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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. Diversity in Resource Use Strategies Promotes Productivity in Young Planted Tree Species Mixtures

   https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.70493  

   Jensen, Joel; Blondeel, Haben; Guillemot, Joannès; Schnabel, Florian; Serrano‐León, Hernán; Auge, Harald; Baeten, Lander; Barsoum, Nadia; Bauhus, Jürgen; Baum, Christel; et al (September 2025, Global Change Biology)

   ABSTRACT Mixed‐species forestry is a promising approach to enhance productivity, increase carbon sequestration, and mitigate climate change. Diverse forests, composed of species with varying structures and functional trait profiles, may have higher functional and structural diversity, which are attributes relevant to a number of mechanisms that can influence productivity. However, it remains unclear whether the context‐dependent roles of functional identity, functional diversity, and structural diversity can lead to a generalized understanding of tree diversity effects on stand productivity. To address these gaps, we analyzed growth data from 83,600 trees from 89 species across 21 young tree diversity experiments spanning five continents and three biomes. Results revealed a positive saturating relationship between tree species richness and stand productivity, with reduced variability in growth rates among more diverse stands. Structural equation modeling demonstrated that functional diversity mediated the positive effects of species richness on productivity. We additionally report a negative relationship between structural diversity and productivity, which decreased with increasing species richness. When partitioning net diversity effects, we found that selection effects played a dominant role in driving the overall increase in productivity in these predominantly young stands, contributing 77% of the net diversity effect. Selection effects increased with diversity in wood density. Furthermore, acquisitive species with lower wood density and higher leaf nitrogen content had higher productivity in more diverse stands, while conservative species showed neutral to slightly negative responses to species mixing. Together, these results suggest that combining acquisitive with conservative species allows acquisitive species to drive positive selection effects while conservative species tolerate competition. Thus, contrasting resource‐use strategies can enhance productivity to optimize mixed‐species forestry, with potential for both ecological and economic benefits. 

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3. Functional Trait Adaptations Drive Enhanced Post‐Hurricane Resilience on Serpentine Soils

   https://doi.org/10.1111/jvs.70130  

   Díaz, Claudia Garnica; González, Grizelle; Agosto, Ramón; Garay, Gustavo; Rivera, María M; Robles, Humberto; Román, Luis_E Velázquez; Hulshof, Catherine M (March 2026, Journal of Vegetation Science)

   ABSTRACT QuestionsUnderstanding how plant functional traits mediate ecosystem resilience to extreme events is central to predicting ecological responses under variable climates. We asked: does edaphic filtering in serpentine versus volcanic soils shape plant functional composition in ways that determine forest stability (resistance, resilience, temporal stability, and recovery) following a major hurricane (Hurricane Maria)? We hypothesized that stress‐tolerant serpentine plant communities would be more resistant but recover less quickly from environmental disturbances, while volcanic plant communities would show the opposite pattern, less resistance but faster recovery. LocationPuerto Rico. MethodsWe combined trait‐based analyses with remote sensing and environmental data across forest plots spanning serpentine and volcanic soils. We calculated community‐weighted means and functional diversity metrics and analyzed their relationships with soil properties, storm impact (cumulative rainfall and maximum wind), and NDVI‐based forest stability indicators. ResultsContrary to expectations, serpentine communities exhibited greater than expected resilience and recovery, whereas volcanic communities exhibited greater than expected resistance after accounting for storm impact. Foliar iron content, functional evenness, and functional dispersion emerged as key correlates of forest stability. ConclusionsOur findings suggest that nutrient‐poor serpentine soils select for stress‐tolerant traits that confer greater ecological resilience compared to forests on more fertile volcanic soils, challenging assumptions of serpentine vulnerability and highlighting the role of soil properties and traits in mediating ecosystem responses to extreme climatic events. 

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4. 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 (April 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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5. 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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