中国森林生物多样性监测网络(CForBio):二十年进展与展望

大型森林动态监测样地是研究群落尺度森林动态变化的最优途径之一。中国森林生物多样性监测网络(CForBio)始建于2004年,是全球森林生物多样性监测网络(ForestGEO)最活跃的组成部分之一。CForBio森林动态监测样地一般为20ha,同时建立3–5个1–3ha辅助样地,以统一技术规范对胸径≥1 cm的木本植物进行定位监测,旨在长期监测中国主要森林类型的生物多样性格局与动态,研究其形成和维持机制。本文简要介绍了CForBio的概况、主样地建设、数据共享、能力建设、基于长期监测数据的主要科学发现以及科学支撑和服务,夯实CForBio监测与研究、拓展专题网络并加强能力建设,可为以监测数据为基础的森林生物多样性保护管理决策以及国际履约提供科学依据。     

秦岭皇冠暖温性落叶阔叶林物种组成与群落结构

秦岭是典型的暖温带-亚热带过渡区。中国森林生物多样性监测网络(CForBio)现有的样地已经基本覆盖了中国大多数气候区,但位于气候过渡带的样地较少。本研究参照CForBio和CTFS(Center for Tropical Forest Science)的技术规范,于2019年在陕西皇冠山省级自然保护区内建立25 hm²(500 m×500 m)森林动态监测样地。本研究以样地内胸径(DBH)≥1 cm的所有木本植物为对象,分析了物种组成、区系特征、径级结构以及优势树种的空间分布格局。结果表明: 样地内DBH≥1 cm的木本植物独立个体有75137株(包括分枝的个体数为95679株),隶属于44科83属121种。群落属的区系类型主要为温带成分,占总属数的71.1%,同时混有一些热带成分。群落优势种明显,前5个物种的个体数超过总个体数的40%,前50个物种的个体数占总个体数的95%,其余61个物种个体数不到样地总个体数的5%。样地所有木本植物个体总径级分布呈倒“J”型。重要值>5的4个主要物种的空间分布呈现不同的分布格局。随着尺度增大,种内的聚集程度降低,且不同物种的空间分布都受到环境异质性的影响。秦岭暖温性落叶阔叶林物种组成丰富,群落结构稳定,更新良好,反映了暖温带向亚热带过渡的典型特征,且环境异质性可能是影响该样地树种空间分布的重要因素。     

次生常绿阔叶林的群落结构与物种组成:基于浙江乌岩岭9 ha森林动态样地

常绿阔叶林是我国亚热带地区的地带性植被, 但由于长期的人为干扰, 目前仅有少量分布且主要以次生常绿阔叶林的形式存在。因此, 了解次生常绿阔叶林的物种共存机制对于保护森林生物多样性非常重要。基于大型动态监测样地对森林的物种组成及群落结构进行研究, 是揭示生物多样性维持机制的重要手段。按照美国史密森研究院热带森林科学研究中心(Center for Tropical Forest Science, CTFS)大型森林动态样地建设标准, 于2011-2012年在浙江省乌岩岭国家级自然保护区内建立了1个9 ha森林动态监测样地。通过对样地内胸径≥ 1 cm木本植物的物种组成(如重要值)、群落结构(如区系组成和径级结构等)以及空间分布的分析发现: (1)样地有木本植物存活个体47科92属200种71,396株, 其中壳斗科、樟科、山茶科、冬青科、杜鹃花科和山矾科等占优势; (2)在区系组成上, 热带成分略多于温带成分; (3)群落径级结构接近倒“J”型, 表明群落更新良好, 其中优势种径级结构呈倒“J”型、偏常态型和波动型等各种形态, 且并未表现出种群衰退的趋势; (4)优势种表现出明显的生境偏好和聚集分布格局, 暗示生境异质性可能是影响亚热带次生常绿阔叶林物种空间分布的重要因素。     

