1
|
Ma LL, Seibold S, Cadotte MW, Zou JY, Song J, Mo ZQ, Tan SL, Ye LJ, Zheng W, Burgess KS, Chen ZF, Liu DT, Yang XL, Shi XC, Zhao W, Liu J, Li DZ, Gao LM, Luo YH. Niche convergence and biogeographic history shape elevational tree community assembly in a subtropical mountain forest. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 935:173343. [PMID: 38777069 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.173343] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2024] [Revised: 05/16/2024] [Accepted: 05/16/2024] [Indexed: 05/25/2024]
Abstract
Niche convergence or conservatism have been proposed as essential mechanisms underlying elevational plant community assembly in tropical mountain ecosystems. Subtropical mountains, compared to tropical mountains, are likely to be shaped by a mixing of different geographic affinities of species and remain somehow unclear. Here, we used 31 0.1-ha permanent plots distributed in subtropical forests on the eastern and western aspects of the Gaoligong Mountains, southwest China between 1498 m and 3204 m a.sl. to evaluate how niche-based and biogeographic processes shape tree community assembly along elevational gradients. We analyzed the elevational patterns of taxonomic, phylogenetic and functional diversity, as well as of individual traits, and assessed the relative importance of environmental effects on these diversity measures. We then classified tree species as being either tropical affiliated or temperate affiliated and estimated their contribution to the composition of biogeographic affinities. Species richness decreased with elevation, and species composition showed apparent turnover across the aspects and elevations. Most traits exhibited convergent patterns across the entire elevational gradient. Phylogenetic and functional diversity showed opposing patterns, with phylogenetic diversity increasing and functional diversity decreasing with elevation. Soil nutrients, especially phosphorus and nitrogen, appeared to be the main abiotic variables driving the elevational diversity patterns. Communities at lower elevations were occupied by tropical genera, while highlands contained species of tropical and temperate biogeographic affinities. Moreover, the high phylogenetic diversity at high elevations were likely due to differences in evolutionary history between temperate and tropical species. Our results highlight the importance of niche convergence of tropical species and the legacy of biogeographic history on the composition and structure of subtropical mountain forests. Furthermore, limited soil phosphorus caused traits divergence and the partitioning for different forms of phosphorus may explain the high biodiversity found in phosphorus-limited subtropical forests.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Liang-Liang Ma
- State Key Laboratory of Plant Diversity and Specialty Crops, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China; Germplasm Bank of Wild Species, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Sebastian Seibold
- TUD Dresden University of Technology, Forest Zoology, Tharandt, Germany
| | - Marc W Cadotte
- Biological Sciences, University of Toronto-Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Jia-Yun Zou
- State Key Laboratory of Plant Diversity and Specialty Crops, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China; TUD Dresden University of Technology, Forest Zoology, Tharandt, Germany; Ecosystem Dynamics and Forest Management Research Group, Department for Ecology and Ecosystem Management, Technical University of Munich, Freising, Germany
| | - Jie Song
- State Key Laboratory of Plant Diversity and Specialty Crops, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Zhi-Qiong Mo
- State Key Laboratory of Plant Diversity and Specialty Crops, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Shao-Lin Tan
- State Key Laboratory of Plant Diversity and Specialty Crops, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China
| | - Lin-Jiang Ye
- State Key Laboratory of Plant Diversity and Specialty Crops, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China
| | - Wei Zheng
- State Key Laboratory of Plant Diversity and Specialty Crops, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China
| | - Kevin S Burgess
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Mercer University School of Medicine, Columbus, GA, USA
| | - Zhi-Fa Chen
- Kunming Botanical Garden, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China
| | - De-Tuan Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Plant Diversity and Specialty Crops, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China; Yunnan Key Laboratory for Integrative Conservation of Plant Species with Extremely Small Populations, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China
| | - Xing-Liang Yang
- Gaoligongshan National Nature Reserve Baoshan Bureau, Baoshan, China
| | - Xiao-Chun Shi
- Gaoligongshan National Nature Reserve Baoshan Bureau, Baoshan, China
| | - Wei Zhao
- Gaoligongshan National Nature Reserve Baoshan Bureau, Baoshan, China
| | - Jie Liu
- Germplasm Bank of Wild Species, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China.
| | - De-Zhu Li
- Germplasm Bank of Wild Species, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; Lijiang Forest Biodiversity National Observation and Research Station, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lijiang, China
| | - Lian-Ming Gao
- State Key Laboratory of Plant Diversity and Specialty Crops, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China; Lijiang Forest Biodiversity National Observation and Research Station, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lijiang, China.
| | - Ya-Huang Luo
- State Key Laboratory of Plant Diversity and Specialty Crops, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China; Lijiang Forest Biodiversity National Observation and Research Station, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lijiang, China.
