DOI: 10.5061/dryad.9kd51c5cb
title: Data from: Trait-based formal definition of plant functional types and functional communities in the multi-species and multi-traits context

description: The concepts of traits, plant functional types (PFT), and functional
 communities are effective tools for the study of complex phenomena such as
 plant community assembly. Here, we (1) suggest a procedure formalising the
 classification of response traits to construct a PFT system; (2) integrate
 the PFT, and species compositional data to formally define functional
 communities; and, (3) identify environmental drivers that underpin the
 functional-community patterns.A species–trait data set featuring species
 pooled from two study sites (Eneabba and Cooljarloo, Western Australia),
 both supporting kwongan vegetation (sclerophyllous scrub and woodland
 communities), was subjected to classification to define PFTs. Species of
 both study sites were replaced with the newly derived PFTs and projected
 cover abundance-weighted means calculated for every plot. Functional
 communities were defined by classifications of the abundance-weighted PFT
 data in the respective sites. Distance-based redundancy analysis (using
 the abundance-weighted community and environmental data) was used to infer
 drivers of the functional community patterns for each site.A
 classification based on trait data assisted in reducing trait-space
 complexity in the studied vegetation and revealed 26 PFTs shared across
 the study sites. In total, seven functional communities were identified.
 We demonstrate a putative functional-community pattern-driving effect of
 soil-texture (clay—sand) gradients at Eneabba (42% of the total inertia
 explained) and that of water repellence at Cooljarloo (36%). Synthesis.
 This paper presents a procedure formalising the classification of multiple
 response traits leading to the delineation of PFTs and
 functional communities. This step captures plant responses to stresses and
 disturbance characteristic of kwongan vegetation, including low nutrient
 status, water stress, and fire (a landscape-level disturbance factor). Our
 study is the first to introduce a formal procedure assisting their formal
 recognition. Our results support the role of short-term abiotic drivers
 structuring the formation of fine-scale functional community patterns in a
 complex, species-rich vegetation of Western Australia.
description: The low availability of nutrients and water, and the regular
 occurrence of fire are the most pronounced natural disturbance considered
 as the principal drivers of vegetation patterning and dynamics in kwongan
 vegetation of Western Australia. To develop a plant functional type system
 explicitly reflecting these environmental challenges, we created a trait
 database describing various eco-morphological and functional aspects of
 the life history of the species sampled in both study areas. To this end,
 we compiled a soft-trait database featuring 1286 species indexed according
 to 21 binary traits scored from published taxonomic descriptions, our in
 situ studies, and inspection of lodged specimens (Western Australia
 Herbarium 2019–). Expert advice (see Acknowledgements) was sought with
 some specialised traits and syndromes. The functional traits used in this
 analysis and their states have been linked to the functional aspects of
 water relations, carbon balance, nutrition and fire, affecting growth,
 reproduction and/or survival are detailed to provide ecological relevance
 (see <strong>Table 1</strong>).
 <strong>Table 1.</strong> Functional
 traits, their states and ecological relevance. The column Functional
 aspect indicates links of traits with water relations, carbon balance,
 nutrition and fire, affecting growth, reproduction and/or survival. Codes
 were produced for use in the PFT classification.
 <b>Form
 manifestation</b> <b>Functional
 aspect</b> <b>Reference</b>
 <b>Traits</b>
 <b>States</b>
 <b>Code
 (Value)</b> 
 Longevity Longevity (Annual, Perennial)
 Perennial Summer
 drought avoidance; growth maintenance or regeneration; persistence; carbon
 allocation; potential rooting depth Ludlow et al. 1983; Grime 1977; Bond
 & Midgley 2001 Woodiness None
 (Yes, No) Pseudo (Yes,
 No)<sup>A</sup> Basal (Yes, No) All (Yes, No) 
 Woodiness (None) Woodiness (Pseudo) Woodiness (Base) Woodiness (All) 
 Structural support; stress tolerance;
 the rate of nutrient turnover Küppers 1989; Eckstein et al. 1999;
 Chaves et al. 2002 Succulence Succulency (Yes, No)
 Succulency Drought
 tolerance, salinity tolerance Wright et al. 2004; Farooq et al.
 2009 Photosynthetic path
 C3 (Yes,
 No) C4 (Yes,
 No) CAM (Yes,
 No) Photosynthesis (C3) Photosynthesis (C4) Photosynthesis (CAM)
 Water
 use efficiency; carbon assimilation; high-temperature tolerance
 Ehleringer & Monson 1993;
 Hopkins & Hüner 2008; Gillison 2013 
 Autotrophic Autotrophy (Yes, No)
 Autotrophic Carbon
 assimilation; water use efficiency; transpiration 
 Hopkins
 & Hüner 2008; Gillison 2013 
 Parasitism None
 (Yes, No) Stem (Yes,
 No) Root (Yes,
 No) Parasitism (None) Parasitism (Stem) Parasitism (Root) 
 Carbon,
 water and nutrient acquisition Press & Phoenix 2005
 
 Carnivory Carnivory (Yes, No)
 Carnivorous Nutrient
 acquisition Givinish 1989; Ellison & Gotelli
 2001 Nutrient
 mining Nutrient
 mining (Yes, No) Nutrient
 mining Nutrient
 mobilization and acquisition; Lambers et al. 2008; Lambers et al.
 2012 N2
 fixation N2
 fixation (Yes, No) N2
 fixation Nutrient
 acquisition; N2 fixation Zahran 1999; Png et al. 2017
 
 Mycorrhizal association
 Arbuscular-Ectomycorrhizal (Yes,
 No) Ericoid mycorrhizae
 (Yes, No) Orchid
 mycorrhizae (Yes, No) Mycorrhizae (AM-EM) Mycorrhizae (Ericoid) Mycorrhizae (Orchid)
 Nutrient
 acquisition Read 1983; Pate 1994; Brundrett 2009;
 van der Heijden et al. 2015; Moora 2014 
 Root-microbial association
 Yes
 (i.e., N2, MycAE, Myc.Eri, Myc.Orc), No Microbial association
 Nutrient
 acquisition Marschner & Dell 1994; Lambers
 et al. 2014 Fire response 
 Fire
 response (Obligate seeder, Resprouter) Fire response (Sprouting)
 Life
 history; use of water and nutrients post-fire; dispersal, Competition for
 space/light; ruderal pioneers (C-S-R); response to fire
 Cowling
 1994; Kozlowski & Pallardy 2002; Enright et al. 2011; Gillison
 2013 <sup>A</sup>Pseudo-woodiness’ refers to trunks appearing woody composed from a mass of old leaf bases (as in <em>Xanthorrhoea</em>) held together by natural resin rather than true wood of dicot species. We have classified <em>Kingia australis </em>as ‘pseudo-woody. In this case the trunk (appearing ‘woody’) is formed by adventitious roots that originated in the top meristems <strong>References</strong> Bond, W.J, Midgley, J.J. 2001. Ecology of sprouting in woody plants: the persistence niche. Trends Ecol. Evol. 16, 45–51. Brundrett, M.C., 2009. Mycorrhizal associations and other means of nutrition of vascular plants: understanding the global diversity of host plants by resolving conflicting information and developing reliable means of diagnosis. Plant Soil 320, 37–77. Chaves, M.M., Pereira, J.S., Maroco, J., Rodrigues, M.L., Ricardo, C.P.P..., & Pinheiro, C., 2002. How plants cope with water stress in the field. Photosynthesis and growth. Ann. Bot. 89, 907–916. 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description: Updated Trait Data Changes 
 features the original 21 traits used in the
 manuscript, an additional 67 binary traits,
 and updated nomenclature for 49 species following the
 Western Australian Herbarium's November 2020 census