物种多度和径级尺度对于评价群落系统发育结构的影响: 以尖峰岭热带山地雨林为例

研究不同径级尺度群落系统发育多样性有助于了解不同年龄模式下物种的亲缘关系及其群落系统发育结构; 但是关于物种多度对群落系统发育结构影响的研究较少。以海南尖峰岭热带山地雨林群落为例, 首先在不同径级尺度比较物种多度加权与否分别对4个广泛采用的系统发育指数的影响, 继而利用其中2个经过标准化处理的系统发育多样性指数: 净种间亲缘关系指数(net relatedness index, NRI)和净最近种间亲缘关系指数(nearest taxon index, NTI), 结合群落的生境类型来量度不同局域生境条件下不同径级尺度木本植物系统发育关系。结果发现: (1)未考虑物种多度加权的系统发育平均成对距离(mean pairwise distance, MPD)指数比考虑物种多度加权的MPD指数显著地高估了群落整体系统发育多样性, 且这种现象在小径级尺度(1 cm≤DBH<5 cm)最为明显。因此, 在森林监测样地中对于中、小径级群落系统发育结构研究中建议考虑物种多度信息。(2) 从群落组成整体系统发育结构来看, 尖峰岭热带山地雨林在几乎所有径级尺度和生境下均倾向于系统发育发散, 且随着径级的递增发散程度趋于明显(NRI<0)。(3)从群落组成局部系统发育结构来看, 尖峰岭热带山地雨林在中、小径级倾向于系统发育聚集(NTI>0), 而在大径级(DBH≥15 cm)则倾向于系统发育发散(NTI<0)。总之, 研究群落系统发育结构时应考虑物种多度的影响以及径级尺度效应。     

古田山中亚热带常绿阔叶林群落物种多样性的空间变异特征

古田山常绿阔叶林的群落组成、结构及其维持机制已有许多研究, 但该地区亚热带常绿阔叶林生物多样性空间变异特征还缺乏认识。本文以古田山24 ha大样地(划分为24个1 ha小样地)为基础, 具体分析了α多样性和β多样性在1 ha尺度上的空间变异特征。结果表明: (1)群落第一、二优势物种在各小样地之间变化不大, 但第三优势种变化较大; (2) α多样性变化中, 样地间木本植物个体数量变异最大, 物种丰富度其次, Pielou均匀度指数变异性最小; (3)物种丰富度与植株个体数量、Pielou均匀度指数没有显著的相关性, 与Shannon-Wiener指数呈显著正相关; Shannon-Wiener指数与Pielou均匀度指数呈显著正相关; (4)相邻样地间物种替代速率空间变异较大, 与物种丰富度的空间变化格局有明显差异。这些结果说明尺度对认识群落结构、探讨群落维持机制有重要作用; 由于森林群落是多尺度生态过程作用的结果, 大尺度样地可能有利于更好地揭示森林群落维持机制。     

浙江遂昌马尾松林物种和谱系β多样性驱动因子分析

生境过滤和扩散限制是影响森林群落间物种组成差异(β多样性)的主要生态过程。为了探究生境过滤和扩散限制对亚热带马尾松(Pinus massoniana)群落物种和谱系β多样性的相对贡献,该文以浙江省遂昌县37个马尾松林样地为研究对象,结合物种和谱系β多样性分析,探讨了影响群落间物种组成差异主要生态机制; 通过计算群落内物种β多样性指数(Bray-Curtis指数)和谱系β多样性指数(Dnn指数和Dpw指数),分析土壤、地形等生境因子和地理距离与物种和谱系β多样性之间的相关性,并通过方差分解分析生境因子和地理距离对物种和谱系β多样性的相对作用大小; 此外,还进行了不同径级和生长型的上述相关性分析和方差分解。结果表明:(1)Bray-Curtis指数与土壤、地形因子和地理距离均显著正相关,Dnn指数仅与地理距离显著正相关,Dpw指数与土壤因子和地理距离均显著正相关。(2)环境因子对Bray-Curtis指数和Dpw指数的解释度均高于地理距离的解释度。(3)从物种多样性角度来说,生境因子对不同生长阶段Bray-Curtis指数的解释度均高于地理距离的解释度; 从谱系多样性角度来说,地理距离对幼树阶段的Dnn指数和Dpw指数的解释度更高,生境因子则对成树阶段的Dpw指数的解释度更高。由此可以推论,生境过滤是驱动该地区马尾松林物种和谱系β多样性的主要生态机制,扩散限制仅在幼树阶段对马尾松林谱系β多样性起主导作用。     

