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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.
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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.
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Jõks M, Helm A, Kasari-Toussaint L, Kook E, Lutter R, Noreika N, Oja E, Öpik M, Randlane T, Reier Ü, Riibak K, Saag A, Tullus H, Tullus T, Pärtel M. A simulation model of functional habitat connectivity demonstrates the importance of species establishment in older forests. Ecol Modell 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2023.110361] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/29/2023]
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Liu S, Moora M, Vasar M, Zobel M, Öpik M, Koorem K. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi promote small-scale vegetation recovery in the forest understorey. Oecologia 2021; 197:685-697. [PMID: 34716490 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-021-05065-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2021] [Accepted: 10/17/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Root-associating arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi foster vegetation recovery in degraded habitats. AM fungi increase nutrient availability for host plants; therefore, their importance is expected to be higher when nutrient availability is low. However, little is known about how small-scale variation in nutrient availability influences plant and AM fungal communities in a stable ecosystem. We conducted a 2-year field study in the understorey of a boreonemoral forest where we examined plant and AM fungal communities at microsites (15 cm diameter) with intact vegetation cover and at disturbed microsites where vegetation was cleared away and soil was sterilized to remove soil biota. We manipulated soil nutrient content (increased with fertilizer, unchanged, or decreased with sucrose addition) and fungal activity (natural or suppressed by fungicide addition) at these microsites. After two vegetation seasons, manipulations with nutrient content resulted in significant, although moderate, differences in the content of soil nutrients (e.g. in soil phosphorus). Suppression of fungal activity resulted in lower richness, abundance and phylogenetic diversity of AM fungal community, independently of microsite type and soil fertility level. Plant species richness and diversity decreased when fungal activity was suppressed at disturbed but not in intact microsites. The correlation between plant and AM fungal communities was not influenced by microsite type or soil fertility. We conclude that small-scale variation in soil fertility and habitat integrity does not influence the interactions between plants and AM fungi. The richness, but not composition, of AM fungal communities recovered fast after small-scale disturbance and supported the recovery of species-rich vegetation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Siqiao Liu
- Department of Botany, Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia.
| | - Mari Moora
- Department of Botany, Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Martti Vasar
- Department of Botany, Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Martin Zobel
- Department of Botany, Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Maarja Öpik
- Department of Botany, Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Kadri Koorem
- Department of Botany, Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
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Habitat Models of Focal Species Can Link Ecology and Decision-Making in Sustainable Forest Management. FORESTS 2020. [DOI: 10.3390/f11070721] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
A fundamental problem of sustainability is how to reduce the double complexity of ecological and social systems into simple operational terms. We highlight that the conservation concept of focal species (selected species sensitive to a set of anthropogenic threats to their habitat) links multiple issues of ecological sustainability, and their habitat models can provide a practical tool for solving these issues. A review of the literature shows that most spatial modeling of focal species focuses on vertebrates, lacks the aspect of aquatic and soil habitats, and has been slow in the uptake by actual management planning. We elaborate on a deductive modeling approach that first generalizes the main influential dimensions of habitat change (threats), which are then parameterized as habitat quality estimates for focal species. If built on theoretical understanding and properly scaled, the maps produced with such models can cost-effectively describe the dynamics of ecological qualities across forest landscapes, help set conservation priorities, and reflect on management plans and practices. The models also serve as ecological hypotheses on biodiversity and landscape function. We illustrate this approach based on recent additions to the forest reserve network in Estonia, which addressed the insufficient protection of productive forest types. For this purpose, mostly former production forests that may require restoration were set aside. We distinguished seven major habitat dimensions and their representative taxa in these forests and depicted each dimension as a practical stand-scale decision tree of habitat quality. The model outcomes implied that popular stand-structural targets of active forest restoration would recover passively in reasonable time in these areas, while a critically degraded condition (loss of old trees of characteristic species) required management beyond reserve borders. Another hidden issue revealed was that only a few stands of consistently low habitat quality concentrated in the landscape to allow cost-efficient restoration planning. We conclude that useful habitat models for sustainable forest management have to balance single-species realism with stakeholder expectations of meaningful targets and scales. Addressing such social aspects through the focal species concept could accelerate the adoption of biodiversity distribution modeling in forestry.
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