The importance of trait selection in ecology

In his 'traits manifesto', Reich3 hypothesized that strong selection along trait trade-offs must result in convergence for any taxon on a uniformly fast, medium or slow strategy for all organs (leaves, stems and roots) and all resources (carbon, nitrogen and water). [...]although rotated PCA axes remain orthogonal, the representation of underlying variables may not9. Notably, the full decoupling between root and leaf traits is visible only in the rotated form. A better functional understanding of traits above and belowground will improve our understanding of the role of plant traits in shaping the responses of plant communities and ecosystems in a rapidly changing world.