秦岭落叶阔叶林25 ha森林动态监测样地物种组成与群落特征

秦岭落叶阔叶林是温带-亚热带过渡区保存较好的植被类型, 群落结构复杂。为了研究该过渡区植被的生物多样性维持机制, 按照CTFS (Center for tropical Forest Science)和中国森林生物多样性监测网络(CForBio)的建设标准, 于2015年在陕西省佛坪国家级自然保护区的落叶阔叶林建立了一块面积25 ha的动态监测样地。本文对样地内胸径(DBH) ≥ 1 cm的所有木本植物进行了调查和统计, 分析了其物种组成、区系特征、径级结构和空间分布格局。结果表明: 样地内DBH ≥ 1 cm的木本植物独立个体有47,739株, 隶属于36科66属119种。温带区系成分的科和属分别占总科数和总属数的41.18%和60.00%, 温带区系特征明显。稀有种有51种, 占总树种的42.86%。落叶树种有106种, 占总树种的89.07%, 在样地内占绝对优势。重要值≥ 1的物种共有20个, 分别占样地总个体数和总胸高断面积的70.35%和57.41%, 重要值最大的物种分别是乔木层的锐齿栎(Quercus aliena var. acutesrrata)、亚乔木层的水榆花楸(Sorbus alnifolia)和灌木层的刺叶栎(Q. spinosa)。样地内所有个体的平均胸径为8.61 cm, 整体径级分布呈倒”J”型, 小径级个体较多, 群落更新良好。除了太白杨(Populus purdomii), 样地内优势种表现出大尺度的聚集分布, 且它们的分布与生境紧密相关, 不同物种表现出不同的生境偏好。     

秦岭西部森林群落相似性递减格局及其影响因素

群落间物种组成的相似性递减格局与生境过滤、空间过程密切相关,探索其成因涉及到群落构建机制等生态学核心问题。本研究以秦岭西部森林群落为研究对象,运用Mantel检验和基于距离矩阵的多元回归方法,探究了不同生态因子对群落相似性变异的贡献,并通过置换检验比较不同生活型之间相似性的空间递减率差异。结果显示:(1)3种生活型物种组成相似性与地理距离、海拔距离、局地生境异质性差异均呈显著递减趋势;(2)地理距离与生境差异作为主导因子,分别共同解释乔木、灌木和草本群落相似性变异的41.1%、59.0%和47.4%,且地理距离的单独解释率均大于生境过滤的单独解释率;(3)不同生活型相似性在空间上的递减率大小关系为:乔木灌木草本,表明物种因扩散能力的不同而对空间阻隔效应的响应存在差异。本研究初步确定扩散限制与生境过滤共同主导了秦岭西部森林群落的构建过程,且扩散限制所起作用更为显著。     

基于PGGB途径优化桫椤组织培养繁殖体系研究

该研究以龙溪-虹口国家级自然保护区内11个典型地震滑坡体为研究对象,采用非度量多维尺度分析(NMDS)和相似性分析(ANOSIM)初步探讨了β多样性海拔格局,并运用Mantel检验和基于距离矩阵的多元回归方法(MRM)进一步分析不同生态因子对群落β多样性变异的贡献,以揭示地震干扰后滑坡体植物群落β多样性的响应机制及生物多样性形成和维持机制。结果表明：(1)随着海拔的升高,木本植物β多样性表现出单调递减格局,而草本植物β多样性则表现出“U”形变化格局,滑坡体植物群落组成和结构在海拔梯度上存在显著的差异(P< 0.001)。(2)草本植物和木本植物β多样性与地理距离、海拔距离、局地生境差异均呈显著递增趋势(P< 0.001),地理距离和海拔距离是引起群落物种组成变化的关键因子,且海拔距离的重要性均大于地理距离。(3)地理距离和生境差异作为主导因子,分别共同解释了木本和草本β多样性变异的61.52%和40.91%,且环境差异单独解释率均大于地理距离单独解释率。(4)环境差异和地理距离对木本植物β多样性的作用均强于草本植物。研究认为,生境过滤和扩散限制共同影响着地震滑坡体植物群落的β多样性格局,且生境过滤所起作用更为显著。     

西湖风景名胜区不同类型森林群落的空间分布及β多样性

通过样地调查方法、TWINSPAN、β多样性指数和DCA、CCA排序分析,研究了杭州西湖风景名胜区不同森林群落的空间分布及物种多样性沿距离梯度的分布规律.结果表明:(1)TWINSPAN和DCA分析显示,43个调查样方可分为6种群落类型,不同群落类型的生境条件和群落组成均有一定的差异.(2)随着样地间距离的增大,群落间的Sorensen指数有逐渐变小的趋势,但不一定呈规律性的减少.(3)对43个样地不同种群的生境因子(包括坡向、坡度、坡位、海拔、郁闭度等)和物种优势度的CCA分析结果显示,影响光照和水分分布的主要生境因子海拔、郁闭度和坡位对西湖山区植物群落的分布以及种群的数量特征等具有重要影响.总体而言,物种扩散限制和生境条件变化是影响森林群落β多样性的主要因子.     

