Laurans M. auteur aut IRD Munoz F. auteur aut IRD Charles-Dominique T. auteur aut IRD Heuret P. auteur aut IRD Fortunel Claire auteur aut IRD Isnard Sandrine auteur aut IRD Sabatier S. A. auteur aut IRD Caraglio Y. auteur aut IRD Violle C. auteur aut IRD text journalArticle eng text/pdf born digital access Trait-based ecology has improved our understanding of the functioning of organisms, communities, ecosystems, and beyond. However, its predictive ability remains limited as long as phenotypic integration and temporal dynamics are not considered. We highlight how the morphogenetic processes that shape the 3D development of a plant during its lifetime affect its performance. We show that the diversity of architectural traits allows us to go beyond organ-level traits in capturing the temporal and spatial dimensions of ecological niches and informing community assembly processes. Overall, we argue that consideration of multilevel topological, geometrical, and ontogenetic features provides a dynamic view of the whole-plant phenotype and a relevant framework for investigating phenotypic integration, plant adaptation and performance, and community structure and dynamics. specialized 076 082 39 6 524-536 2024 0169-5347 https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010091020 10.1016/j.tree.2023.11.011 0169-5347 [F B010091020] https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010091020 https://www.documentation.ird.fr/intranet/publi/2024-08/010091020.pdf Accès réservé (Intranet de l'IRD) IRD - Base Horizon / Pleins textes 2024-08-28 2025-11-06 fdi:010091020 fre