CSR: Classify Plant Strategies using Pierce et al. (2017) CSR...

In MultiTraits: Analyzing and Visualizing Multidimensional Plant Traits

Classify Plant Strategies using Pierce et al. (2017) CSR Method

Description

This function calculates CSR (Competitor-Stress tolerator-Ruderal) ecological strategies for plant species based on three key functional traits: Leaf Area (LA), Leaf Dry Matter Content (LDMC), and Specific Leaf Area (SLA). The CSR classification system was originally developed by Grime (1974) and this implementation follows the global method by Pierce et al. (2017).

Usage

CSR(data)

Arguments

data	A data frame containing at least three numeric columns: LA, LDMC, and SLA. LA: Leaf area in mm^2. LDMC: Leaf dry matter content (%). SLA: Specific leaf area in mm^2/mg.

Details

The function implements the global CSR classification method which:

1. Transforms the three input traits using species-specific equations

2. Calculates derived traits including leaf dry weight, fresh weight, and succulence index

3. Adjusts LDMC for succulent species (>5 g dm-2)

4. Projects traits onto principal component axes from a global calibration dataset

5. Applies outlier corrections to keep values within calibrated ranges

6. Converts to proportional CSR values that sum to 100%

7. Assigns the closest matching tertiary CSR strategy type

The three strategies represent different ecological approaches:

• C (Competitor): Species adapted to productive, undisturbed environments

• S (Stress-tolerator): Species adapted to resource-limited environments

• R (Ruderal): Species adapted to frequently disturbed environments

Value

A data frame containing the original input data plus four additional columns:

• C: Competitor strategy proportion (0-100%)

• S: Stress-tolerator strategy proportion (0-100%)

• R: Ruderal strategy proportion (0-100%)

• type: CSR strategy type classification (character) - one of 19 possible categories: "C", "C/CR", "C/CS", "CR", "C/CSR", "CS", "CR/CSR", "CS/CSR", "R/CR", "CSR", "S/CS", "R/CSR", "S/CSR", "R", "SR/CSR", "S", "R/SR", "S/SR", "SR"

Note

• All input values must be positive numbers

• NA values are not permitted and will cause the function to stop with an error

References

1. Grime, J.P. (1974). Vegetation classification by reference to strategies. Nature, 250, 26–31.

2. Pierce, S., Negreiros, D., Cerabolini, B.E.L., Kattge, J., Díaz, S., et al. (2017). A global method for calculating plant CSR ecological strategies applied across biomes world-wide. Functional Ecology, 31: 444-457.

Examples

LA <- c(369615.7, 11.8, 55.7, 36061.2, 22391.8, 30068.1, 31059.5, 29895.1)
LDMC <- c(25.2, 39.7, 13.3, 35.5, 33.2, 36.1, 35.2, 34.9)
SLA <- c(17.4, 6.6, 34.1, 14.5, 8.1, 12.1, 9.4, 10.9)
traits <- data.frame(LA, LDMC, SLA)
CSR(data = traits)

MultiTraits documentation built on March 22, 2026, 9:06 a.m.