International Traits Summer School 2025

Species traits : a functional approach to biodiversity, from organisms to ecosystems

Next formation

The next formation will take place at Université Laval (Québec) from June 15 to 20, 2025!

Description

In 2025, we are presenting the 10th edition of the graduate thematic course, this year sponsored principally by the following centres : the Centre for Forest Research (CFR: http://www.cef-cfr.ca), the Quebec Centre for Biodiversity Science (CSBQ ), and l'Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS).

The course is offered for credit for MSc and PhD students: Sujets spéciaux en écologie fonctionnelle FOR - 7006 (3 credits, course at Université Laval) and students from other universities in Quebec can register through the BCI .

Registration and Practical Information

The price of 300 CAN$ (about 240 euros and 210 US$) includes opening reception and lunches. To apply please send your CV and a motivation letter to alison.munson@sbf.ulaval.ca We require these to evaluate applicants. The deadline for application is March 11 2025, and accepted students will be informed by the end of March.

2016 participants

2015 participants

2011 participants

Objectives

1. Presentation of concepts and theory related to functional plant traits, including a historical perspective
2. Analysis of traits at organismal, community and ecosystem levels (including relationship to ecosystem function and ecological services)
3. Quantitative evaluation of functional diversity
4. Examples of use for land use change, climate change, plant-microbe interactions
5. Presentation of available data banks and their correct use

Professors

Professors confirmed to date for 2025 include Eric Garnier, Alison Munson, Juan Posada, Bill Shipley, Francesco de Bello, Isabelle Aubin, Marie-Laure Navas and Peter Reich .

Course content (Syllabus )

A detailed program will be available for March, however, the objectives and many of the topics covered are detailed here. This year students will be involved in a thematic workshop around chosen topics for trait-based research. Registered students will also present their research topic to the group for discussion.

Participants and pictures

Readings

Required reading list

• Lavorel, S. & Garnier, E. (2002) Predicting changes in community composition and ecosystem functioning from plant traits: revisiting the Holy Grail . Functional Ecology, 16: 545-556.
• Violle, C., Navas, M. L., Vile, D., Kazakou, E., Fortunel, C., Hummel, I. & Garnier, E. (2007) Let the concept of trait be functional!  Oikos, 116 (5): 882-892.
• Westoby, M., Falster, D.S., Moles, A.T., Vesk, P.A. & Wright, I.J. (2002) Plant ecological strategies: Some leading dimensions of variation between species. ,Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 33: 125-159.
• Wright I. J., P.B. Reich, M. Westoby, D. Ackerly, Z. Baruch, J. Cavender-Bares, T. Chapin, H. Cornelissen, M. Diemer, E. Garnier, J. Gulias, K. Hikosaka & Lamont, B. (2004) The worldwide leaf economics spectrum . Nature 428:821-827.
• Díaz, S., Kattge, J., Cornelissen, J.H.C., Wright, I.J., Lavorel, S., Dray, S., Reu, B., Kleyer, M., Wirth, C., Colin Prentice, I., Garnier, E., Bönisch, G., Westoby, M., Poorter, H., Reich, P.B., Moles, A.T., Dickie, J., Gillison, A.N., Zanne, A.E., Chave, J., Wright, J.S., Sheremet’ev, S.N., Jactel, H., Baraloto, C., Cerabolini, B., Pierce, S., Shipley, B., Kirkup, D., Casanoves, F., Joswig, J.S., Günther, A., Falczuk, V., Rüger, N., Mahecha, M.D., Gorné, L.D. (2016) The global spectrum of plant form and function.  Nature 529, 167-171.
• Shipley, B., De Bello, F., Cornelissen, J.H.C., Laliberté, E., Laughlin, D.C., Reich, P.B. (2016) Reinforcing loose foundation stones in trait-based plant ecology  Oecologia 180, 923-931.
• Shipley, B., Vile, D., & Garnier, E. (2006) From plant traits to plant communities: a statistical mechanistic approach to biodiversity . Science 314: 812-814.

Reference book

• Garnier, E, Navas M-L and Grigulis, K. (2016) Plant Functional Diversity - Organismic traits, community structure, ecosystem properties. Oxford University Press.
• Garnier, E and Navas M-L. (2013) Diversité fonctionnelle des plantes: Traits des organisms, structure des communautés, propriétés des écosystèmes. De boeck. 353 p.
• Grime, J.P. (2001) Plant Strategies, Vegetation Processes, and Ecosystem Properties, 2nd Edition edn. John Wiley & Sons, Chichester.

Standard protocols

• Cornelissen J.H.C et al. (2003) A handbook of protocols for standardised and easy measurement of plant functional traits worldwide.  Australian Journal Botany, 51: 335-380.
• Pérez-Harguindeguy N. et al. (2013) New handbook for standardised measurement of plant functional traits worldwide.  Australian Journal of Botany 61, 167–234.

Recommended by profs in 2018

• Adler, P.B., Salguero-Gómez, R., Compagnoni, A., Hsu, J.S. & Ray-mukherjee, J. (2014) Functional traits explain variation in plant life history strategies. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., 111, 740–745.
• Freschet G.T., Valverde-Barrantes O.J., Tucker C.M., Craine J.M., McCormack M.L., Violle C., Fort F., Blackwood, C.B. et al. (2017) Climate, soil and plant functional types as drivers of global fine-root trait variation. Journal of Ecology, 105, 1182-1196.
• Jiminez-Alfaro, B. Silveira, F.A.O., Fidelis, A., Poschlod, P., Commander, L.E. (2016) Seed germination traits can contribute better to plant community ecology. Journal of Vegetation Science 27: 637–645.
• Valverde-Barrantes O.J., Freschet G.T., Roumet C., Blackwood C.B. (2017) A worldview of root traits: the influence of ancestry, growth form, climate and mycorrhizal association on the functional trait variation of fine root tissues in seed plants. New Phytologist, 215, 1562-1573.
• Yang, J., Cao, M. and Swenson, N.G. (2018) Why Functional Traits Do Not Predict Tree Demographic Rates. TREE https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2018.03.003

Other priority readings

• de Bello, F., Lavorel, S., Díaz, S., Harrington, R., Cornelissen, J.H.C., Bardgett, R.D., Berg, M.P., Cipriotti, P., Feld, C.K., Hering, D., Martins da Silva, P., Potts, S.G., Sandin, L., Sousa, J.P., Storkey, J., Wardle, D.A., Harrison, P.A. (2010) Towards an assessment of multiple ecosystem processes and services via functional traits.  Biodiversity and Conservation, 19, 2873-2893.
• De Deyn, G.B., Cornelissen, J.H.C., Bardgett, R.D. (2008) Plant functional traits and soil carbon sequestration in contrasting biomes.  Ecology Letters, 11, 516–531.
• Garnier, E., Cortez, J. Billés, G. Navas, M.-L., Roumet, C., Debussche, M., Laurent, G., Blanchard, A., Aubry, D., Bellmann, A., Neill, C. and Toussaint, J.-P. (2004) Plant functional markers capture ecosystem properties during secondary succession . Ecology, 85: 2630-2637.
• Garnier, E., Navas, M.-L. (2012) A trait-based approach to comparative functional plant ecology: concepts, methods and applications for agroecology: A review.  Agronomy for Sustainable Development.
• Götzenberger, L., de Bello, F., Bråthen, K.A., Davison, J., Dubuis, A., Guisan, A., Lepš, J., Lindborg, R., Moora, M., Pärtel, M., Pellissier, L., Pottier, J., Vittoz, P., Zobel, K., Zobel, M. (2012) Ecological assembly rules in plant communities—approaches, patterns and prospects. Biological Reviews 87, 111-127.
• Grime, J.P. (1977) Evidence for the existence of three primary strategies in plants and its relevance to ecological and evolutionary theory . American Naturalist, 111, 1169-1194.
• Grime, J.P. (1998) Benefits of plant diversity to ecosystems: immediate filter and founder effects . Journal of Ecology, 86: 902-910.
• Kattge, J. et al. (2011) TRY- a global database of plant traits.  Global Change Biology 17: 2905-2935.
• Keddy, P.A. (1992) Assembly and Response Rules - 2 Goals for Predictive Community Ecology . Journal of Vegetation Science, 3(2): 157-164.
• Laughlin, D.C. (2014) The intrinsic dimensionality of plant traits and its relevance to community assembly Δ. Journal of Ecology 102, 186-193.
• Moles, A.T., Leishman, M.R. (2008) The seedling as part of a plant’s life history strategy.  In: Leck, M.A., Parker, V.T., Simpson, R.L. (Eds.), Seedling Ecology and Evolution. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 217–238.
• Naeem, S. and Bunker D.E. (2009) TraitNet: furthering biodiversity research through the curation, discovery, and sharing of species trait data Δ. (Chap 20) In Biodiversity, Ecosystem Functioning, & Human Wellbeing: An Ecological and Economic Perspective. (Edited by Naeem, S., Bunker,D.E., Hector, A., Loreau, M. and Perrings, C.), Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK, pages : 281-289.
• Pavoine, S. and Bonsall, M.B. (2011) Measuring biodiversity to explain community assembly: a unified approach.  Biological Reviews, 86: 792–812. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-185X.2010.00171.x
• Petchey, O.L. and Gaston, K.J. (2006) Functional diversity: back to basics and looking forward. Δ Ecology Letters, 9: 741–758. doi: 10.1111/j.1461-0248.2006.00924.x
• Poorter, H., Niinemets, Ü., Poorter, L., Wright, I.J., Villar, R. (2009) Causes and consequences of variation in leaf mass per area (LMA): a meta-analysis.  New Phytologist, 182, 565-588.
• Shipley, B. (2007) Comparative plant ecology as a tool for integrating across scales . Annals of Botany, 99: 965-966.
• Violle, Cyrille et al. (2012) The return of the variance: intraspecific variability in community ecology.  Trends in Ecology & Evolution 27 (4): 244 - 252.

And more if you have extra time…

• Birouste, M., Kazakou, E., Blanchard, A. and Roumet, C. (2012) Plant traits and decomposition: are the relationships for roots comparable to those for leaves?  Annals of Botany, 109: 463-472.
• Garnier, E., Lavorel, S., Ansquer, P., Castro, H., Cruz, P., Dolezal, J., Eriksson, O., Fortunel, C., Freitas, H., Golodets, C., Grigulis, K., Jouany, C., Kazakou, E., Kigel, J., Kleyer, M., Lehsten, V., Lepš, J., Meier, T., Pakeman, R., Papadimitriou, M., Papanastasis, V.P., Quested, H., Quétier, F., Robson, M., Roumet, C., Rusch, G., Skarpe, M., Sternberg, M., Theau, J.-P., Thébault, A., Vile, D. & Zarovali, M. (2007) Assessing the effects of land use change on plant traits, communities and ecosystem functioning in grasslands: a standardized methodology and lessons from an application to 11 European sites . Annals of Botany, doi : 10.1093/aob/mcl215.
• Kikuzawa, K & Lechowicz, M.J. (2006) Towards a synthesis of relationships among leaf longevity, instantaneous photosynthetic rate, lifetime leaf carbon gain and the gross primary production of forests . American Naturalist, 168: 373-383.
• Leps, J., de Bello, F., Lavorel, S., Berman, S. (2006) Quantifying and interpreting functional diversity of natural communities: practical considerations matter.  Preslia 78(4): 481-501.
• Niklas, K. J., Cobb, E.D., Niinemets, U., Reich, P.B., Sellin, A., Shipley, B., Wright, I.J. (2007) ‘‘Diminishing returns’’ in the scaling of functional leaf traits across and within species groups . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 104: 8891-8896.
• Michener, W.K. and Jones, M.B. (2012) Ecoinformatics: supporting ecology as a data-intensive science Δ. Trends in ecology & evolution 27: 85-93.
• Orwin, K.H., Buckland, S.M., Johnson, D., Turner, B.L., Smart, S., Oakley, S. and Bardgett, R.D. (2010) Linkages of plant traits to soil properties and the functioning of temperate grassland . Journal of Ecology, 98(5): 1074-1083.
• Ostle, N.J. et al. (2009) Integrating plant-soil interactions into global scale carbon cycle models.  Journal of Ecology, 97: 851-863.
• Reich, P.B., Wright, I.J., Lusk, C.H. (2007) Predicting leaf functional traits from simple plant and climate attributes using the GLOPNET global data set . Ecological Applications, 17: 1982-1988.
• Shipley, Bill, Lechowicz, M.J., Wright, Ian and Reich, P.B. (2006) Fundamental tradeoffs generating the worldwide leaf economics spectrum . Ecology, 87(3): 535-541.
• Villéger S., Mason N. W. H. and Mouillot D. (2008) New multidimensional functional diversity indices for a multifaceted framework in functional ecology. Δ Ecology 89 (8): 2290-2301
• Violle, C., Reich, P.B., Pacala, S.W., Enquist, B.J., Kattge, J. (2014) The emergence and promise of functional biogeography. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 111, 13690-13696.