Alternative plant designs: consequences for community assembly and ecosystem functioning.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Alternative organism designs (i.e. the existence of distinct combinations of traits leading to the same function or performance) are a widespread phenomenon in nature and are considered an important mechanism driving the evolution and maintenance of species trait diversity. However, alternative designs are rarely considered when investigating assembly rules and species effects on ecosystem functioning, assuming that single trait trade-offs linearly affect species fitness and niche differentiation.

Scope

Here, we first review the concept of alternative designs, and the empirical evidence in plants indicating the importance of the complex effects of multiple traits on fitness. We then discuss how the potential decoupling of single traits from performance and functio

SUBMITTER: Dias ATC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7442394 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature