Changes in the dominant plant strategies with succession.

<p>Stand basal area was used to indicate succession; it increased asymptotically with successional age and reflects successional change in vegetation structure. Functional composition was calculated using the community-weighted mean of species scores on the principal component axes. (a) Dry forest succession (open symbols, broken regression line) was characterized by changes along the first PCA axis (<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0123741#pone.0123741.g001" target="_blank">Fig 1a</a>) and reflected changes from deciduous species to evergreen species that invest in a secure reproductive strategy. (b) Wet forest succession (filled symbols, continuous regression line) was characterized by changes along the second PCA axis (<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0123741#pone.0123741.g001" target="_blank">Fig 1b</a>) and reflected changes from an acquisitive strategy to a conservative strategy. Given is the r², * P < 0.05; ** P < 0.01. See <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0123741#pone.0123741.s002" target="_blank">S1 Fig</a> for the trends with fallow age as an indicator of succession.