Plant responses to urban gradients: extinction, plasticity, adaptation

Individual functional traits (LMA – leaf mass per area, plant height and flower length), population performance traits (seed mass and germination rate), as well as species frequency in the plant community, of four herbaceous plant species present in the metropolitan area of Strasbourg: Dactylis glomerata, Medicago lupulina, Plantago lanceolata, Trifolium pratense. Traits were measured in situ at 60 mesophilic herbaceous sites, and ex situ in a common garden experiment in the Botanical Garden of the University of Strasbourg. Environmental data include mowing frequency, soil characteristics (composition and structure), air temperature, air humidity, and surrounding landscape variables: mean building height, population density, NDVI, road density, and distance to the city center.