Abstract
Functional traits influence plant distributions along broad environmental gradients leading species to occupy communities where their traits enable them to successfully establish and compete for resources. Trait differences are also expected to influence plant distributions and diversity at finer spatial scales within communities. However, relatively few empirical studies have examined the extent to which interspecific trait variation predicts local species-environment distributions. We surveyed herbaceous plants within a heterogeneous acid bedrock glade in south-central Wisconsin to elucidate how traits influence local plant distributions and diversity. Using quadrat-scale environmental covariates (soil depth, canopy openness, and neighborhood tree phenology) and species functional trait means (SLA, vegetative height, and seed mass), we modeled variation in local species distributions as well as plant diversity across 361 quadrats distributed evenly in a 1 ha study plot. Functional traits predictably mediated individualistic species distributions along local gradients in soil depth and canopy openness as well as differential plant responses to variation in canopy leaf phenology. Small-seeded herbs occurred in shallow soil microsites while the prevalence of large-statured plants increased with canopy openness. Local species richness and functional trait dispersion were greatest in microsites near canopy gaps where sun-adapted and shade-adapted plant species co-occur and in microsites surrounded by later-leafing trees. Interspecific trait differences influence local species distributions and shape spatial patterns of diversity within heterogeneous plant communities like bedrock glades. The parallels between local plant distributions within this heterogeneous community and regional plant distributions across the landscape suggest trait-mediated ecological sorting influences plant distributions along environmental gradients similarly across spatial scales.
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Acknowledgements
We thank T. Givnish, D. Waller, and several anonymous reviewers for helpful comments that improved the manuscript. B. Bowser, R. Nelson, and K. Hobbins assisted with tree surveys during summer 2019. The Wisconsin Chapter of the Nature Conservancy – especially H. Spaul, R. Pflieger, A. Calhoun, and C. Klima – offered logistical support and permission to conduct the research. We also thank E. Epstein and P. West for sharing their observations and expertise. Tree surveys were supported by 2019 Davis and Demeter Research Awards from the UW-Madison Botany Department as well as a research fellowship from the UW-Madison Arboretum. J. Beck was also supported by an award from the Diversity Inventory Group. J.H. Richards was supported by National Science Foundation DBI-2010942.
Funding
Fieldwork was supported by 2019 Davis and Demeter Research Awards from the UW-Madison Botany Department as well as a research fellowship from the UW-Madison Arboretum (both award to J. Beck). During writing and analysis, J. Beck was also supported by an award from the Diversity Inventory Group. J. Richards was supported by National Science Foundation DBI-2010942. National Science Foundation, DBI-2010942
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Beck, J.J., Richards, J.H. Functional traits influence local plant distributions and spatial patterns of diversity within a heterogeneous bedrock glade. Plant Ecol 224, 729–740 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-023-01337-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-023-01337-x