Using a forest dynamics model to link community assembly processes and traits structure

1. Trait-based approaches have been increasingly used to understand the role of environmental and biotic filters on species assembly. However, our understanding of the relationships between traits and community assembly processes remain limited. Indeed, various assembly processes may lead to similar functional patterns, and the effects of a given process may vary with the considered traits. Especially, competition can result in trait divergence or convergence depending on whether the trait is related to niche differences or to species’ competitive abilities. 2. In this study, we used a process-based forest gap-model to explore the effect of environmental and biotic assembly processes on the functional diversity of tree communities along a productivity gradient of 11 sites across central Europe. In a simulation experiment, we (i) disentangled the effects of environmental and biotic filtering on community structure, and (ii) tested whether competition resulted in trait divergence or conve...