Publication
 

The complexity of trait-environment performance landscapes in a local subtropical forest”

  • That functional traits should affect individual performance and, in turn, determine fitness and population growth, is a foundational assumption of trait‐based ecology. This assumption is, however, not supported by a strong empirical base.
  • Here, we measured simultaneously two individual performance metrics (survival and growth), seven traits and 10 environmental properties for each of 3981 individuals of 205 species in a 50‐ha stem‐mapped subtropical forest. We then modelled survival/growth as a function of traits, environments and trait × environment interactions, and quantified their relative importance at both the species and individual levels.
  • We found evidence of alternative functional designs and multiple performance peaks along environmental gradients, indicating the presence of complicated trait × environment interactions. However, such interactions were relatively unimportant in our site, which had relatively low environmental variations. Moreover, individual performance was not better predicted, and trait × environment interactions were not more likely detected, at the individual level than at the species level.
  • Although the trait × environment interactions might be safely ignored in relatively homogeneous environments, we encourage future studies to test the interactive effects of traits and environments on individual performances
Authors: 
Yuanzhi Li, Yuan Jiang, Bill Shipley, Buhang Li, Wenqi Luo, Yongfa Chen, Kangning Zhao, Dong He, Diego I. Rodríguez-Hernández, & Chengjin Chu
Journal: 
New Phytologist
Year: 
2021
Volume: 
229
Pages: 
1388-1397
DOI: 
10.1111/nph.16955
Site: 
Heishiding