Functional diversity and coexistence of herbaceous plants in wet, species-rich savannas.

Trait differences among plant species can favor species coexistence. The role that such differences play in the assembly of diverse plant communities maintained by frequent fires remains unresolved. This lack of resolution results in part from the possibility that species with similar traits may coexist because none has a significant fitness advantage and in part from the difficulty of experimental manipulation of highly diverse assemblages dominated by perennial species.

Stochastic losses of fire-dependent endemic herbs revealed by a 65-year chronosequence of dispersal-limited woody plant encroachment.

The factors responsible for maintaining diverse groundcover plant communities of high conservation value in frequently burned wet pine savannas are poorly understood. While most management involves manipulating extrinsic factors important in maintaining species diversity (e.g.