Effect of soil and canopy factors on vegetation of Quercus robur woodland in the boreo-nemoral zone: A plant-trait based approach

Abstract The aim of the study was to determine the effect of soil and canopy on the understory vegetation of Quercus robur stands in Latvia, located in the boreo-nemoral zone. To determine the main processes regulating formation of the plant communities, the understory vegetation of Q. robur stands was described using plant traits. Vegetation and soils were described in 24 plots representing contrasting soil types and tree species composition. Redundancy analysis was used to determine the relation between vegetation, described using plant traits (proportion of species with each trait), and soil and canopy factors. About 50% of the variation in vegetation described by plant traits was explai…