Fine‐scale coexistence patterns along a productivity gradient in wet meadows: shifts from trait convergence to divergence

Mudrák, Ondřej; Janeček, Štěpán; Götzenberger, Lars; Mason, Norman W. H.; Horník, Jan; Castro, Indradatta de; Doležal, Jiří; Klimešová, Jitka; Bello, Francesco de

doi:10.1111/ecog.01723

Cited by 33 publications

(44 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…; Mudrák et al. ). However, it is expected to occur at small spatial scales, whereas habitat filtering is more likely to occur at larger spatial scales (Freschet et al.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…; but see Mudrák et al. ). In spite of the lack of evidence for the weaker competitor hypothesis in the studied area, this process is probably not acting in the studied area due to the spatial scale considered (Freschet et al.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…; Mudrák et al. ). Under this scenario, species must be able to pass through one or more filters to persist in a given environment (Keddy ; Weiher & Keddy ; McGill et al.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

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The effects of environmental constraints on plant community organization depend on which traits are measured

Sfair

Rosado

Tabarelli

2016

J Vegetation Science

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Questions We test the hypothesis that soil water availability operates as an ecological filter on water economy plant traits, particularly in savanna stands, with consequences for species distribution and the functional profile of plant assemblages across a savanna–forest mosaic. Location A savanna–forest mosaic, northeastern Atlantic forest, Paraíba state, Brazil. Methods We sampled all trees and shrubs in 11 forest and 12 savanna plots in the same climatic region. Soil water storage capacity was measured, as well as the following traits: specific leaf area (SLA), internode mass fraction (IMF), maximum height (Hmax), wood density (WD), presence of trichomes (LT) and presence of abiotic seed dispersal (DD). Differences in trait values and water soil content between forest and savanna plots were assessed using Wilcoxon tests. Standardized effect size of functional richness and functional dispersion (SESFRic and SESFDis, respectively) were compared between forest and savanna plots with Wilcoxon tests, and the relationships between both functional indices of each trait and soil water content assessed using simple linear regression. We also used null models to test for habitat filtering in each plot, considering species assemblage (SESFRic) and abundance (SESFDis). Results Vegetation types differed in terms of soil water availability, with savanna soils having, on average, half the content of forest soils. Compared to forest, savanna plants had heavier internodes (30% increment), lower SLA (about 42% lower) and more plants with trichomes, but plants were much smaller across savanna assemblages. Savanna assemblages also exhibited a higher probability of trait convergence (i.e. reduced functional diversity) than forest assemblages in terms of SLA and maximum height, but savannas were less prone to trait convergence in terms of leaf trichomes, considering species abundance. Considering both vegetation types, a variable proportion of assemblages exhibited significant values of either FRic or FDis, but soil water availability did not correlate with functional diversity measures. Conclusions Habitat filtering not related to soil water availability favours the occurrence of conservative resource‐use plants across savanna stands, reinforcing the notion that filtering is able to act as an assembly force by affecting the abundance/frequency of particular traits, thus contributing to the occurrence of spatially organized mosaics of vegetation.

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“…; Mudrák et al. ). However, it is expected to occur at small spatial scales, whereas habitat filtering is more likely to occur at larger spatial scales (Freschet et al.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

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The effects of environmental constraints on plant community organization depend on which traits are measured

Sfair

Rosado

Tabarelli

2016

J Vegetation Science

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“… and Mudrák et al. ). Additionally, fixing both species richness and species frequency reduces the number of possible randomizations.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…; Mudrák et al. ). Trait dispersion studies may be used to infer evidence for environmental filtering, but environmental variables must be directly measured and related to trait patterns, rather than indirectly inferred based on spatial scale.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Within‐community environmental variability drives trait variability in species‐rich grasslands

Price

Tamme

Gazol

et al. 2017

J Vegetation Science

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Aims Spatial environmental heterogeneity has been considered an important co‐existence mechanism because environmental variation enables different species to co‐occur. We predict that if functional differences are important for co‐existence, then both species and functional diversity should be positively related to environmental heterogeneity. Location Thirty three dry calcareous grassland sites in Estonia. Methods In each site, we established a transect (10.0 m × 0.1 m), consisting of 100 quadrats (10 cm × 10 cm). In each quadrat, we recorded species richness and composition, and measured soil depth, moisture and light availability. We collected data on eight traits from most of the species found across the sites. We calculated functional diversity (FD) at the quadrat scale, and compared the observed FD to that expected at random using two null models. The first null model used all the species that occurred in the transect in the randomizations to determine environmental filtering from the transect to the quadrat. The second null model restricted the species used in the randomizations to those species whose trait range was within the range of the observed values in the quadrat, to detect evidence for niche partitioning. Quadrat mean trait values and variability in functional composition were then related to small‐scale mean environmental conditions and heterogeneity, respectively. Results We found convergent patterns in biomass, specific leaf area, specific root length and clonality compared to randomized communities that included all species occurring in the transect, and found divergence in height and leaf area using the range‐restricted null model. Hence, we found patterns consistent with environmental filtering and niche partitioning depending on the traits considered. Quadrat mean traits were significantly correlated with the measured environmental variables, with the main trend being a positive relationship between size‐related traits and soil resources, and a negative relationship between these traits and light availability. Trait variability in height, leaf area, leaf dry matter content, specific root length and clonality was positively related to soil depth heterogeneity. There was a trend for species richness to be negatively related to environmental heterogeneity. Conclusions Co‐occurring species were more similar in several traits partly due to micro‐environmental filtering in response to variability in soil depth. While environmental heterogeneity increased trait variability, negative relationships with species richness were observed. Hence, niche partitioning does not appear to be important for the maintenance of high small‐scale species richness in these grasslands.

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Evidence that spatial scale and environment factors explain grassland community assembly in woodland–grassland ecotones

Zheng,

Shi,

Wei

et al. 2024

Ecology and Evolution

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How communities of living organisms assemble has long been a central question in ecology. The impact of habitat filtering and limiting similarity on plant community structures is well known, as both processes are influenced by individual responses to environmental fluctuations. Yet, the precise identifications and quantifications of the potential abiotic and biotic factors that shape community structures at a fine scale remains a challenge. Here, we applied null model approaches to assess the importance of habitat filtering and limiting similarity at two spatial scales. We used 63 natural vegetation plots, each measuring 5 × 5 m, with three nested subplots measuring 1 × 1 m, from the 2021 field survey, to examine the alpha diversity as well as beta diversity of plots and subplots. Linear mixed‐effects models were employed to determine the impact of environmental variables on assembly rules. Our results demonstrate that habitat filtering is the dominant assembly rules at both the plot and subplot levels, although limiting similarity assumes stronger at the subplot level. Plot‐level limiting similarity exhibited a positive association with fine‐scale partitioning, suggesting that trait divergence originated from a combination of limiting similarity and spatial partitioning. Our findings also reveal that the community assembly varies more strongly with the mean annual temperature gradient than the mean annual precipitation. This investigation provides a pertinent illustration of non‐random assembly rules from spatial scale and environmental factors in plant communities in the loess hilly region. It underscores the critical influence of spatial and environmental constraints in understanding the assembly of plant communities.

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Fine‐scale coexistence patterns along a productivity gradient in wet meadows: shifts from trait convergence to divergence

Cited by 33 publications

References 51 publications

The effects of environmental constraints on plant community organization depend on which traits are measured

The effects of environmental constraints on plant community organization depend on which traits are measured

Within‐community environmental variability drives trait variability in species‐rich grasslands

Evidence that spatial scale and environment factors explain grassland community assembly in woodland–grassland ecotones

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