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| Recent studies have shown that accounting for intraspeci?c trait variation (ITV) may better
address major questions in community ecology. However, a general picture of the relative extent
of ITV compared to interspeci?c trait variation in plant communities is still missing. Here, we
conducted a meta-analysis of the relative extent of ITV within and among plant communities
worldwide, using a data set encompassing 629 communities (plots) and 36 functional traits. Over-
all, ITV accounted for 25% of the total trait variation within communities and 32% of the total
trait variation among communities on average. The relative extent of ITV tended to be greater for
whole-plant (e.g. plant height) vs. organ-level traits and for leaf chemical (e.g. leaf N and P con-
centration) vs. leaf morphological (e.g. leaf area and thickness) traits. The relative amount of ITV
decreased with increasing species richness and spatial extent, but did not vary with plant growth
form or climate. These results highlight global patterns in the relative importance of ITV in plant
communities, providing practical guidelines for when researchers should include ITV in trait-based
community and ecosystem studies. | |
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