Using phylogenetic, functional and trait diversity to understand patterns of plant community productivity.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Two decades of research showing that increasing plant diversity results in greater community productivity has been predicated on greater functional diversity allowing access to more of the total available resources. Thus, understanding phenotypic attributes that allow species to partition resources is fundamentally important to explaining diversity-productivity relationships.

Methodology/principal findings

Here we use data from a long-term experiment (Cedar Creek, MN) and compare the extent to which productivity is explained by seven types of community metrics of functional variation: 1) species richness, 2) variation in 10 individual traits, 3) functional group richness, 4) a distance-based measure of functional diversity, 5) a hierarchical multivariate clusterin

SUBMITTER: Cadotte MW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2682649 | biostudies-literature | 2009 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature