The relationship between phenology and functional traits in herbaceous plants in the face of climate change and implications for pollinators

Abstract

A key goal of phenological research is to deepen our understanding of species- and context-specific phenological patterns and phenological responses to changing climate. Functional traits help explain these patterns, yet research has primarily focused on vegetative traits, overlooking floral traits despite their key role in pollination and reproduction. This thesis explores phenology-trait relationships across herbaceous species and under climate change conditions to understand 1) interspecific phenological variation and 2) species-specific phenological shifts, while 3) also exploring the potential impacts of climate change on pollinators through alterations in floral resources. The results show that 1) interspecific phenological variation is more strongly reflected in vegetative traits than in floral traits, that 2) flowering phenology is species-specifically affected by climate and land use and that phenological climate responses were mediated by traits associated with growth strategy and the phenological niche. 3) Flower visitation and nectar traits were species-specifically affected by abiotic conditions while flower visitation did not track nectar availability. This thesis contributes to a better understanding of the effects of climate change on phenology and floral resource availability.