Environmental filtering structures tree functional traits combination and lineages across space in tropical tree assemblages.

ABSTRACT: Environmental filtering consistently shapes the functional and phylogenetic structure of species across space within diverse forests. However, poor descriptions of community functional and lineage distributions across space hamper the accurate understanding of coexistence mechanisms. We combined environmental variables and geographic space to explore how traits and lineages are filtered by environmental factors using extended RLQ and fourth-corner analyses across different spatial scales. The dispersion patterns of traits and lineages were also examined in a 20-ha tropical rainforest dynamics plot in southwest China. We found that environmental filtering was detected across all spatial scales except the largest scale (100 × 100 m). Generally, the associations between functional traits and

SUBMITTER: Asefa M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5427853 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature