Filtering effect of temporal niche fluctuation and amplitude of environmental variations on the trait-related flowering patterns: lesson from sub-Mediterranean grasslands

Timing of flowering is a critical component of community assembly, but how plant traits respond to heterogeneity of resources has been identified mostly through observations of spatial variations. Thus, we performed a trait-based phenological study in sub-Mediterranean grasslands to assess the importance of temporal variation of resources in the species assemblage processes. We found that early flowering species have traits allowing for slow resource acquisition and storage but rapid growth rate. Instead, mid- and late-flowering species exhibited sets of strategies devoted to minimizing water loss by evapotranspiration or aimed at maximizing the species’ competitive ability, thanks to slow growth rate and more efficient resource acquisition, conservation and use. Our findings were consistent with the fluctuation niche theory. We observed that the amplitude of the environmental fluctuations influences the type and number of strategies positively filtered by the system. In fact, in the most productive grasslands, we observed the highest number of indicator trait states reflecting strategies devoted to the storage of resources and competition for light. Results seem also indicate that temporal variation of resources plays a role in trait differentiation and richness within a plant community, filtering traits composition of grasslands in the same direction, as formerly proved for spatial heterogeneity of resources.