Functional traits and phenotypic plasticity modulate species coexistence across contrasting climatic conditions

Identificadores
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10498/21467
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-10453-0
ISSN: 2041-1723
Files
Statistics
Metrics and citations
Share
Metadata
Show full item recordDate
2019-06Department
BiologíaSource
Nature Communicationsvolume 10, Article number: 2555 (2019)Abstract
Functional traits are expected to modulate plant competitive dynamics. However, how traits
and their plasticity in response to contrasting environments connect with the mechanisms
determining species coexistence remains poorly understood. Here, we couple field experiments
under two contrasting climatic conditions to a plant population model describing
competitive dynamics between 10 annual plant species in order to evaluate how 19 functional
traits, covering physiological, morphological and reproductive characteristics, are associated
with species’ niche and fitness differences. We find a rich diversity of univariate and multidimensional
associations, which highlight the primary role of traits related to water- and lightuse-
efficiency for modulating the determinants of competitive outcomes. Importantly, such
traits and their plasticity promote species coexistence across climatic conditions by enhancing
stabilizing niche differences and by generating competitive trade-offs between species.
Our study represents a significant advance showing how leading dimensions of plant function
connect to the mechanisms determining the maintenance of biodiversity.
Collections
- Artículos Científicos [4803]
- Articulos Científicos Biología [266]