Plant functional traits have globally consistent effects on competition
Kunstler, Georges (Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologie pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (France). UR Ecosystèmes Montagnards)
Falster, Daniel (Macquarie University. Department of Biological Sciences)
Coomes, David (University of Cambridge. Forest Ecology and Conservation Group)
Hui, Francis (Australian National University. Mathematical Sciences Institute)
Kooyman, Robert M. (Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust (Sydney, N.S.W.))
Laughlin, Daniel C. (University of Waikato. Environmental Research Institute)
Poorter, Lourens (Wageningen University. Forest Ecology and Forest Management Group)
Vanderwel, Mark (University of Regina. Biology Department)
Vieilledent, Ghislain (Centre de coopération internationale en recherche agronomique pour le développement)
Wright, Stuart Joseph (Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute)
Aiba, Masahiro (Tohoku University (Japó). Graduate School of Life Sciences)
Baraloto, Christopher (Institut national de la recherche agronomique (França). Unité Mixte de Recherches Ecologie des Forêts de Guyane)
Caspersen, John (University of Toronto)
Cornelissen, J. H. C. (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Department of Ecological Science)
Gourlet-Fleury, Sylvie (Centre de coopération internationale en recherche agronomique pour le développement)
Hanewinkel, Marc (Eidgenössische Forschungsanstalt für Wald, Schnee und Landschaft)
Hérault, Bruno (Institut national de la recherche agronomique (França). Unité Mixte de Recherches Ecologie des Forêts de Guyane)
Kattge, Jens (Max-Planck-Institut für Biogeochemie)
Kurokawa, Hiroko (Tohoku University (Japó). Graduate School of Life Sciences)
Onoda, Yusuke (Kyoto Daigaku. Graduate School of Agriculture)
Peñuelas, Josep (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Biologia Animal, de Biologia Vegetal i d'Ecologia)
Poorter, Hendrik (Forschungszentrum Jülich)
Uriarte, Maria (Columbia University. Departament of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology)
Richardson, Sarah (Manaaki Whenua-Landcare Research New Zealand)
Ruiz-Benito, Paloma (Universidad de Alcalá. Departamento de Ciencias de la Vida)
Sun, I-Fang (National Dong Hwa University. Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Studies)
Ståhl, Göran (Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. Department of Forest Resource Management)
Swenson, Nathan G. (University of Maryland. Department of Biology)
Thompson, Jill (Centre for Ecology and Hydrology)
Westerlund, Bertil (Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. Department of Forest Resource Management)
Wirth, Christian (Karl-Marx-Universität Leipzig. Institute for Systematic, Botany and Functional Biodiversity)
Zavala, Miguel A. (Universidad de Alcalá. Departamento de Ciencias de la Vida)
Zeng, Hongcheng (University of Toronto)
Zimmerman, Jess K.. (Universidad de Puerto Rico. Departamento de Ciencias Ambientales)
Zimmermann, Niklaus E. (Eidgenössische Forschungsanstalt für Wald, Schnee und Landschaft)
Westoby, Mark (Macquarie University. Department of Biological Sciences)

Date:	2016
Abstract:	Phenotypic traits and their associated trade-offs have been shown to have globally consistent effects on individual plant physiological functions1, 2, 3, but how these effects scale up to influence competition, a key driver of community assembly in terrestrial vegetation, has remained unclear4. Here we use growth data from more than 3 million trees in over 140,000 plots across the world to show how three key functional traits-wood density, specific leaf area and maximum height-onsistently influence competitive interactions. Fast maximum growth of a species was correlated negatively with its wood density in all biomes, and positively with its specific leaf area in most biomes. Low wood density was also correlated with a low ability to tolerate competition and a low competitive effect on neighbours, while high specific leaf area was correlated with a low competitive effect. Thus, traits generate trade-offs between performance with competition versus performance without competition, a fundamental ingredient in the classical hypothesis that the coexistence of plant species is enabled via differentiation in their successional strategies. Competition within species was stronger than between species, but an increase in trait dissimilarity between species had little influence in weakening competition. No benefit of dissimilarity was detected for specific leaf area or wood density, and only a weak benefit for maximum height. Our trait-based approach to modelling competition makes generalization possible across the forest ecosystems of the world and their highly diverse species composition.
Grants:	European Commission 299340
Rights:	Tots els drets reservats.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió acceptada per publicar
Subject:	Community ecology ; Forest ecology ; Plant ecology
Published in:	Nature, Vol. 529, Issue 7585 (Jan. 2016) , p. 204-207, ISSN 1476-4687

DOI: 10.1038/nature16476

Post-print 27 p, 1.6 MB

The record appears in these collections:
Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Experimental sciences > CREAF (Centre de Recerca Ecològica i d'Aplicacions Forestals)
Articles > Research articles
Articles > Published articles