Apple, Martha E. (1), Bengtson, Lindsey (2), Fagre, Dan (2), Millar,
Constance I. (3), Westfall, Robert (3), and Dick, Jan (4).
(1) Biological Sciences, Montana Tech of the University of Montana, Butte, Montana
59701, (2) USGS Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center, West Glacier, Montana 59936,
(3) USDA Forest Service, PSW Research Station, Albany, CA 94701, (4) Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Bush Estate, Penicuik, Midlothian, Scotland EH26 0QB

Global Observation Research Initiative In Alpine Environments
GLORIA - www.gloria.ac.at
GLORIA is a network of long-term plant and temperature monitoring sites on alpine summits.
The results of plant surveys (every five years) and temperature measurements (hourly) at GLORIA sites are contributed to the central database at the GLORIA coordinating office in Vienna, Austria, and used to determine the effects of climate change in alpine ecosystems on the diversity, distribution, and abundance of mountain plant species.
GLORIA sites were started in the Austrian Alps (1994, 2001) by Pauli, Grabherr, Gottfried, et al.

112 Active Target Regions

GLORIA sites consist of 4 sub-summits along an altitudinal gradient.

The GLORIA Plant Functional Traits Working Group Formed at the 2010 GLORIA Conference in Perth Scotland
Objective: To Include Plant Functional Traits in GLORIA
Participants Included:
Jan Dick (Scotland)
Brigitta Erschbamer (Austria, Italy)
Sigrun Ertl (Austria, Greenland)
Barbara Friedmann (Austria)
Rosario Gavilan (Spain)
Alba Gutierrez-Giron (Spain)
Juan Jose Jimenez (Spain)
Per Larsson (Sweden)
Tatiana Liybeth Ojeda Luna, (Ecuador)
Dimitri Moiseev (Russia)
Igor Artemov (Russia)
Catherine Pickering (Australia)
Ho Yih (Taiwan)
Luo Peng (Taiwan)
Christian Rixen (Switzerland)
Teresa Schwarzkopf (Venezuela)
Kath Dickenson (New Zealand)
Jean-Paul Theurillat (Switzerland)
Ruth Toechterle (Austria)
Susanna Venn (Australia)
Lindsey Bengtson (USA)
Martha Apple (USA)

Plant Functional Traits
- Physiological and structural characteristics of plants that influence their interactions with the environment and their responses to climate change.
Ideas
- Use plant functional traits to predict and interpret responses of plants to climate change,
- Use the vast GLORIA database to record and track these traits.

Flowers – Color, Morphology, and Pollination

Phenology of Flowering and Leaf Production

Leaf Morphology and Physiology

Belowground Functional Traits– Nitrogen Fixation, Mycorrhizae, Root Structure

Mat-forming Dryas octopetela

Growth Habit and Associations

Substrate

Monocot

Dicot

Growth form and habitat

Wetland and Snowfield Habitats

Habitat

Edibility
Seeds

Responses to Grazing

• A functional trait that may be advantageous in one habitat may be disadvantageous in another.
For example, functional traits differ between plants from wetland and scree in alpine environments.
• Functional traits are not necessarily mutually exclusive.
Plants have more than one functional trait. For example, a plant can be insect-pollinated, mycorrhizal, and reproduce clonally.

A List of Plant Functional Traits for Inclusion in the GLORIA Database:
Growth Habit: Tree, shrub, geophyte, herb, rosette, cushion, mat-forming, perennial, biennial, annual,
Longevity: ~2-10 years, ~11-50 yrs, > 50 yrs
Type: Angiosperm (monocot or dicot), gymnosperm, pteridophyte
Clonal Reproduction: Rhizomes, stolons, bulbils, and the extent of reliance on clonal reproduction.
Flowers and Pollination: Animal or wind pollinated, color, morphology, attractants, inflorescence
Monoecious, dioecious; obligate outcrosser, facultative or obligate selfer
Phenology: Early, mid, or late season; duration of flowering
Seeds/Ramets/Spores:
Quantity, morphology, weight, longevity, persistence in seed bed, germination
Dispersal : agent - wind, gravity, bird, mammal; structure - fruit, cones
Symbioses: Nitrogen fixation and mycorrhizae
Root Architecture: Tap, fibrous, laterally branching, woody
Edibility and Responses to Grazing: Resprouting, lateral growth following release of apical dominance, mechanical defenses, secondary metabolites (terpenes, phenolics, and alkaloids)

A List of Plant Functional Traits for Inclusion in the GLORIA Database, continued:
Physiological Tolerance Ranges : Temperature, drought, shade, snow cover, sun, UV.
Leaves:
Evergreen or deciduous (life span)
Morphology: Area, dimensions, thickness, shape, specific leaf area
Anatomy: Cuticle, stomata, mesophyll, vascular tissue, etc.
Photosynthetic Pathway: C3, C4, CAM
Phenology
Successional status: Ruderal, pioneer, late successional
Associations: Growth near N-fixers or in cushion plants
Distribution : Exotic, rare (localized or scattered), common (patchy or dispersed), widespread, cosmopolitan, circumboreal
Habitat specialization : Alpine, montane (mid, upper, or broad), xeric, mesic

Data on Functional Traits Can Be Derived From:
Field research – some traits are noninvasive and easy to discern, while others require field instrumentation, lab work, or destructive sampling.
Literature – Cornelissen et al. 2003. A Handbook of
Protocols for Standardized and Easy Measurement of Plant Functional Traits Worldwide. Australian
Journal of Botany 51:335-380.
Floras www.calflora.org
ucjeps.berkeley.edu
www.geog.ubc.ca
www.svalbardflora.net

Which functional traits or suites of traits will prove to be important determinants of responses to climate change?
Functional trait research may alleviate the difficulty of comparing trends across regions that do not share the same taxonomic groups.
Functional traits that are influenced by abiotic factors such as temperature and precipitation may be valuable predictors of plant responses to climate change.

Acknowledgements - Alice Martin, DJ Moritz, Charlie Apple, Jen
Asebrook, Jen Hintz, Dawn La Fleur, GLORIA, NPS, MTech
Thanks!