Below- and aboveground traits explain success of German grassland plants
from plot to global scales
Abstract
Most plant species are rare and only a few are common, but whether
species success is associated with functional traits is debated. We
measured five root traits and seed mass on 242 Central European
grassland species, and extracted their specific leaf area, height and
bud-bank size from databases. Then we tested if trait values are
associated with commonness at seven spatial scales from 16m² grassland
plots to worldwide naturalization success. At every scale, success was
associated with at least four traits, and they explained the highest
proportions of variance for naturalization success (41%) and abundance
in grassland plots (37%). Low root tissue density characterized
successful species at every scale, whereas other traits showed
directional changes depending on the scale. Across scales, belowground
traits explained overall more variance in species success (18.1%) than
aboveground traits (12.5%). So, belowground traits are at least as
important as aboveground traits for species success.