Biomass as a function of the elevation and multi-element traits based functional diversity. (IMAGE)
Caption
Experimental design, including (a) the location of the Kangchenjunga Landscape in the eastern Himalayas, Nepal, (b) the situation of forest plots along the whole elevational gradient, and (c) hypothetical framework of element-based trait diversity and (d) declining biomass along the study gradient. The framework shows mass-ratio (focusing on community weighted mean, CWM, where trait value of different species was symbolized as arrows pointing upward) and complementarity effects (focusing on functional divergence, FD, where E1 to E5 indicate 5 elements in tree leaves and represent niche partitioning in the trait space. The elevation gradient is characterized by: low (elevation < 1000 m), mid (elevation 1000-3000 m), and high-elevation sites (elevation > 3000 m).
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