Highlights Clonal traits drive not only the individual plant fitness, but also the whole plant community assembly and ecosystem functioning through their involvement in plant biotic interactions with other micro-and macro-organisms. Clonality influences a wide range of processes in space and over time, and subsequently affects biotic interactions. Clonal traits are thus not only response traits but also effect traits for plant biotic interactions with other organisms (plants, herbivores, pollinators, and fungi).