Data from: Beyond the competition-colonization tradeoff: linking multiple trait response to disturbance characteristics

Disturbances’ role in shaping communities is well documented but highly disputed. We suggest replacing the overused two-trait trade-off approach with a functional group scheme, constructed from combinations of four key traits that represent four classes of species’ responses to disturbances. Using model results and field observations from sites affected by two highly different disturbances, we demonstrated that popular dichotomous trade-offs are not sufficient to explain community dynamics, even if some emerge under certain conditions. Without disturbances, competition was only sufficient to predict species survival but not relative success, which required some escape mechanism (e.g., long-term dormancy). With highly predictable and large-scale disturbances, successful species showed a combination of high individual tolerance to disturbance and, more surprisingly, high competitive ability. When disturbances were less predictable, high individual tolerance and long-term seed dormancy were favored, due to higher environmental uncertainty. Our study demonstrates that theories relying on a small number of predefined trade-offs among traits (e.g., competition-colonization trade-off) may lead to unrealistic results. We suggest that the understanding of disturbance-community relationships can be significantly improved by employing sets of relevant trait assemblies instead of the currently common approach in which trade-offs are assumed in advance.

干扰在群落塑造中的作用已有大量文献记载，但同时也存在极大争议。我们提出摒弃过度使用的双性状权衡研究范式，转而采用基于四类关键性状组合构建的功能群分类框架——这四类性状分别对应物种对干扰的四类响应模式。基于两种截然不同干扰类型下的模型结果与野外观测数据，我们的研究表明，主流的二分性状权衡范式不足以解释群落动态，即便部分权衡在特定条件下确实存在。若无干扰发生，种间竞争仅能有效预测物种的存活情况，却无法解释物种的相对生存成功，后者需要依赖特定的逃逸机制（如长期休眠）。当干扰具有高度可预测性且为大规模干扰时，成功存续的物种需同时具备对干扰的高个体耐受能力，以及出人意料的强竞争能力。而当干扰可预测性较低时，由于环境不确定性更高，高个体耐受能力与长期种子休眠则成为优势策略。本研究表明，仅依赖少数预设性状间权衡（如竞争-定殖权衡）的理论，可能得出不符合实际的结论。我们提出，相较于当前普遍采用的预先假定性状权衡的研究范式，通过整合相关性状组合的研究思路，可显著提升对干扰-群落关系的认知水平。