Plant life‐form concept
“Results Plant life-forms and PFTs showed a clear pattern within geographic but also climate space, while topography had a minor effect. Phanerophytes mainly contributed to the flora in humid areas. Chamaephytes and hemicryptophytes most strongly contributed to the summit scrub flora and, to some degree, also to the arid coastal regions. Geophytes and therophytes were mainly found in dry coastal regions. N-fixers contributed mainly to warm-arid and cool-arid regions, while succulent species were mainly found in arid coastal regions. Main conclusions Raunkiær’s plant life-form concept can be comprehensively transferred to a subtropical island flora by adapting to local unfavourable growing conditions, that is, aridity. Using the strong environmental gradients offered by our study island, we identify substantial climate-driven variation in patterns of plant life-forms and PFTs that might be used for large-scale comparisons in macroecological studies. The growth strategies reflected in Raunkiær’s plant life-forms suggest differences in species establishment and coexistence dynamics within different parts of the island’s climate space.” You find more details in the article.