Plant Functional Traits in a Tropical Deciduous Forest

Plant functional traits (PFTs) are thecharacteristics of plant species which respond to thedominant ecosystem processes of the habitat.Information on PFTs related to morphological andphysiological traits are lacking for the drydeciduous woody species of Vindhyan highlands. In conclusion, present study indicates that drydeciduous forests of India contain considerablediversity of functional traits which are highlyinfluenced by soil moisture conditions. Functionaltraits examined were strongly affected by site,season and their interaction, which might be due tophenotypic plasticity helping to adjust to thecomposition of their communities, thereby promotingcoexistence and community diversity. Species areadapted to maximize growth by tolerating water stressfor the maximum possible duration and when stressreaches the threshold they shed their leavesrapidly.Photosynthetic rate of species is prominentlyinfluenced by specific leaf area (SLA), leafchlorophyll content and intrinsic water useefficiency and modulations in all these traits governvariations in the relative growth rate (RGR) of thedry tropical forest species.