One of ecology's grand challenges is developing general rules to explain and predict highly
complex systems. Understanding and predicting ecological processes from species' traits …

The goal of conservation and restoration activities is to maintain biological diversity and the
ecosystem services that this diversity provides. These activities traditionally focus on the …

Ecosystem functioning relies heavily on below‐ground processes, which are largely
regulated by plant fine‐roots and their functional traits. However, our knowledge of fine‐root …

Humans are altering the composition of biological communities through a variety of activities
that increase rates of species invasions and species extinctions, at all scales, from local to …

In its simplest definition, a trait is a surrogate of organismal performance, and this meaning
of the term has been used by evolutionists for a long time. Over the last three decades …

There is growing recognition that classifying terrestrial plant species on the basis of their
function (into'functional types') rather than their higher taxonomic identity, is a promising way …

The ecological consequences of biodiversity loss have aroused considerable interest and
controversy during the past decade. Major advances have been made in describing the …

Summary 1 The concept of plant functional type proposes that species can be grouped
according to common responses to the environment and/or common effects on ecosystem …

The links between plant diversity and ecosystem functioning remain highly controversial.
There is a growing consensus, however, that functional diversity, or the value and range of …

Functional diversity is a component of biodiversity that generally concerns the range of
things that organisms do in communities and ecosystems. Here, we review how functional …