Stable isotopes from herbarium specimens reveal physiological responses of plants to global change

Abstract

Investigating the impacts of global environmental change on plants remains a challenge. Experiments that scale from leaf to ecosystem have provided important insights into the ways plants and ecosystems respond to changing environmental drivers. Yet, experiments are often short-lived and can not realistically simulate long-term environmental changes. Monitoring programs and historical observations are thus valuable alternatives for studying the impact of environmental change on plants. These are, however, unfortunately rare and often poorly suited to identify the mechanistic and physiological basis by which changes in the environment impact plant life. Analyses of biological collections and in particular herbarium materials could be a valuable complementary approach that allows assessing functional responses of plants to global environmental change.