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Rodríguez-León CH, Roa-Fuentes LL, Sterling A, Suárez JC. Plant-Community Vulnerability in Highly Fragmented Landscapes Is Higher in Secondary Forests Than in Old Growth Forests in the Andean-Amazonian Transition. PLANTS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2022; 11:3284. [PMID: 36501322 PMCID: PMC9739964 DOI: 10.3390/plants11233284] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2022] [Revised: 11/05/2022] [Accepted: 11/08/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Increasing biodiversity in highly diverse plant communities can jointly increase ecosystem function and ecosystem vulnerability. This paradox requires further attention. This study analyzed the functional response of plant communities to above- and below-ground parameters along the chronosequence (degraded pastures (DP), early forests (EF), intermediate forests (IF), and old-growth forests (OF)) in two highly fragmented landscapes of the Colombian Amazon as an estimate of the level of functional vulnerability. Three sets of functional attributes were evaluated: (i) functional composition based on the community-weighted mean (CWM) of five traits; (ii) functional diversity based on the multi-trait indices and functional dispersion (FDis) of each individual trait; and (iii) the functional vulnerability at the community-level and species-level. The individual traits did not show a clear pattern along the chronosequence. However, the trend indicated an increase in the values of resource conservation traits with the age of abandonment. The functional response of the community did not vary between landscapes. Between DP and OF, there was a significant increase in functional diversity and a decrease in functional redundancy, which increased community-level vulnerability. Consequently, the more vulnerable species were observed in the IF and OF plots. In addition, a decrease in environmental parameters, such as penetration resistance, bulk density and Ca content, and an increase in slope, precipitation, electric conductivity, pH, clay, organic material, and P and N contents increased the vulnerability. We elucidated the need for secondary forest management in terms of conservation and restoration to maintain the capacity to respond to changing environmental conditions in highly fragmented landscapes in the Andean-Amazonian transition.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Carlos H. Rodríguez-León
- Doctorado en Ciencias Naturales y Desarrollo Sustentable, Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias, Universidad de la Amazonía, Florencia 180001, Colombia
- Programa Modelos de Funcionamiento y Sostenibilidad, Instituto Amazónico de Investigaciones Científicas SINCHI, Florencia 180001, Colombia
| | - Lilia L. Roa-Fuentes
- Departamento de Ecología y Territorio, Facultad de Estudios Ambientales y Rurales, Pontifica Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá 110231, Colombia
| | - Armando Sterling
- Programa Modelos de Funcionamiento y Sostenibilidad, Instituto Amazónico de Investigaciones Científicas SINCHI, Florencia 180001, Colombia
- Programa de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias Básicas, Universidad de la Amazonía, Florencia 180001, Colombia
| | - Juan Carlos Suárez
- Laboratorio de Ecofisiología, Centro de Investigaciones Amazónicas CIMAZ-MACAGUAL, Universidad de la Amazonía, Florencia 180001, Colombia
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Li H, Luo P, Yang H, Luo C, Xie W, Jia H, Cheng Y, Huang Y. Assessing the effect of roads on mountain plant diversity beyond species richness. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2022; 13:985673. [PMID: 36226279 PMCID: PMC9549253 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2022.985673] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2022] [Accepted: 09/12/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
A comprehensive understanding of the effects of mountain roads on plant diversity is critical to finding the most effective solutions for managing this particular driver. Little is known, however, about the simultaneous effects that road have on the multiple facets of biodiversity, although roads are considered to be one of the major disturbances in the Qionglai mountain range. In this study, we analyzed the impact of roads on the multiple facets of plant diversity (taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic diversity) in the study area using Hill numbers by comparing plant diversity between roadside and interior plots at the landscape scale, then, we used linear mixed models to analyze the effect of mountain roads on the multiple facets of plant diversity along an elevational gradient. The results showed that the roadside plots lacked 29.45% of the total number of species with particular functional traits (such as a relatively high specific leaf area (SLA), a relatively low leaf dry matter content (LDMC) and relatively old clades) and exclusively contained 14.62% of the total number of species. Compared with the interior community, the taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic diversity of roadside community decreased by no more than 26.78%, 24.90% and 16.62%, respectively. Taxonomic and functional diversity of dominant and common species showed greater changes to road disturbances, while rare species showed the greatest change in phylogenetic diversity. Taxonomic homogenization of roadside communities was accompanied by functional and phylogenetic homogenization. Additionally, the impact of roads on these three facets of plant diversity showed the characteristics of peak clipping along the elevation gradient. Our findings highlight the negative impact of roads on the taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic diversity of the Qionglai mountain range, as roads promote communities that are more similar in taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic composition, and to a greater extent contributed to compositional evenness. These effects tend to be functionally and phylogenetically non-random, and species in some clades or with some functional traits are at higher risk of loss. Our results are important for the conservation and management of nature reserves, especially for local governments aiming to create new infrastructure to connect natural mountainous areas.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Honglin Li
