Differences in functional niche hypervolume among four types of forest vegetation and their environmental determinants across various climatic regions in China

Abstract

Functional traits play an important role in studying the functional niche in plant communities. However, it remains unclear whether the functional niches of typical forest plant communities in different climatic regions based on functional traits are consistent. Here, we present data for 215 woody species, encompassing 11 functional traits related to three fundamental niche dimensions (leaf economy, mechanical support, and reproductive phenology). These data were collected from forests across four climatic zones in China (tropical, subtropical, warm-temperate, and cold-temperate) or sourced from the literature. We calculated the functional niche hypervolume, representing the range of changes in the multidimensional functional niche. This metric quantifies how many functional niche spaces are occupied by existing plants in the community. Subsequently, we analyzed differences in functional niche hypervolume and their associated environmental factors across different types of forest vegetation. The results indicate that the functional niche hypervolume and the degree of forest vegetation overlap decrease with increasing latitude (e.g., from tropical rainforest to cold temperate coniferous forest). The total explanatory power of both climate and soil factors on the variation in functional niche hypervolume was 50%, with climate factors exhibiting a higher explanatory power than soil factors. Functional niche hypervolume is positively correlated with climate factors (annual mean temperature and annual precipitation) and negatively correlated with soil factors (soil pH, soil organic matter content, soil total nitrogen content, and soil total phosphorus content). Among these factors, annual mean temperature, soil pH, and soil total nitrogen content most significantly affect the difference in functional niche hypervolume among forest vegetation. Our study emphasizes the significant variation in the functional niche hypervolume among typical forest vegetation in China.