title: Covariation in plant functional traits and soil fertility within two species-rich forests.
abstract: The distribution of plant species along environmental gradients is expected to be predictable based on organismal function. Plant functional trait research has shown that trait values generally vary predictably along broad-scale climatic and soil gradients. This work has also demonstrated that at any one point along these gradients there is a large amount of interspecific trait variation. The present research proposes that this variation may be explained by the local-scale sorting of traits along soil fertility and acidity axes. Specifically, we predicted that trait values associated with high resource acquisition and growth rates would be found on soils that are more fertile and less acidic. We tested the expected relationships at the species-level and quadrat-level (20 × 20 m) using two large forest plots in Panama and China that contain over 450 species combined. Predicted relationships between leaf area and wood density and soil fertility were supported in some instances, but the majority of the predicted relationships were rejected. Alternative resource axes, such as light gradients, therefore likely play a larger role in determining the interspecific variability in plant functional traits in the two forests studied.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiangshan, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Xiaojuan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Nathan G
authors.initials: NG
authors.lastname: Swenson
authors.forename: S Joseph
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Wright
authors.forename: Liwen
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Kai
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Yanjun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Du
authors.forename: Jinlong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Xiangcheng
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Mi
authors.forename: Haibao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ren
authors.forename: Keping
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ma
mesh_terms: D002681:China; D017753:Ecosystem; D004777:Environment; D010176:Panama; D010788:Photosynthesis / Q000502:physiology; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000502:physiology*; D018521:Plant Physiological Phenomena; D012639:Seeds / Q000502:physiology; D012987:Soil; D014197:Trees / Q000502:physiology*; D014329:Tropical Climate
chemical_list: D012987:Soil