Identifying the plant traits that determine the outcome of facilitation interactions is essential to understand how communities are assembled and can be restored. Plant facilitation networks are phylogenetically structured but which traits are behind such a pattern is unknown. We sampled plant interactions in stressful ecosystems from south‐eastern Spain to build seedling and adult facilitation networks. We collected 20 morphological and ecophysiological traits for 151 species involved in interactions between 879 nurse individuals benefiting 24 584 seedlings and adults. We detected a significant phenotypic signal in the seedling facilitation network that was maintained in the adult network, whereby functionally similar nurses tended to facilitate functionally similar species whose traits differ from those of their nurses. We provide empirical evidence to support a long‐lasting theoretical postulate stating that facilitation networks are phenotypically structured. Trait matching through which nurse and facilitated species avoid phenotypic overlap, and consequently competition, is the main linkage rule shaping plant facilitation networks.

中文翻译：

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植物促进网络的表型结构

识别决定促进相互作用结果的植物性状对于理解社区如何组装和恢复至关重要。植物促进网络是系统发育的结构，但这种模式背后的特征尚不清楚。我们从西班牙东南部的压力生态系统中采样了植物相互作用，以建立幼苗和成虫促进网络。我们收集了151种物种的20种形态和生态生理特性，这些特性涉及879名护士个体（共24584株幼苗）与成虫之间的相互作用。我们在成年网络中维持的幼苗促进网络中检测到明显的表型信号，从而功能相似的护士倾向于促进性状与其护士特征不同的物种。我们提供经验证据来支持长期存在的理论假设，说明便利网络是表型结构的。通过性状匹配，护士和受助物种避免表型重叠，从而避免竞争，是塑造植物促进网络的主要联系规则。