Plant Trait-Based Life Strategies of Overlapping Species Differ Between Anthropogenically Disturbed and Conserved Forests

Global forest ecosystems face escalating threats from intensive anthropogenic disturbances. Plants inhabiting forests with contrasting disturbance histories often evolve divergent life history strategies, as reflected in functional trait differences across heterogeneous environments. However, most previous studies have inadequately controlled for the confounding effect of species identity, as anthropogenic disturbances markedly alter community composition; such compositional turnover obscures the precise attribution of trait variation to environmental drivers. In this study, we comprehensively assessed 11 morphological traits and 24 ecological stoichiometry traits across 23 overlapping plant species distributed in both anthropogenically disturbed and well-conserved subtropical forests in eastern China. We systematically evaluated trait characteristics and their implications for life history strategies in disturbed versus conserved forests. Our results revealed that plants in disturbed forests exhibited significantly greater leaf thickness, higher dry matter content and tissue density in twigs, bark, and stems, and elevated leaf dry matter content, accompanied by reduced leaf area and specific leaf area, as well as lower nitrogen concentrations in leaves and twigs and lower phosphorus concentrations in bark and stems. Collectively, these traits reflect a resource-conservative strategy. In contrast, plants in conserved forests displayed opposing trait syndromes, indicative of a resource-acquisitive strategy. Notably, when analyses were restricted to overlapping species, no evidence of reduced functional trait variability was observed in disturbed forests. This study elucidates how anthropogenic disturbances drive divergent plant functional adaptations and enhances regional and global trait databases.