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mountain Ecological Restoration and Bioresource Utilization & Ecological Restoration and Biodiversity Conservation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, China
- College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Peng Luo
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mountain Ecological Restoration and Bioresource Utilization & Ecological Restoration and Biodiversity Conservation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, China
- College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Hao Yang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mountain Ecological Restoration and Bioresource Utilization & Ecological Restoration and Biodiversity Conservation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, China
| | - Chuan Luo
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mountain Ecological Restoration and Bioresource Utilization & Ecological Restoration and Biodiversity Conservation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, China
- College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Wenwen Xie
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mountain Ecological Restoration and Bioresource Utilization & Ecological Restoration and Biodiversity Conservation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, China
- College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Honghong Jia
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mountain Ecological Restoration and Bioresource Utilization & Ecological Restoration and Biodiversity Conservation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, China
- College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yue Cheng
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mountain Ecological Restoration and Bioresource Utilization & Ecological Restoration and Biodiversity Conservation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, China
- College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yu Huang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mountain Ecological Restoration and Bioresource Utilization & Ecological Restoration and Biodiversity Conservation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, China
- College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Zhang S, Zang R, Sheil D. Rare and common species contribute disproportionately to the functional variation within tropical forests. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2022; 304:114332. [PMID: 34933270 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.114332] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2021] [Revised: 10/28/2021] [Accepted: 12/16/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Understanding how functional traits and functional entities (FEs, i.e., unique combinations of functional traits) are distributed within plant communities can contribute to the understanding of vegetation properties and changes in species composition. We utilized investigation data on woody plants (including trees, shrubs and lianas) from 17 1-ha plots across six old-growth tropical forest types on Hainan island, China. Plant species were categorized as common (>1 individuals/ha) and rare species (≤1 individuals/ha) according to their abundance to determine how they contributed to different ecosystem functions. First, we assessed the differences in traits between common and rare species, and second, we examined functional redundancy, functional over-redundancy, and functional vulnerability for common and rare species of the forests. We found that both common species and rare species in each of the forest types were placed into just a few FEs, leading to functional over-redundancy and resulting in functional vulnerability. Rare species tended to have different trait values than those of common species, and were differently distributed among FEs, indicating different contributions to ecosystem functioning. Our results highlighted the disproportionate contribution of rare species in all of the studied forests. Rare species are more likely than common species to possess unique FEs, and thus, they have a disproportionately large contribution to community trait space. The loss of such species may impact the functioning, redundancy, and resilience of tropical forests.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Shuzi Zhang
- Hebei Academy of Forestry and Grassland Sciences, Shijiazhuang, Hebei, 050061, China; Institute of Forest Ecology, Environment and Nature Conservation, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Environment of National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Beijing 100091, China; Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, 210037, China
| | - Runguo Zang
- Institute of Forest Ecology, Environment and Nature Conservation, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Environment of National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Beijing 100091, China; Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, 210037, China.
| | - Douglas Sheil
- Forest Ecology and Forest Management Group, Wageningen University and Research, PO Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands; Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), Situ Gede, Bogor Barat, Jawa Barat 16115, Indonesia
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Monge‐González ML, Guerrero‐Ramírez N, Krömer T, Kreft H, Craven D. Functional diversity and redundancy of tropical forests shift with elevation and forest‐use intensity. J Appl Ecol 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.13955] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Thorsten Krömer
- Centro de Investigaciones Tropicales Universidad Veracruzana Xalapa Mexico
| | - Holger Kreft
- Biodiversity, Macroecology and Biogeography University of Goettingen Göttingen Germany
- Centre of Biodiversity and Sustainable Land Use (CBL) University of Goettingen Göttingen Germany
| | - Dylan Craven
- Biodiversity, Macroecology and Biogeography University of Goettingen Göttingen Germany
- Centro de Modelación y Monitoreo de Ecosistemas Facultad de Ciencias Universidad Mayor Santiago Chile
| |
Collapse
|