From species distributions to meta‐communities

The extent that biotic interactions and dispersal influence species ranges and diversity patterns across scales remains an open question. Answering this question requires framing an analysis on the frontier between species distribution modelling (SDM), which ignores biotic interactions and dispersal limitation, and community ecology, which provides specific predictions on community and meta‐community structure and resulting diversity patterns such as species richness and functional diversity. Using both empirical and simulated datasets, we tested whether predicted occurrences from fine‐resolution SDMs provide good estimates of community structure and diversity patterns at resolutions ranging from a resolution typical of studies within reserves (250 m) to that typical of a regional biodiversity study (5 km). For both datasets, we show that the imprint of biotic interactions and dispersal limitation quickly vanishes when spatial resolution is reduced, which demonstrates the value of SDMs for tracking the imprint of community assembly processes across scales.     

Biogeographic responses and niche occupancy of microbial communities following long-term land-use change

Understanding the effects of forest-to-agriculture conversion on microbial diversity has been a major goal in soil ecological studies. However, linking community assembly to the ruling ecological processes at local and regional scales remains challenging. Here, we evaluated bacterial community assembly patterns and the ecological processes governing niche specialization in a gradient of geography, seasonality, and land-use change, totaling 324 soil samples, 43 habitat characteristics (abiotic factors), and 16 metabolic and co-occurrence patterns (biotic factors), in the Brazilian Atlantic Rainforest, a subtropical biome recognized as one the world’s largest and most threatened hotspots of biodiversity. Pairwise beta diversities were lower in pastures than in forest and no-till soils. Pasture communities showed a predominantly neutral model, regarding stochastic processes, with moderate dispersion, leading to biotic homogenization. Most no-till and forest microbial communities followed a niche-based model, with low rates of dispersal and weak homogenizing selection, indicating niche specialization or variable selection. Historical and evolutionary contingencies, as represented by soil type, season, and dispersal limitation were the main drivers of microbial assembly and processes at the local scale, markedly correlated with the occurrence of endemic microbes. Our results indicate that the patterns of assembly and their governing processes are dependent on the niche occupancy of the taxa evaluated (generalists or specialists). They are also more correlated with historical and evolutionary contingencies and the interactions among taxa (i.e., co-occurrence patterns) than the land-use change itself.

     

The composition of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal communities in the roots of a ruderal forb is not related to the forest fragmentation process

Land‐use changes and forest fragmentation have strong impact on biodiversity. However, little is known about the influence of new landscape configurations on arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal (AMF) community composition. We used 454 pyrosequencing to assess AMF diversity in plant roots from a fragmented forest. We detected 59 virtual taxa (VT; phylogenetically defined operational taxonomic units) of AMF – including 10 new VT – in the roots of Euphorbia acerensis. AMF communities were mainly composed of members of family Glomeraceae and were similar throughout the fragmented landscape, despite variation in forest fragment size (i.e. small, medium and large) and isolation (i.e. varying pairwise distances). AMF communities in forest fragments were phylogenetically clustered compared with the global, but not regional and local AMF taxon pools. This indicates that non‐random community assembly processes possibly related to dispersal limitation at a large scale, rather than habitat filtering or biotic interactions, may be important in structuring the AMF communities. In this system, forest fragmentation did not appear to influence AMF community composition in the roots of the ruderal plant. Whether this is true for AMF communities in soil and the roots of other ecological groups of host plants or in other habitats deserves further study.     

Phylogenetic and functional diversity area relationships in two temperate forests

Phylogenetic diversity (PD, the diversity of lineages) and functional diversity (FD, the diversity of functional traits or groups in a biological community) reflect important yet poorly understood attributes of species assemblages. Until recently, few studies have examined the spatial variation of PD and FD in natural communities. Yet the relationships between PD and FD and area (termed PDAR and FDAR), like the analogous species–area relationship (SAR), have received less attention and may provide insights into the mechanisms that shape the composition and dynamics of ecological communities. In this study, we used four spatial point process models to evaluate the likely roles of the random placement of species, habitat filtering, dispersal limitation, and the combined effects of habitat filtering and dispersal limitation in producing observed PDARs and FDARs in two large, fully mapped temperate forest research plots in northeast China and in north‐central USA. We found that the dispersal limitation hypothesis provided a good approximation of the accumulation of PD and FD with increasing area, as it did for the species area curves. PDAR and FDAR patterns were highly correlated with the SAR. We interpret this as evidence that species interactions, which are often influenced by phylogenetic and functional similarity, may be relatively unimportant in structuring temperate forest tree assemblages at this scale. However, the scale‐dependent departures of the PDAR and FDAR that emerged for the dispersal limitation hypothesis agree with operation of competitive exclusion at small scales and habitat filtering at larger scales. Our analysis illustrates how emergent community patterns in fully mapped temperate forest plots can be influenced by multiple underlying processes at different spatial scales.     

