Taxonomic and functional diversity of woody plant communities on opposing slopes of inselbergs in southern Brazil

Background: Inselbergs are known to influence vegetation patterns worldwide. In extra-tropical areas, opposing slopes of inselbergs have different exposures to solar radiation; for example, in southern South America, north-facing slopes are more exposed to solar radiation than south-facing slopes, both in terms of angle and period of incidence.Aims: We aim to verify whether species diversity and composition and trait convergence and divergence in woody plant communities are associated with differences in the relative solar radiation intercepted by opposing slopes of inselbergs.Methods: We estimated the relative solar radiation intercepted by opposing slopes of seven inselbergs in southern Brazilian Pampa, applying hill shading estimation (HSE) to a digital elevation model. We recorded woody individuals with a diameter at breast height ≥5 cm in 13 plots placed on north- and south-facing slopes. We tested for the association of species diversity and composition and trait convergence and divergence with HSE....