The interspecific variations of plant functional traits can characterize the niche positions of species within communities, while the intraspecific variations can accurately display the species’ niche breadth. Revealing relative contributions of intra- and interspecific variations to plant functional community structure is crucial in understanding how the species coexist together, especially in species-diverse ecosystems. To explore how the intra- and interspecific variations of plant functional traits change along the successional pathway in heterogeneous conditions, we established a series of plots and measured main plant functional traits along the natural regeneration in karst forest ecosystems. By quantifying the intra- and interspecific variations of plant functional traits, we found that the changes in intraspecific variations were relatively lower compared to changes in interspecific variations throughout the natural regeneration. Further analysis showed that the community spatial structure contributed more to the intraspecific variations of plant functional traits, while the soil physicochemical properties contributed more to interspecific variations. Our study suggested that tree species might tend to narrow their niche and change the positions to release the niche overlap when faced with heterogeneous habitat conditions.

中文翻译：

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物种更喜欢改变生态位位置，而不是扩大生态位广度以适应异质性喀斯特森林


植物功能性状的种间变异可以表征物种在群落内的生态位位置，而种内变异可以准确显示物种的生态位广度。揭示种内和种间变异对植物功能群落结构的相对贡献对于理解物种如何共存至关重要，尤其是在物种多样化的生态系统中。为了探究异质条件下植物功能性状的种内和种间变异如何沿演替途径变化，我们建立了一系列样地，并测量了喀斯特森林生态系统沿自然更新的主要植物功能性状。通过量化植物功能性状的种内和种间变异，我们发现与整个自然再生过程中种间变异的变化相比，种内变异的变化相对较低。进一步分析表明，群落空间结构对植物功能性状种内变异的贡献更大，而土壤理化性质对种间变异的贡献更大。我们的研究表明，当面临异质的栖息地条件时，树种可能倾向于缩小其生态位并改变位置以释放生态位重叠。