Contrasting effects of plant inter- and intraspecific variation on community trait responses to restoration of a sandy grassland ecosystem.

ABSTRACT: Changes in plant community traits along an environmental gradient are caused by interspecific and intraspecific trait variation. However, little is known about the role of interspecific and intraspecific trait variation in plant community responses to the restoration of a sandy grassland ecosystem. We measured five functional traits of 34 species along a restoration gradient of sandy grassland (mobile dune, semi-fixed dune, fixed dune, and grassland) in Horqin Sand Land, northern China. We examined how community-level traits varied with habitat changes and soil gradients using both abundance-weighted and non-weighted averages of trait values. We quantified the relative contribution of inter- and intraspecific trait variation in specific leaf area (SLA), leaf dry matter content (LDMC), leaf

SUBMITTER: Zuo X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5306005 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature