Species-level CWM values mask contrasting intra- vs interspecific trait shifts at subtropical forest edges

Altered microclimatic conditions and higher disturbance at forest edges
create environmental stress and modify resource gradients from edge to
interior, changing the selection pressures acting on individuals. Although
community-weighted trait-mean (CWM) shifts along edge gradients have been
widely documented at the species level, it is unclear how edge effects act
at the individual level, and whether the direction of intraspecific trait
shifts mirrors that of CWM shifts in response to edge effects. On 20
islands in the Thousand Island Lake, China, we established 484 plots (2×2
m) in a stratified random design across distances of 0 – 128 m from the
forest edge. Within each plot, we sampled leaves (n=34,768) from within
and among all 2,993 individuals of 68 species and measured five leaf
traits (leaf area, LA; specific leaf area, SLA; leaf dry matter content,
LDMC; thickness, LT; chlorophyll content, LCC). Using generalized linear
mixed models, we found that different leaf traits exhibited contrasting
shifts in inter- vs. intraspecific trait variation in response to edge
effects. For SLA, LT, and LCC, negative covariance between inter- and
intraspecific trait shifts resulted in dampening of community-wide trends
compared to CWM response to edge effects. In contrast, the community-wide
trend for LDMC was reinforced due to positive covariance between inter-
and intraspecific trait shifts, while for LA the direction of covariance
shifted from negative to positive on small vs. large islands. Together,
edge effects alter selection regimes in reassembling plant communities.
Predicting the community-wide consequences depends on the degree to which
there is negative vs. positive covariance between species sorting and
within-species adaptation. The widely-used CWM approach can mask
contrasting trait selection pressures acting on individuals within local
populations. Individual-level trait variation can improve understanding of
community re-assembly trajectories in response to global environmental
change.