Evolutionary processes involved in generating the variation within and among species across the tree of life (left) provide the raw materials—taxa and their functional traits—for the processes (growth, survival, dispersal) by which individuals interact, leading to coexistence or to competitive exclusion and dominance, in local communities and metacommunities (right).

 
  Part of: Cavender-Bares J, Reich PB, Townsend PA, Banerjee A, Butler E, Desai A, Gevens A, Hobbie SE, Isbell F, Laliberté E, Meireles JE, Menninger H, Pavlick RP, Pinto-Ledezma J, Potter C, Schuman MC, Springer N, Stefanski A, Trivedi P, Trowbridge A, Williams L, Willis CG, Yang Y (2021) BII-Implementation: The causes and consequences of plant biodiversity across scales in a rapidly changing world. Research Ideas and Outcomes 7: e63850. https://doi.org/10.3897/rio.7.e63850