Dispersal process driving subtropical forest reassembly: evidence from functional and phylogenetic analysis

Understanding the mechanisms of secondary succession related to forest management practices is receiving increasing attention in community ecology and biodiversity conservation. Abiotic and biotic filtering are deterministic processes driving community reassembly. A functional trait or phylogeny-based approach predicts that environmental filtering induced by clearcut-logging results in functional/phylogenetic clustering in younger forests, while biotic filtering (competitive exclusion) promotes functional/phylogenetic overdispersion in old-growth forests. From this perspective, we examined the patterns of functional/phylogenetic structures using tree community data (147 species × 170 plots). These data were chronosequenced from clearcut secondary forests to old-growth subtropical forests in the Ryukyu Archipelago, with species’ trait data (leaf and stem) and species level phylogeny. To detect clustering or overdispersion in the functional and phylogenetic structures, we calculated the standardized effect size of mean nearest trait distance and mean nearest phylogenetic distance within the plots. Functional or phylogenetic clustering was relatively weak in secondary forests, and their directional change with increasing forest age was not generally detected. Mean nearest trait/phylogenetic distance for most plots fell within the range of random expectation. The results suggest that abiotic/biotic filtering related to functional traits or phylogenetic relatedness plays a diminished role in shaping species assembly during secondary succession in the subtropical forest. Our findings of functional and phylogenetic properties might shed light on the importance of dispersal (stochastic) processes in the regional species pool during community reassembly after anthropogenic disturbance. It will also contribute to the development of coordinated schemes that maintain potential species assembly processes in the subtropical forest.     

Beta‐diversity in temperate and tropical forests reflects dissimilar mechanisms of community assembly

Site‐to‐site variation in species composition (β‐diversity) generally increases from low‐ to high‐diversity regions. Although biogeographical differences in community assembly mechanisms may explain this pattern, random sampling effects can create this pattern through differences in regional species pools. Here, we compared assembly mechanisms between spatially extensive networks of temperate and tropical forest plots with highly divergent species pools (46 vs. 607 species). After controlling for sampling effects, β‐diversity of woody plants was similar and higher than expected by chance in both forests, reflecting strong intraspecific aggregation. However, different mechanisms appeared to explain aggregation in the two forests. In the temperate forest, aggregation reflected stronger environmental correlations, suggesting an important role for species‐sorting (e.g. environmental filtering) processes, whereas in the tropics, aggregation reflected stronger spatial correlations, more likely reflecting dispersal limitation. We suggest that biogeographical differences in the relative importance of different community assembly mechanisms contribute to these striking gradients in global biodiversity.     

Deer herbivory affects the functional diversity of forest floor plants via changes in competition-mediated assembly rules

Distorted plant diversity patterns due to ungulate herbivory could be explained by changes in community assembly processes, but the effects of ungulate herbivory on plant community assembly remain unclear. Here, we examined the role of deer herbivory in the regulation of the assembly processes of a forest floor plant community by assessing species and functional diversity in over- and no-grazing plots (control and exclosure plots, respectively) in Shiretoko National Park in Japan. Compared with the exclosure plot, vegetation coverage was considerably lower, and species richness and diversity were higher in the control plot. Functional traits associated with competitive ability (leaf area and chlorophyll content) were significantly higher in the exclosure plot. The pattern of functional diversity changed from overdispersion to clustering with an increase in local crowdedness. This trait clustering indicates that the local communities that were free from ungulate disturbance gradually became dominated by some competitively superior plant species, which led to low species diversity and biotic homogenization. In contrast, the reduction in vegetation due to overgrazing by deer resulted in an increase in the relative importance of stochastic assembly processes, which enabled the coexistence of various species, including less competitive ones. Our results emphasize that although deer overabundance is of concern, their complete exclusion has a negative consequence from an ecological perspective. Because deer herbivory is an inherent process that affects the biodiversity of plants on the forest floor, the establishment of fences requires careful consideration to ensure the conservation of ecological processes and their associated biodiversity.     

