Table 3.
List of traits retained, abbreviations and units, if not categorical: six are known to be variable within species according to abiotic and/or biotic conditions, while the remaining ten are considered stable within species across treatments. If a particular species is found in more than one treatment at a given site, variable traits are therefore measured in each treatment for this species, while stable traits are measured only once at a given site
| Abbreviation | Unit | |
|---|---|---|
| Variable traits | ||
| Clonality | – | Categorical |
| Vegetative plant height | VPH | cm |
| Reproductive plant height | RPH | cm |
| Leaf nitrogen concentration | LNC | mg g−1 |
| Leaf phosphorus concentration | LPC | mg g−1 |
| Onset of flowering | OFL | day of year |
| Stable traits* | ||
| Life history | – | Categorical |
| Plant height from floras | FPH | cm |
| Specific leaf area | SLA | m2 kg−1 |
| Leaf dry matter content | LDMC | mg g−1 |
| Stem dry matter content | StDMC | mg g−1 |
| Leaf carbon concentration | LCC | mg g−1 |
| Seed mass | SM | mg |
| Dispersal mode | – | Categorical |
| Pollination mode | – | Categorical |
| Grazing defences | – | Categorical |
*At some sites, all traits were considered as ‘variable’, and were therefore measured in all treatments (see text for details).