One of ecology's grand challenges is developing general rules to explain and predict highly
complex systems. Understanding and predicting ecological processes from species' traits …

Trait‐based ecology aims to understand the processes that generate the overarching
diversity of organismal traits and their influence on ecosystem functioning. Achieving this …

Abstract Aim The Hutchinsonian hypervolume is the conceptual foundation for many lines of
ecological and evolutionary inquiry, including functional morphology, comparative biology …

Assessing trait responses to environmental gradients requires the simultaneous analysis of
the information contained in three tables: L (species distribution across samples), R …

Ecology is often said to lack general theories sufficiently predictive for applications. Here, we
examine the concept of a periodic table of niches and feasibility of niche classification …

Past and present pressures on forest resources have led to a drastic decrease in the surface
area of unmanaged forests in Europe. Changes in forest structure, composition, and …

Plants are multifaceted organisms that have evolved numerous solutions to the problem of
establishing, growing and reproducing with limited resources. The intrinsic dimensionality of …

Comparative functional ecology seeks to understand why and how ecological systems and
their components operate differently across environments. Although traditionally used in …

Plants are rife with bacteria and fungi that colonize roots and shoots both externally and
internally. By providing novel nutritional and defense pathways and influencing plant …

Ecology Letters (2010) 13: 267–283 Abstract Predicting changes in community composition
and ecosystem function in a rapidly changing world is a major research challenge in …