XVI International Botanical Congess

The lack of a uniform sampling protocol makes difficult any study of latitudinal variation in plant species. Alternatively, a rule-based system can be used to describe a plant individual using combinations (Plant Functional Types or PFTs) derived from a generic set of 35 adaptive morphological descriptors. This provides a systematic, response-based framework for studying latitudinal variation in terrestrial vegetation. A series of 2,200 (40x5m) plots from a range of global environments was sampled for physical features, vegetation structure, vascular plant species and PFTs. Apart from new biogeographic insights, the results illustrate the use of this procedure as a generic tool for exploring relationships between latitude, other physical environmental variables and vegetation structure and diversity in PFTs and plant species.