Early subtropical forest growth is driven by community mean trait values and functional diversity rather than the abiotic environment.

ABSTRACT: While functional diversity (FD) has been shown to be positively related to a number of ecosystem functions including biomass production, it may have a much less pronounced effect than that of environmental factors or species-specific properties. Leaf and wood traits can be considered particularly relevant to tree growth, as they reflect a trade-off between resources invested into growth and persistence. Our study focussed on the degree to which early forest growth was driven by FD, the environment (11 variables characterizing abiotic habitat conditions), and community-weighted mean (CWM) values of species traits in the context of a large-scale tree diversity experiment (BEF-China). Growth rates of trees with respect to crown diameter were aggregated across 231 plots (hosting between one an

SUBMITTER: Krober W 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4567860 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature