DOI: 10.5061/dryad.8s20p92
title: Data from: Using functional trait diversity patterns to disentangle the scale-dependent ecological processes in a subtropical forest

description: 1. Disentangling ecological processes that influence community assembly
 and species diversity across spatial scales remains a major goal of
 community ecology. Community assembly processes influence spatial patterns
 of species diversity through their interactions with key functional
 traits. Hence, quantifying spatial patterns of functional trait diversity
 (FD) represents a useful tool for disentangling the relative importance of
 abiotic filtering, biotic interactions, random assembly, and dispersal
 limitation across spatial scales. 2. Here we measured 12 traits of 112
 study species in a 20-ha fully-mapped subtropical forest plot. The
 individuals of the 112 study species account for 99% of all living stems
 with diameter at breast height (DBH) ≥ 1 cm. We studied important
 functional traits related to physiological processes of plants including
 resource acquisition (e.g., CO2 assimilation rate and leaf nutrient
 concentration) and drought tolerance (e.g., stem hydraulic conductivity
 and leaf turgor loss point) are measured. Additionally, species abundance,
 spatial locations (x- and y- coordinate for each individual of the 112
 study species), as well as topographic and soil variables that represent
 potentially important attributes of the physical environment of the plot,
 were also included in our dataset. 3. We employed two FD-based tests
 (comparing FD within communities to those from random communities,
 distance- based Moran’s eigenvector maps (MEM) and redundancy analysis
 based variance partitioning), and one spatial analysis (inhomogeneous
 bivariate pair correlation analysis) to quantify the spatial patterns of
 FD of the plot at multiple spatial scales (400, 900, 1600, 2500, and 10000
 m2). 4. We demonstrate that abiotic filtering is the major determinant
 responsible for trait convergence at relatively small scales (400, 900
 and1600 m2), whereas dispersal limitation becomes dominant, causing the
 weakening of trait convergence at relatively large scales (2500 and 10000
 m2). 5. Our results highlight the relative contributions of different
 ecological processes to community assembly at different spatial scales,
 which can be distinguished using the diversity patterns of key functional
 traits. Also, our integrated approaches constitute a useful study design
 to disentangle variable ecological processes in shaping community assembly
 across spatial scales.
description: The mean value of
 functional traits including CO2 assimilation rate per unit area (Aarea;
 μmol s-1), instantaneous water use efficiency (WUEi; μmol mol-1), stomatal
 conductance per unit area (gsa; mmol m-2 s-1), phosphorus concentration
 per leaf mass (Pmass; mg kg-1), sapwood specific hydraulic conductivity
 (Ks; kg m-1 s-1 MPa-1), leaf water potential at turgor loss point (ψtlp;
 MPa), leaf chlorophyll concentration (Chl; g/m2), leaf size (Ls; cm2),
 leaf lamina thickness (Thk; cm), specific leaf area (SLA; cm2/g), leaf dry
 matter content (LDMC; %), and wood density (WD; g/m3) for the 112 study
 species in dinghu moutain in southern China.Table
 S1.csvThe mean DBH (in cm) of
 the 112 study species in the plot and DBH values (in cm) of the sampled
 individuals (n) for each study species in dinghu moutain in southern
 China.Table
 S2.csvSpecies abundance (the
 total number of all living stems; N) for each of the 208 species found in
 the 20-ha subtropical forest plot in dinghu moutain in southern
 China.Table
 S3.csv