Abstract: Plant functional type is a new concept in studying the relationships between vegetation and global change at different spatial-temporal scales, and widely applied in the research field of plant ecology modeling. This paper introduced the concept of plant functional type and its resemblance and difference with life form, guild, and biome, summarized five common classification criteria of plant functional type, and highlighted the application of plant functional type in ecosystem modeling. In recent 50 years, the concept of plant functional type was applied in the following three aspects: 1) regional or global scale statistical modeling, 2) classic mechanism modeling, and 3) modeling how the ecosystem was affected by different classification criteria of plant functional type. The objective of this paper was to promote the resolution of the aggregation of plant functional groups in the up-scaling of ecosystem modeling.

Key words: Algaecide, Povidone-iodine, Isothiozolone, Phaeoecystis globosa, Synergism index