Trait-based community assembly and functional strategies across three subtropical karst forests, Southwestern China.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Variations in community-level plant functional traits are widely used to elucidate vegetation adaptation strategies across different environmental gradients. Moreover, studying functional variation among different forest types aids in understanding the mechanisms by which environmental factors and functional strategies shift community structure.

Methods

Based on five plant functional traits, including four leaf and one wood trait, for 150 woody species, we analyzed shifts in the community-weighted mean trait values across three forest types in a karst forest landscape: deciduous, mixed, and evergreen forests. We also assessed the relative contributions of stochastic processes, environmental filtering, and niche differentiation to drive community structure using a

SUBMITTER: Jiang Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11417004 | biostudies-literature | 2024

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature