Plant trait covariation
The PCA was comprised of four aboveground and eleven belowground plant traits where the first two principal components (PCs) explained almost half (~50%) of the total trait variation (Fig. 2a). The first PC axis (PC1) explained 31.12% of total variation and was dominated by slow versus fast plant growth strategies, as indicated by high loadings of SRA, SRL, LNC, and Ex_P, which related positively and AMF, AGB, and LCC which related negatively on PC1. The second PC axis (PC2) explained 19% of the total variation and the only highly loaded variables on PC2 were FRD and RTD (Fig. 2b).