Distribution pattern of functional traits and its response to topographic factors in a conifer and broad-leaved mixed forest in Jiaohe, Jilin province

Abstract

Understanding the mechanism and process of community assembly is a key issue in ecological research. Functional traits, which represent plant physiological, morphological, and phenological attributes, have decisive effects on plant growth, survival, reproduction and dispersal. Examining the spatial distribution pattern of plant functional traits and its response to local environmental variation is helpful to speculate the underlying processes and mechanisms that regulate community assembly. In this study, we explored the underlying mechanisms of community assembly using the dataset from a 21.12hm temperate conifer and broad⁃leaved mixed forest plot in Jiaohe, Northeast China. Four topographic attributes, including elevation, convexity, slope, and aspect, were measured as local environmental factors. Six functional traits, namely leaf area, specific leaf area, leaf carbon content, leaf nitrogen content, leaf carbon to nitrogen ratio, and maximum tree height, were collected and measured for all 34 woody species that present in this temperate forest plot. Two functional