Plant traits as predictors of species response to succession in Mediterranean rangelands

The objective of this paper was to identify plant traits that can predict plant response to succession in Mediterranean rangelands. Research was done in the Lagadas county of Thessaloniki, N. Greece. Four different vegetation states, with four replicates each, were studied: abandoned arable field, grassland, open shrubland and dense shrubland, representing various stages of secondary succession following grazing extensification. Seventeen plant traits (leaf, stem and whole plant traits) were measured or collected from the literature for the most abundant species of each plot. Species frequency was also measured on the herbaceous layer in order to quantify species response to vegetation succession. Vegetative plant height, life cycle and the life form of therophytes were the traits with the highest predictive capacity over species response to succession as single predictors, but their coefficients of determination were low. When more traits were combined their predictive capacity was increased. The combination of vegetative plant height, life cycle, leaf dry matter content, pollination mode and specific leaf area provided the best prediction for species response to succession. It is concluded that plant traits can capture species response to vegetation succession after grazing extensification in Mediterranean rangelands.