Intraspecific variability and trait‐based community assembly

Summary 1. Trait‐based approaches applied to community ecology have led to a considerable advance in understanding the effect of environmental filters on species assembly. Although plant traits are known to vary both between and within species, little is known about the role of intraspecific trait variability in the non‐random assembly mechanisms controlling the coexistence of species, including habitat filtering and niche differentiation. 2. We investigate the role of intraspecific variability in three key functional traits – specific leaf area (SLA), leaf dry matter content (LDMC) and height – in structuring grassland communities distributed along a flooding gradient. We quantified the contribution of…