Functional traits trade-offs define plant population stability worldwide

Conti, L.; Valencia, E.; Galland, T.; Götzenberger, L.; Leps, J.; E-Vojtko, A.; P. Carmona, C.; Majekova, M.; Danihelka, J.; Dengler, J.; Eldridge, D. J.; Estiarte, M.; Garcia-Gonzalez, R.; Garnier, E.; Gomez, D.; Hadincova, V.; Harrison, S. P.; Herben, T.; Ibanez, R.; Jentsch, A.; Juergens, N.; Kertesz, M.; Klumpp, K.; Krahulec, F.; Louault, F.; Marrs, R. H.; Onodi, G.; Pakeman, R. J.; Pärtel, M.; Peco, B.; Penuelas, J.; Rueda, M.; Schmidt, W.; Schmiedel, U.; Schuetz, M.; Skalova, H.; Smilauer, P.; Smilauerova, M.; Smit, C.; Song, M.; Stock, M.; Val, J.; Vandvik, V.; Ward, D.; Wesche, K.; W

doi:10.1101/2022.06.24.497476

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bioRxiv · 10.1101/2022.06.24.497476

Functional traits trade-offs define plant population stability worldwide

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Abstract

O_LIEcological theory posits that temporal stability patterns in plant populations are associated with differences in species ecological strategies. However, empirical evidence is lacking about which traits, or trade-offs, underlie species stability, specially across different ecosystems. C_LIO_LITo address this, we compiled a global collection of long-term permanent vegetation records (>7000 plots from 78 datasets) from a wide range of habitats and combined this with existing trait databases. We tested whether the observed inter-annual variability in species abundance (coefficient of variation) was related to multiple individual traits and multivariate axes of trait variations (PCoA axes). C_LIO_LIWe found that species with greater leaf dry matter content and seed mass were consistently more stable over time (lower variability in species abundance) although other leaf traits played a significant role as well, albeit weaker. Using multivariate axes did not improve predictions by specific traits. C_LIO_LIOur results confirm existing theory, providing compelling empirical evidence on the importance of specific traits, which point at ecological trade-offs in different resource use and dispersal strategies, on the stability of plant populations worldwide. C_LI

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Conti, L., Valencia, E., Galland, T., Götzenberger, L., Leps, J., E-Vojtko, A., P. Carmona, C., Majekova, M., Danihelka, J., Dengler, J., Eldridge, D. J., Estiarte, M., Garcia-Gonzalez, R., Garnier, E., Gomez, D., Hadincova, V., Harrison, S. P., Herben, T., Ibanez, R., Jentsch, A., Juergens, N., Kertesz, M., Klumpp, K., Krahulec, F., Louault, F., Marrs, R. H., Onodi, G., Pakeman, R. J., Pärtel, M., Peco, B., Penuelas, J., Rueda, M., Schmidt, W., Schmiedel, U., Schuetz, M., Skalova, H., Smilauer, P., Smilauerova, M., Smit, C., Song, M., Stock, M., Val, J., Vandvik, V., Ward, D., Wesche, K., W. 2022-06-27. Functional traits trade-offs define plant population stability worldwide. https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.06.24.497476

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