Plant architecture optimizes the trait-based description and
classification of vegetation.
Abstract
Trait-based approaches offer valuable perspectives for vegetation
classification, but functional traits struggle to capture resource
allocation among competing plants, showing limitations across scales.
This study aimed to introduce plant architecture to enhance trait-based
vegetation classification. From 2021 to 2023, 32 plots of Coastal Dwarf
Forests (CDF) and Coastal Normal Forests (NCDF) along China’s eastern
coast were surveyed. Their community characteristics were quantified,
and classification and clustering models assessed the advantages of
plant architecture in distinguishing these communities. The results
indicated plant architecture traits are more critical for distinguishing
different community types than leaf-based functional traits.
Additionally, plant architecture traits are effective in clustering
plant associations within the same community type. This is because plant
architecture traits are closely linked to habitat, phylogeny, and
community structure, providing a comprehensive description of
vegetation, while functional traits reflect only partial habitat
information related to soil nutrients. Our findings underscore the
importance of plant architecture in optimizing trait-based vegetation
classification and suggest that variations in the plasticity of plant
architecture traits may support the classification of CDF as a distinct
vegetation unit.