环境选择和扩散限制驱动温带森林土壤细菌群落的构建

环境选择和扩散限制是生态系统中生物群落构建的两个基本过程,而两者相对作用的大小因研究尺度、群落属性和类型等有所不同.目前对温带亚高山森林土壤微生物群落构建的驱动因子和机制尚缺乏了解.本文利用PCR-DGGE技术研究庞泉沟自然保护区内5种典型森林包括华北落叶松林、青杄林、白杄林、油松林以及桦树林的6个森林土壤细菌群落(Lp MC1、Lp MC2、Pw MC、Pm MC、Pt MC、BMC)的结构特征及其影响因素,分析细菌群落结构与环境因子的相关性,以及土壤因子、植被和空间因素对细菌群落结构的影响.结果表明:研究区各样地土壤细菌群落的结构和生物多样性具有显著差异,低海拔落叶松和油松土壤细菌群落多样性较高(20条带),白杄林土壤细菌群落(13条带)多样性最低,高海拔落叶松土壤细菌群落多样性最高;土壤环境因子,如pH、土壤含水量、总碳、总氮、土壤有机质、速效磷以及土壤酶活性与土壤细菌群落多样性和结构显著相关;样地土壤细菌群落的beta多样性与群落的空间距离呈显著相关,表明扩散限制对群落结构具有一定的影响;方差分解分析结果显示,6个样地细菌群落结构的驱动因素大小依次为土壤因子(0.27)、空间因素(0.19)和植被(0.15);将区域土壤微生物作为"源群落",微宇宙试验结果显示,土壤因子是细菌群落结构形成的主要驱动力(0.35),同时源群落丰富的物种多样性对微宇宙土壤细菌群落结构具有显著影响.总之,在局域尺度下,环境选择对温带森林土壤细菌群落结构动态和多样性发挥主导作用,地理距离对群落结构具有显著影响,即确定性过程和随机过程共同决定局域森林土壤细菌群落结构,前者占主导地位.对于土壤细菌群落而言,扩散群落的组成和结构受到源群落的多样性特征和环境因子的双重影响.     

Global to community scale differences in the prevalence of convergent over divergent leaf trait distributions in plant assemblages

Aim The drivers of species assembly, by limiting the possible range of functional trait values, can lead to either convergent or divergent distributions of traits in realized assemblages. Here, to evaluate the strengths of these species assembly drivers, we partition trait variance across global, regional and community scales. We then test the hypothesis that, from global to community scales, the outcome of co‐occurring trait convergence and divergence is highly variable across biomes and communities. Location Global: nine biomes ranging from subarctic highland to tropical rain forest. Methods We analysed functional trait diversity at progressively finer spatial scales using a global, balanced, hierarchically structured dataset from 9 biomes, 58 communities and 652 species. Analyses were based on two key leaf traits (foliar nitrogen content and specific leaf area) that are known to drive biogeochemical cycling. Results While 35% of the global variance in these traits was between biomes, only 15% was between communities within biomes and as much as 50% occurred within communities. Despite this relatively high within‐community variance in trait values, we found that trait convergence dominated over divergence at both global and regional scales through comparisons of functional trait diversity in regional and community assemblages against random (null) models of species assembly. Main conclusions We demonstrate that the convergence of traits occurring from global to regional assemblages can be twice as strong as that from regional to community assemblages, and argue that large differences in the nature and strength of abiotic and biotic drivers of dominant species assembly can, at least partly, explain the variable outcome of simultaneous trait convergence and divergence across sites. Ultimately, these findings stress the urgent need to extend species assembly research to address those scales where trait variance is the highest, i.e. between biomes and within communities.     

Top-down effects of foraging decisions on local,landscape and regional biodiversity of resources (DivGUD)

Foraging by consumers acts as a biotic filtering mechanism for biodiversity at the trophic level of resources. Variation in foraging behaviour has cascading effects on abundance, diversity, and functional trait composition of the community of resource species. Here we propose diversity at giving-up density (DivGUD), i.e. when foragers quit exploiting a patch, as a novel concept and simple measure quantifying cascading effects at multiple spatial scales. In experimental landscapes with an assemblage of plant seeds, patch residency of wild rodents decreased local α-DivGUD (via elevated mortality of species with large seeds) and regional γ-DivGUD, while dissimilarity among patches in a landscape (ß-DivGUD) increased. By linking theories of adaptive foraging behaviour with community ecology, DivGUD allows to investigate cascading indirect predation effects, e.g. the ecology-of-fear framework, feedbacks between functional trait composition of resource species and consumer communities, and effects of inter-individual differences among foragers on the biodiversity of resource communities.