Abstract
The identification of functional traits critical to plant responses to the environment promotes our understanding of assembly of communities which relies on environmental filtering. However, the recent trait-community approaches mostly ignore the influence of plant-plant interactions by mainly focusing on traits related to abiotic filtering processes. The conceptual framework we propose aims to clarify how the functional diversity of communities depends on the filtering effect of competition on relevant traits. We define two types of competition-related traits: competitive effect traits reflect the changes in local resource levels due to plant activity while competitive response traits are related to plant response to these resource depletions. We then suggest that the contribution of both types of competition-related traits to functional diversity depends on the importance of competition, previously defined as the effect of competition on plant fitness relative to that of other environmental factors. Therefore, the divergence of functional diversity is predicted to be maximized at intermediate levels of competition in relation to the coexistence of species with different strategies characterized by highly contrasted values of competition-related traits.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
Abbreviations
- FD:
-
Functional diversity
References
Aan, A., L. Hallik and O. Kull. 2006. Photon flux partitioning among species along a productivity gradient of an herbaceous plant community. J. Ecol. 94:1143–1155.
Ackerly, D.D. and W.K. Cornwell. 2007. A trait-based approach to community assembly: Partitioning of species trait values into within- and among-community components. Ecol. Lett. 10:135–145.
Adams, T.P., D.W. Purves and S.W. Pacala. 2007. Understanding height-structured competition in forests: Is there an r* for light? Proc. Roy. Soc. B - Biol. Sci. 274:3039–3047.
Adema, E.B., J. Van de Koppel, H.A.J. Meijer and A.P. Grootjans. 2005. Enhanced nitrogen loss may explain alternative stable states in dune slack succession. Oikos 109:374–386.
Amarasekare, P. 2003. Competitive coexistence in spatially structured environments: A synthesis. Ecol. Lett. 6:1109–1122.
Belyea, L.R. and J. Lancaster. 1999. Assembly rules within a contingent ecology. Oikos 86: 402–416.
Berendse, F. and W.T. Elberse. 1990. Competition and nutrient availability in heathland and grassland ecosystems. In: J.B. Grace and D. Tilman (eds), Perspectives on Plant Competition. Academic Press, San Diego. pp. 93–116.
Brooker, R.W. and Z. Kikividze. 2008. Importance: An overlooked concept in plant interaction research. J. Ecol. 96:703–708.
Brooker, R.W., Z. Kikvidze, F.I. Pugnaire, R.M. Callaway, P. Choler, C.J. Lortie and R. Michalet. 2005. The importance of importance. Oikos 109:63–70.
Cingolani, A.M., M. Cabido, D.E. Gurvich, D. Renison and S. Diaz. 2007. Filtering processes in the assembly of plant communities: Are species presence and abundance driven by the same traits? J. Veg. Sci. 18:911–920.
Craine, J.M. 2005. Reconciling plant strategy theories of Grime and Tilman. J. Ecol. 93:1041–1052.
Diaz, S., S. Lavorel, F.S. Chapin, P.A. Tecco, D.E. Gurvich and K. Grigulis. 2007. Functional diversity – at the crossroads between ecosystem functioning and environmental filters. In: J.G. Canadell, D. Pataki and L. Pitelka (eds), Terrestrial Ecosystems in a Changing World. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, Heidelberg. pp. 81–91.
Eckstein, R.L. 2005. Differential effects of interspecific interactions and water availability on survival, growth and fecundity of three congeneric grassland herbs. New Phytol. 166:525–536.
Ejrnaes, R., H.H. Bruun and B.J. Graae. 2006. Community assembly in experimental grasslands: Suitable environment or timely arrival? Ecology 87:1225–1233.
Forseth, I.N., D.A. Wait and B.B. Casper. 2001. Shading by shrubs in a desert system reduces the physiological and demographic performance of an associated herbaceous perennial. J. Ecol. 89:670–680.
Fukami, T., T.M. Bezemer, S.R. Mortimer and W.H. van der Putten. 2005. Species divergence and trait convergence in experimental plant community assembly. Ecol. Lett. 8:1283–1290.
Neill and J.-P. Toussaint. 2004. Plant functional markers capture ecosystem properties during secondary succession. Ecology 85:2630–2637.
