Carnivorous plant often waterlogged, which favours the production of toxic ions such as ammonium, and its pH is an acidic 4 to 5. Ammonium can be used as a source of nitrogen by plants, but its high toxicity means that concentrations high enough to fertilise are also high enough to cause damage. However, the habitat is warm, sunny, constantly moist, and the plant experiences relatively little competition from low growing "Sphagnum" moss. Still, carnivores are also found in very atypical habitats. "Drosophyllum lusitanicum" is found around desert edges and "Pinguicula valisneriifolia" on limestone (calcium-rich) cliffs. In all the studied cases, carnivory allows
Plant functional type key parameters are defined, such as fecundity, competitiveness, resorption (rate at which plant decays and returns nutrients to the soil after death), etc.; the value of each parameter is determined or inferred from observable characteristics such as plant height, leaf area, etc. Climatologists and ecologists struggle to determine which minimal set of plant characteristics best model the actual responses of the biosphere in response to climate changes. Plant functional type Plant functional types (PFTs) is a system used by climatologists to classify plants according to their physical, phylogenetic and phenological characteristics as part of an overall effort to develop a