Beijing —Wetlands are among the world’s most valuable ecosystems. They store vast amounts of carbon, filter water, reduce flooding, support biodiversity, and help regulate the global climate. Yet they are disappearing at an alarming rate, with more than half a percent of global wetlands lost every year since the 1970s. Restoring wetlands has therefore become a global priority, but an important question remains: Which plants should we restore to maximize ecosystem recovery?
A new review led by Dr. Ming Nie from the Fudan University brings together the latest evidence from trait-based ecology to answer this question. Published in the Journal of Plant Ecology , the review synthesizes evidence from hundreds of studies to reveal how the characteristics of wetland plants influence ecosystem functioning and provide new insights for wetland conservation and restoration.
Unlike traditional approaches that focus on species identity, trait-based ecology examines characteristics such as plant height, leaf size, root structure, and tissue chemistry. These traits directly influence how plants acquire resources, tolerate environmental stress, and interact with soils and microbes. The review shows that these functional traits often provide stronger and more consistent predictions of wetland ecosystem functioning than plant diversity alone.
Across different wetland types, dominant plant traits emerge as the primary drivers of ecosystem productivity and carbon cycling. Large plants with greater height and leaf area generally support higher productivity by capturing more light and producing greater biomass. Meanwhile, conservative plant traits associated with slower growth and more resistant tissues contribute to long-term soil carbon storage by slowing decomposition. In contrast, the effects of functional diversity are often weaker than expected because flooding, salinity, and other environmental stresses restrict species coexistence and reduce opportunities for resource complementarity.
Beyond synthesizing current knowledge, the review also identifies major research priorities. The authors call for greater attention to belowground root traits, plant–microbe interactions, and wetland-specific functional traits, all of which remain poorly understood despite their fundamental roles in regulating ecosystem processes. They also emphasize the need for more field-based biodiversity experiments and for integrating remote sensing, global trait databases, and long-term ecological monitoring to better predict how wetlands will respond to global environmental change.
The review also presents a new framework for wetland restoration based on plant functional traits. Rather than simply maximizing plant diversity, restoration should be guided by clearly defined ecosystem objectives and local environmental conditions. Different functional traits support different ecosystem services, making it impossible to maximize every function at every site. Instead, the authors propose coordinated restoration across multiple spatial scales, where different wetlands are managed to provide complementary ecosystem functions across landscapes. Importantly, they emphasize that vegetation restoration should work hand in hand with hydrological restoration, recognizing that restoring natural water regimes remains the foundation for successful wetland recovery.
As wetlands continue to decline worldwide, understanding how plants support healthy and resilient ecosystems will be essential for restoring wetlands and protecting the invaluable benefits they provide for people and nature.
Original source : Liu H, Cui LJ, Li W, Han GX, Wu JH, Li B, Nie M (2026) Plant functional traits: a key to understanding and restoring ecosystem structure and functioning in wetlands. Journal of Plant Ecology 19 :rtag125. https://doi.org/10.1093/jpe/rtag125
About the Journal
Founded in 2008, the Journal of Plant Ecology (JPE) (https://academic.oup.com/jpe) is led by its Co-Editors-in-Chief, Professor Yuanhe Yang (Insititute of the Botany, CAS) and Professor Bernhard Schmid (University of Zürich). JPE is a journal of the Botanical Society of China and the Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and is published by Oxford University Press. According to the latest Journal Citation Reports (JCR), JPE has an impact factor of 4.5 and is ranked in the Q1 quartile in the categories of Ecology, Forestry, and Plant Sciences.
Journal of Plant Ecology
Plant functional traits: a key to understanding and restoring ecosystem structure and functioning in wetlands
4-Jun-2026