Gaucherand, S., P. Liancourt and S. Lavorel. 2006. Importance and intensity of competition along a fertility gradient and across species. J. Veg. Sci. 17:455–464.
Gaudet, C.L. and P.A. Keddy. 1988. A comparative approach to predicting competitive ability from plant traits. Nature 334:242–243.
Goldberg, D.E. 1990. Components of resource competition in plant communities. In: J.B. Grace and D. Tilman (eds), Perspectives on Plant Competition. Academic Press, San Diego. pp. 27–49.
Goldberg, D.E. 1996. Competitive ability: Definitions, contingency and correlated traits. Philos. Trans. Roy. Soc. London: Biol. Sci. 351:1377–1385.
Grime, J.P. 1973. Competitive exclusion in herbaceous vegetation. Nature 242:344–347.
Grime, J.P. 1974. Vegetation classificationby reference to strategies. Nature 250:26–31.
Grime, J.P. 2001. Plant Strategies, Vegetation Processes and Ecosystem Properties. Wiley, London.
Grime, J.P. 2006. Trait convergence and trait divergence in herbaceous plant communities: Mechanisms and consequences. J. Veg. Sci. 17:255–260.
Keddy, P. A. 1982. Assembly and response rules: two goals for predictive community ecology. J. Veg. Sci. 3: 157–164.
Keddy, P.A. 2001. Competition. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, The Netherlands.
Keddy, P.A., L.H. Fraser and I.C. Wisheu. 1998. A comparative approach to examine competitive response of 48 wetland plant species. J. Veg. Sci. 9:777–786.
Keddy, P.A. and B. Shipley. 1989. Competitive hierarchies in herbaceous plant communities. Oikos 54:234–241.
Kikuzawa, K. 1988. Leaf survivals of tree species in deciduous broad-leaved forests. Plant Species Biol. 3:67–76.
Kraft, N.J.B., R. Valencia and D. Ackerly. 2008. Functional traits and niche-based tree community assembly in an Amazonian forest. Science 322:580–582.
Lavorel, S. and E. Garnier. 2002. Predicting changes in community composition and ecosystem functioning from plant traits: Revisiting the holy grail. Funct. Ecol. 16:545–556.
Lavorel, S., K. Grigulis, S. McIntyre, N.S.G. Williams, D. Garden, J. Dorrough, S. Berman, F. Quetier, A. Thebault and A. Bonis. 2008. Assessing functional diversity in the field – methodology matters! Funct. Ecol. 22:134–147.
Leibold, M.A. 1995. The niche concept revisited - mechanistic models and community context. Ecology 76:1371–1382.
Leps, J., F. de Bello, S. Lavorel and S. Berman. 2006. Quantifying and interpreting functional diversity of natural communities: Practical considerations matter. Preslia 78:481–501.
Liancourt, P., R.M. Callaway and R. Michalet. 2005. Stress tolerance and competitive-response ability determine the outcome of biotic interactions. Ecology 86:1611–1618.
Mason, N.W.H., D. Mouillot, W.G. Lee and J.B. Wilson. 2005. Functional richness, functional evenness and functional divergence: The primary components of functional diversity. Oikos 111:112–118.
McGill, B.J. 2006. A renaissance in the study of abundance. Science 314:770–772.
McGill, B.J., B.J. Enquist, E. Weiher and M. Westoby. 2006. Rebuilding community ecology from functional traits. Trends in Ecol. & Evol. 21:178–185.
McKane, R.B., L.C. Johnson, G.R. Shaver, K.J. Nadelhoffer, E.B. Rastetter, B. Fry, A.E. Giblin, K. Kielland, B.L. Kwiatkowski, J.A. Laundre and G. Murray. 2002. Resource-based niches provide a basis for plant species diversity and dominance in arctic tundra. Nature 415:68–71.
Navas, M.-L., A. Bellmann, C. Roumet, G. Laurent and E. Garnier. In press. Suites of plant traits in mediterranean species differing in successional status Plant Biol. DOI: 10.1111/j.1438-8677.2009.00208.x
Navas, M.-L., B. Ducout, C. Roumet, J. Richarte, J. Garnier and E. Garnier. 2003. Leaf life span, dynamics and construction cost of species from mediterranean old-fields differing in successional status. New Phytol. 159:213–228.
