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1. Traits of dominant plant species drive normalized difference vegetation index in grasslands globally

   https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.13644  

   Engel, Thore; Bruelheide, Helge; Hoss, Daniela; Sabatini, Francesco M; Altman, Jan; Arfin‐Khan, Mohammed_A S; Bergmeier, Erwin; Černý, Tomáš; Chytrý, Milan; Dainese, Matteo; et al (May 2023, Global Ecology and Biogeography)

   Abstract AimTheoretical, experimental and observational studies have shown that biodiversity–ecosystem functioning (BEF) relationships are influenced by functional community structure through two mutually non‐exclusive mechanisms: (1) the dominance effect (which relates to the traits of the dominant species); and (2) the niche partitioning effect [which relates to functional diversity (FD)]. Although both mechanisms have been studied in plant communities and experiments at small spatial extents, it remains unclear whether evidence from small‐extent case studies translates into a generalizable macroecological pattern. Here, we evaluate dominance and niche partitioning effects simultaneously in grassland systems world‐wide. LocationTwo thousand nine hundred and forty‐one grassland plots globally. Time period2000–2014. Major taxa studiedVascular plants. MethodsWe obtained plot‐based data on functional community structure from the global vegetation plot database “sPlot”, which combines species composition with plant trait data from the “TRY” database. We used data on the community‐weighted mean (CWM) and FD for 18 ecologically relevant plant traits. As an indicator of primary productivity, we extracted the satellite‐derived normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) from MODIS. Using generalized additive models and deviation partitioning, we estimated the contributions of trait CWM and FD to the variation in annual maximum NDVI, while controlling for climatic variables and spatial structure. ResultsGrassland communities dominated by relatively tall species with acquisitive traits had higher NDVI values, suggesting the prevalence of dominance effects for BEF relationships. We found no support for niche partitioning for the functional traits analysed, because NDVI remained unaffected by FD. Most of the predictive power of traits was shared by climatic predictors and spatial coordinates. This highlights the importance of community assembly processes for BEF relationships in natural communities. Main conclusionsOur analysis provides empirical evidence that plant functional community structure and global patterns in primary productivity are linked through the resource economics and size traits of the dominant species. This is an important test of the hypotheses underlying BEF relationships at the global scale. 

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2. The evolution of trait variance creates a tension between species diversity and functional diversity

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-30090-4  

   Barabás, György; Parent, Christine; Kraemer, Andrew; Van de Perre, Frederik; De Laender, Frederik (December 2022, Nature Communications)

   Abstract It seems intuitively obvious that species diversity promotes functional diversity: communities with more plant species imply more varied plant leaf chemistry, more species of crops provide more kinds of food, etc. Recent literature has nuanced this view, showing how the relationship between the two can be modulated along latitudinal or environmental gradients. Here we show that even without such effects, the evolution of functional trait variance can erase or even reverse the expected positive relationship between species- and functional diversity. We present theory showing that trait-based eco-evolutionary processes force species to evolve narrower trait breadths in more tightly packed, species-rich communities, in their effort to avoid competition with neighboring species. This effect is so strong that it leads to an overall reduction in trait space coverage whenever a new species establishes. Empirical data from land snail communities on the Galápagos Islands are consistent with this claim. The finding that the relationship between species- and functional diversity can be negative implies that trait data from species-poor communities may misjudge functional diversity in species-rich ones, and vice versa. 

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3. Simplification of woody plant trait networks among communities along a climatic aridity gradient

   https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.70010  

   Medeiros, Camila_D; Trueba, Santiago; Henry, Christian; Fletcher, Leila_R; Lutz, James_A; Méndez_Alonzo, Rodrigo; Kraft, Nathan_J_B; Sack, Lawren (February 2025, Journal of Ecology)

