Discussion
Across a human-modified landscape consisting of forest fragments
adjacent to contiguous forests, trait-mediated changes in species
abundances revealed that similar environmental gradients act differently
in fragments compared to contiguous forests in the same landscape.
Compositional change in contiguous forest occurred via multiple
environmental factors acting simultaneously to select for combinations
of traits. Notably, fragments had no discernible trait-environment
linkages that mediated compositional change across environmental
gradients. Environmental influence on trait covariance suggests than
constraints on trait combinations may be important criteria to manage
and restore fragments for composition and function.