Undergrad-led research at KSR finds that abiotic factors underlie trait‐based competition and community assembly
Using an invasion experiment, we asked how plant functional traits affect plant fitness in fragments that differ in abiotic conditions and in their resident communities. Our results show that the abiotic environment mediates the effects of both resident and invader traits on invader establishment. We conclude that abiotic and biotic factors combine to create fitness landscapes that structure local diversity and determine the functional identities of successful species.