   Abstract Plant ecological strategies are shaped by numerous functional traits and their trade‐offs. Trait network analysis enables testing hypotheses for the shifting of trait correlation architecture across communities differing in climate and productivity.We built plant trait networks (PTNs) for 118 species within six communities across an aridity gradient, from forest to semi‐desert across the California Floristic Province, based on 34 leaf and wood functional traits, representing hydraulic and photosynthetic function, structure, economics and size. We developed hypotheses for the association of PTN parameters with climate and ecosystem properties, based on theory for the adaptation of species to low resource/stressful environments versus higher resource availability environments with greater potential niche differentiation. Thus, we hypothesized that across community PTNs, trait network connectivity (i.e., the degree that traits are intercorrelated) and network complexity (i.e., the number of trait modules, and the degree of trait integration among modules) would be lower for communities adapted to arid climates and higher for communities adapted to greater water availability, similarly to trends expected for phylogenetic diversity, functional richness and productivity. Further, within given PTNs, we hypothesized that traits would vary strongly in their network connectivity and that the traits most centrally connected within PTNs would be those with the least across‐species variation.Across communities from more arid to wetter climates, PTN architecture varied from less to more interconnected and complex, in association with functional richness, but PTN architecture was independent of phylogenetic diversity and ecosystem productivity. Within the community PTNs, traits with lower species variation were more interconnected.Synthesis. The responsiveness of PTN architecture to climate highlights how a wide range of traits contributes to physiological and ecological strategies with an architecture that varies among plant communities. Communities in more arid environments show a lower degree of phenotypic integration, consistent with lesser niche differentiation. Our study extends the usefulness of PTNs as an approach to quantify tradeoffs among multiple traits, providing connectivity and complexity parameters as tools that clarify plant environmental adaptation and patterns of trait associations that would influence species distributions, community assembly, and ecosystem resilience in response to climate change. 

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4. Functional traits explain the consistent resistance of biodiversity to plant invasion under nitrogen enrichment

   https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13951  

   Li, Shao‐peng; Jia, Pu; Fan, Shu‐ya; Wu, Yingtong; Liu, Xiang; Meng, Yani; Li, Yue; Shu, Wen‐sheng; Li, Jin‐tian; Jiang, Lin; et al (December 2021, Ecology Letters)

   Abstract Elton's biotic resistance hypothesis, which posits that diverse communities should be more resistant to biological invasions, has received considerable experimental support. However, it remains unclear whether such a negative diversity–invasibility relationship would persist under anthropogenic environmental change. By using the common ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia) as a model invader, our 4‐year grassland experiment demonstrated consistently negative relationships between resident species diversity and community invasibility, irrespective of nitrogen addition, a result further supported by a meta‐analysis. Importantly, our experiment showed that plant diversity consistently resisted invasion simultaneously through increased resident biomass, increased trait dissimilarity among residents, and increased community‐weighted means of resource‐conservative traits that strongly resist invasion, pointing to the importance of both trait complementarity and sampling effects for invasion resistance even under resource enrichment. Our study provides unique evidence that considering species’ functional traits can help further our understanding of biotic resistance to biological invasions in a changing environment. 

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5. Demographic trade-offs and functional shifts in a hurricane-impacted tropical forest

   https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcad004  

   Umaña, María Natalia; Needham, Jessica; Forero-Montaña, Jimena; Nytch, Christopher J.; Swenson, Nathan G.; Thompson, Jill; Uriarte, María; Zimmerman, Jess K. (January 2023, Annals of Botany)

   Abstract Background and AimsUnderstanding shifts in the demographic and functional composition of forests after major natural disturbances has become increasingly relevant given the accelerating rates of climate change and elevated frequency of natural disturbances. Although plant demographic strategies are often described across a slow–fast continuum, severe and frequent disturbance events influencing demographic processes may alter the demographic trade-offs and the functional composition of forests. We examined demographic trade-offs and the shifts in functional traits in a hurricane-disturbed forest using long-term data from the Luquillo Forest Dynamics Plot (LFPD) in Puerto Rico. MethodsWe analysed information on growth, survival, seed rain and seedling recruitment for 30 woody species in the LFDP. In addition, we compiled data on leaf, seed and wood functional traits that capture the main ecological strategies for plants. We used this information to identify the main axes of demographic variation for this forest community and evaluate shifts in community-weighted means for traits from 2000 to 2016. Key ResultsThe previously identified growth–survival trade-off was not observed. Instead, we identified a fecundity–growth trade-off and an axis representing seedling-to-adult survival. Both axes formed dimensions independent of resprouting ability. Also, changes in tree species composition during the post-hurricane period reflected a directional shift from seedling and tree communities dominated by acquisitive towards conservative leaf economics traits and large seed mass. Wood specific gravity, however, did not show significant directional changes over time. ConclusionsOur study demonstrates that tree demographic strategies coping with frequent storms and hurricane disturbances deviate from strategies typically observed in undisturbed forests, yet the shifts in functional composition still conform to the expected changes from acquisitive to conservative resource-uptake strategies expected over succession. In the face of increased rates of natural and anthropogenic disturbance in tropical regions, our results anticipate shifts in species demographic trade-offs and different functional dimensions. 

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