Living at the edge: the functional niche occupation of woody plant communities in the submediterranean ecotone.

ABSTRACT:

Background and aims

Submediterranean areas are rich ecotones, where slight modifications in environmental conditions can lead to substantial changes in the composition of plant communities. They thus offer an ideal scenario to examine plant community assembly. In this study, we followed a trait-based approach including intraspecific variability to elucidate (1) the relationship between niche occupancy components and species richness, (2) the processes governing the assembly of these communities and (3) the contribution of intraspecific trait variability in shaping the functional trait space.

Methods

We measured eight morphological and chemical traits in 405 individuals across 60 plots located in different forest communities (Mediterranean, Eurosiberian and Mixed) coexisting

SUBMITTER: de la Riva EG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10666996 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature