Recasting the dynamic equilibrium model through a functional lens: the interplay of trait-based community assembly and climate

1. According to the dynamic equilibrium hypothesis (DEH), plant species richness is locally controlled by productivity and disturbance. Given that regional conditions widely affect local environmental variables such as soil nutrient availability, the DEH predictions could be improved by considering how climate influences local controls of species richness. Further, a trait-based approach to community assembly has the potential to reveal a deeper, mechanistic understanding of species richness variation across environments. Here we bring together DEH and trait-based community assembly expectations to examine if and how local relationships between diversity, disturbance and productivity are affected by habitat filtering and regional climate. 2. We specifically tested how gradients of local nutrient availability and disturbance intensity interact with climatic conditions to drive the species richness of grassland communities. Further, we recast the DEH through a functional lens by exploring...