Vojtkó Anna (researcher) Götzenberger Lars (researcher) Applová Markéta (member in research team) |
| Provider: | |
| Number: | GA 22-32198S |
| Realization from: | 2022 |
| Realization to: | 2024 |
| Summary: | Developments in trait-based ecology during the last 20 years have allowed researchers to ever more precisely specify the characteristics that drive differentiation between species. However, differentiation between species through traits, and thus trait co-variation, is most often defined Final by vegetative traits, especially those related to leaf characteristics. Floral and sexual reproduction traits have been largely ignored so far, although there is evidence accumulating that such traits can be equally important. Analogues to the so-called leaf economic and root economic spectra, a flower economic spectrum has been proposed recently, in which sexual reproductive strategy is determined by two main floral trait dimensions, i.e. flower longevity and production cost. The general validity of the flower economic spectrum and its contribution to plant ecological strategy are so far largely unexplored. The proposed project aims to measure traits on flowers and leaves of selected species in the field and in greenhouse experiments, thus operationalising and testing the flower economic spectrum, as well as establishing its relation to traits of the leaf economic spectrum. |