Plant functional traits, which are the key characteristics formed during plants' adaptation to the environment and their long-term evolutionary process, play a pivotal role. They are intricately related to various aspects of plant life, including growth, reproduction, and survival. The interactions among these functional traits collectively dictate the overall plant function. Abundant studies have corroborated that plant traits do not exist in isolation; instead, they collaborate and interact to achieve their respective functions. The leaf traits of plants, for instance, form an elaborate and complex network of relationships. Through regulating the interactions among traits within this network, plants can enhance their adaptability to their living environments, ensuring better survival and development.This study meticulously selects the plant traits of common and occasional species within the subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest of Dinghushan as its research focus. By constructing a comprehensive trait network framework, the aim is to thoroughly reveal the sophisticated adaptation strategies employed by plants in response to their environment. A total of 112 species were carefully selected and classified into 84 common species and 28 occasional species, with this classification being based on their respective abundance levels. Furthermore, 20 plant traits were accurately measured and categorized into distinct groups, namely economic traits, stomatal traits, and energy traits. Concurrently, through the precise calculation of trait-related indicators such as network degree, edge density, and modularity, a detailed plant trait network was constructed.Our research findings indicate that: (1) there exist notable differences in the number and composition of modules within different plant trait networks. Specifically, the trait edge density of common species, which ranges from 0.08 to 0.16, is observed to be lower than that of occasional species. Conversely, the degree of modularity, with a range from 0.27 to 0.38, is higher in common species compared to occasional species. This suggests that common species have a more distinct modular structure, which may imply a more specialized division of functional roles among traits. (2) For common species, unit-mass leaf phosphorus content (P_mass) emerges as the most critical factor in the plant trait network, demonstrating a high degree of network connectivity. In contrast, the contributions of leaf specific hydraulic conductivity (Kl) and stomatal conductance per unit area (gsa) are relatively minimal, indicating lower network degrees. As for occasional species, specific leaf area (SLA) and leaf thickness (Thk) exhibit the highest network degrees, signifying their prominence in the trait network of occasional species. Meanwhile, instantaneous water-use efficiency (WUEi) and unit-mass leaf nitrogen content (N_mass) show lower network degrees, suggesting their relatively less significant roles in this context. (3) Economic traits hold the utmost importance for common species, underpinning their growth and survival strategies. Energy traits, on the other hand, are of paramount significance for occasional species, influencing their adaptability to environmental conditions. Stomatal traits, however, have the lowest importance in the trait network of common species, indicating their less central role in the functional integration of common-species traits.The disparities in trait networks between common and occasional species profoundly reflect the differential collaborative mechanisms between plant traits. These plant trait characteristics and their intricate network-structure framework vividly illustrate the distinct environmental adaptation strategies of common and occasional species. Common species tend to prioritize the connections between economic traits, focusing on resource-acquisition and utilization efficiency. In contrast, occasional species give priority to the synergistic effects between energy traits, aiming to adapt to environmental changes through optimizing energy-capture and-conversion processes.