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- Title
Reinforcing loose foundation stones in trait-based plant ecology.
- Authors
Shipley, Bill; Bello, Francesco; Cornelissen, J.; Laliberté, Etienne; Laughlin, Daniel; Reich, Peter
- Abstract
The promise of 'trait-based' plant ecology is one of generalized prediction across organizational and spatial scales, independent of taxonomy. This promise is a major reason for the increased popularity of this approach. Here, we argue that some important foundational assumptions of trait-based ecology have not received sufficient empirical evaluation. We identify three such assumptions and, where possible, suggest methods of improvement: (i) traits are functional to the degree that they determine individual fitness, (ii) intraspecific variation in functional traits can be largely ignored, and (iii) functional traits show general predictive relationships to measurable environmental gradients.
- Subjects
PLANT ecology; TAXONOMY; EMPIRICAL research; VISUAL environment; ENVIRONMENTAL sciences
- Publication
Oecologia, 2016, Vol 180, Issue 4, p923
- ISSN
0029-8549
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1007/s00442-016-3549-x