A summary table of whether the predicted correlation results for both the GTS and BCI forest plots were supported in this study.

The correlations were calculated between the soil PC axes and the species-level or quadrat-level trait value. The table depicts whether the prediction was significant and supported the prediction (+), was significant and did not support the prediction (−) or was non-significant (NS). Phylogenetically independent contrasts (PICs) and torus translation simulations were utilized to correct for evolutionary non-independence in the species-level analyses and spatial auto-correlation in the quadrat-level analyses respectively. LA: leaf area; SLA: specific leaf area; SM: seed mass; WD: wood density; Hmax: maximum height.