Pennings, S.C. and R.M. Callaway. 1992. Salt-marsh plant zonation – the relative importance of competition and physical factors. Ecology 73:681–690.
Petchey, O.L. and K.J. Gaston. 2006. Functional diversity: Back to basics and looking forward. Ecol. Lett. 9:741–758.
Ramseier, D. and J. Weiner. 2006. Competitive effect is a linear function of neighbour biomass in experimental populations of Kochia scoparia. J. Ecol. 94:305–309.
Reich, P.B., M.B. Walters and D.S. Ellsworth. 1992. Leaf life-span in relation to leaf, plant, and stand characteristics among diverse ecosystems. Ecol. Monog. 62:365–392.
Schamp, B.S., J. Chau and L.W. Aarssen. 2008. Dispersion of traits related to competitive ability in an old-field plant community. J. Ecol. 96:204–212.
Schwinning, S. and J. Weiner. 1998. Mechanisms determining the degree of size asymmetry in competition among plants. Oecologia 113:447–455.
Shipley, B., D. Vile and E. Garnier. 2006. From plant traits to plant communities: A statistical mechanistic approachto biodiversity. Science 314:812–814.
Silvertown, J. and P. Dale. 1991. Competitive hierarchies and the structure of herbaceous plant communities. Oikos 1:441–444.
Silvertown, J., P. Poulton, E. Johnston, G. Edwards, M. Heard and P.M. Biss. 2006. The Park Grass experiment 1856–2006: Its contribution to ecology. J. Ecol. 94: 801–814.
Stubbs, W.J. and J.B. Wilson. 2004. Evidence for limiting similarity in a sand dune community. J. Ecol. 92:557–567.
Tilman, D. 1988. Plant Strategies and the Dynamics and Structure of Plant Communities. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey, USA.
Tilman, D. 1990. Constraints and tradeoffs: Toward a predictive theory of competition and succession. Oikos 58:3–15.
Tilman, D. 2001. Functional diversity. In: S.A. Levin (ed.) Encyclopedia of Biodiversity. Academic Press, San Diego. pp 109–120.
Tilman, D. and D. Wedin. 1991. Plant traits and resource reduction for 5 grasses growing on a nitrogen gradient. Ecology 72:685–700.
Violle, C., E. Garnier, J. Lecoeur, C. Roumet, C. Podeur, A. Blanchard and M.-L. Navas. In press. Competition, resource depletion and plant traits in herbaceous communities. Oecologia DOI 10.1007/s00442-009-1333-x
Violle, C., M.L. Navas, D. Vile, E. Kazakou, C. Fortunel, I. Hummel and E. Garnier. 2007. Let the concept of trait be functional!. Oikos 116:882–892.
Walters, M.B. and P.B. Reich. 1999. Low-light carbon balance and shade tolerance in the seedlings of woody plants: Do winter deciduous and broad-leaved evergreen species differ? New Phytol. 143:143–154.
Weiher, E. and P.A. Keddy. 1995. Assembly rules, null models, and trait dispersion: New questions front old patterns. Oikos 74:159–164.
Weiner, J. 1990. Asymmetric competition in plant populations. Trends in Ecol. & Evol. 5:360–364.
Welden, C.W. and W.L. Slauson. 1986. The intensity of competition versus its importance: An overlooked distinction and some implications. Quart. Rev. Biol. 61:23–44.
Werger, M.J.A., T. Hirose, H.J. During, G.W. Heil, K. Hikosaka, T. Ito, U.G. Nachinshonhor, D. Nagamatsu, K. Shibasaki, S. Takatsuki, J.W. van Rheenen and N.P.R. Anten. 2002. Light partitioning among species and species replacement in early successional grasslands. J. Veg. Sci. 13:615–626.
Westoby, M. 1998. A leaf-height-seed (lhs) plant ecology strategy scheme. Plant and Soil 199:213–227.
Wilson, J.B. 2007. Trait-divergence assembly rules have been demonstrated: Limiting similarity lives! A reply to Grime. J. Veg. Sci. 18:451–452.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.
About this article
Cite this article
Navas, M.L., Violle, C. Plant traits related to competition: how do they shape the functional diversity of communities?. COMMUNITY ECOLOGY 10, 131–137 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1556/ComEc.10.2009.1.15
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1556/ComEc.10.2009.1.15