We investigated bryophyte communities in mature beech forests (Fagus sylvatica L.) and Austrian pine plantations (Pinus nigra J.F. Arnold) on Fruška Gora Mountain (northern Serbia) to examine how stand structure and edaphic conditions influence trait composition and functional diversity. Environmental predictors included soil pH, soil temperature, herbaceous cover, and shrub density, while collinear structural variables were summarized using principal component analysis into a composite structural–moisture gradient. Community–environment relationships were analyzed using redundancy analysis (RDA) with restricted permutations, trait–environment coupling using RLQ and fourth-corner analysis, and functional diversity using Rao’s quadratic entropy (RaoQ). The RDA indicated significant effects of all predictors. RLQ revealed a structured multivariate coupling between bryophyte traits and environmental gradients. Functional diversity was higher in beech forests than in pine plantations, increasing with shrub density and decreasing along the structural–moisture gradient. Overall, plantation stands supported functionally more homogeneous bryophyte assemblages, highlighting the importance of stand structural complexity for maintaining forest-floor bryophytes’ functional diversity.
Ilić et al. (Sun,) studied this question.