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Plant community assembly in semi‐natural grasslands and ex‐arable fields: a trait‐based approach
Author(s) -
Marteinsdóttir Bryndís,
Eriksson Ove
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
journal of vegetation science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.1
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1654-1103
pISSN - 1100-9233
DOI - 10.1111/jvs.12058
Subject(s) - grassland , species richness , arable land , abundance (ecology) , ecology , plant community , biology , specific leaf area , relative species abundance , species diversity , agronomy , trait , botany , photosynthesis , computer science , programming language , agriculture
Question The assembly of plants into communities is one of the central topics in plant community ecology. The objective of this study was to investigate how plant functional trait diversity and environmental factors influence community assembly in two different grassland communities, and if variation in these factors could explain the difference in species assembly between these communities. Location Six grazed ex‐arable fields and eight semi‐natural grasslands in southeast S weden. Methods We estimated species abundance and measured soil attributes at each site. For each species within each site we measured specific leaf area ( SLA ), leaf dry matter content ( LDMC ) and seed mass. We analysed the data both for abundance‐weighted species values and species occurrence. Results Trait gradient analysis indicated random distribution of species among sites, while CCA analysis indicated that both soil phosphorus and moisture were related to species assembly at a site. Correlations and fourth‐corner analysis also revealed a relationship between measured species traits and soil phosphorus and moisture. There was a lower average seed mass and higher SLA of species in ex‐arable fields compared to species in semi‐natural grasslands. Conclusions Even though trait gradient analysis indicated that plant community assembly in the studied grasslands was random, other results implied that species occurrence and abundance was influenced both by environmental factors and species traits. Higher species richness in semi‐natural grasslands was associated with more large‐seeded species found there compared to ex‐arable fields, indicating that large‐seeded species establish in grasslands later than small‐seeded species.