Main plant communities and characteristics of Kalamaili Ungulate Nature Reserve in east Junggar Basin

The main vegetation types of Kalamaili Nature Reserve in east Junggar Basin were investigated in this paper, and based on the data from 54 plot samples, the characteristics of the main desert plant communities from the main vegetation types were quantitatively described. And the results showed that, the vegetation in this reserve can be divided in to 9 major desert plant community types were recognized: Form. Haloxylon ammodendron, Form. Krascheninnikovia ceratoides, Form. Atraphaxis spinosa, Form. Reaumuria songarica, Form. Artemisia songarica, Form. Convolvulus tragacanthoides, Form. Anabasis salsa, Form. Stipa glareosa and Form. Seriphidium terrae-albae, and then, 16 associations were divided from these 9 major community types.     

准噶尔盆地东部卡拉麦里山有蹄类自然保护区主要植物群落及其特征

该文调查了准噶尔盆地东部卡拉麦里山自然保护区的主要植被类型, 通过对54个样地的样方数据分析, 量化描述了这一保护区的主要植物群落特征。结果表明, 这一地区植被主要分为梭梭群系(Form. Haloxylon ammodendron)、驼绒藜群系(Form. Krascheninnikovia ceratoides)、刺木蓼群系(Form. Atraphaxis spinosa)、红砂群系(Form. Reaumuria songarica)、准噶尔沙蒿群系(Form. Artemisia songarica)、刺旋花群系(Form. Convolvulus tragacanthoides)、盐生假木贼群系(Form. Anabasis salsa)、沙生针茅群系(Form. Stipa glareosa)和白茎绢蒿群系(Form. Seriphidium terrae-albae)等9个主要群系, 并进一步划分出16个群丛。     

江苏海岸沙生植被的研究

 海岸沙生植被系由沙生植物和一些耐沙植物所组成的隐域植被,具旱生性质;种类组成简单,只24种,隶属18科,21属。此外,在砂质海岸听见的一个向森林演替的群落地段,含有19种木本,21种草本植物,概为新发观的耐沙植物,根据组成植物的生活型分析,作了沙生植被的生活型谱。 海岸沙生植被可分为草本与木本两个基本类型、共6个群落。它们的演替规律作了论述。最后讨论了沙生植被的开发、利用及保护问题。     

胶东海岸的沙生植被

胶东半岛位于山东省东部,地处黄、渤海之滨,陆地海岸线全长1668.58km,占山东省陆地海岸线总长的一半以上。海岸地理位置约当北纬36°15′42″—38°24′00″,东经119°33′00″—122°42′18″之间,属暖温带生     

Measuring succession: methods for establishing long-term vegetation monitoring sites

Successional stages are often characterized by dominant plant species (species with the highest cover) and their effect on the structure and function of an area through time. However, the plant species determining the ecosystem properties and plant community dynamics may not be the dominant, especially when it is exotic. Understanding plant community dynamics in ecosystems that are uncharacterized and/or affected by invasive plant species requires a data-driven approach and proper placement of monitoring plots. To generate robust datasets on vegetation change through time, monitoring plot placement must consider the scale of ecological variation for both vegetation and soils and plots would ideally be replicated within similar ecological site types to quantify the consistency of successional transitions. We characterized soil and vegetation across and within seven floodplains affected by Russian olive (Elaeagnus angustifolia L.) along the Yellowstone River in southeastern Montana, USA. Using modern Classification and Regression Trees (CART) and multivariate net differentiation, we identified five distinct plant community types, or classes, characterized by their tertiary woody plant cover, not the primary species, Russian olive. Our findings indicate that Russian olive communities differ across space, and these riparian areas can be classified into distinct plant community types. Characterizing plant community types via this analytical approach should allow practitioners to modify management decisions and forecast succession within relevant plant communities.     

海南昌江石碌铁矿尾矿库区植被调查

实验开展了3个不同年代的海南石碌铁尾矿库区植被调查研究,根据记录数据计算了各样地物种的重要值、物种多样性指数和均匀度等。结果表明,铁尾矿库区内植物种类总体上来看较为稀少,不同尾矿库区内植物群落组成成分差异比较大。已经停止使用20a的尾矿区（样地1）内,自然定居的植物仅有44种,其中禾本科植物种类较多,其次为豆科植物和莎草科植物,表明这3个科的植物种类较其它科植物更容易适应这种环境,特别是禾本科的水竹（Phragmites karka）、雀稗（Paspalum commersonii）和豆科的田菁（Sesbaniacannabina）表现出较强的适应能力;刚停止使用2a的尾矿库区（样地2）内,自然定居的植物有21种,其中硬骨草（Panicum repens）、斑茅（Saccharum arundinaceum）和芒（Miscanthussinensis）等禾本科植物为该样地的优势种群;正在使用的尾矿库区（样地3）内物种单一,只有水竹（Pyllosacys karka）、芒（Miscanthus sinensis）和田菁（Sesbaniacannabina）三种植物能在该恶劣的生境中顽强地生长和发育,表现出极强的适应能力。结果还表明了3个不同年代库区的植物群落的组成与结构存在明显的演替顺序差异,样地3单种优势明显,从样地3到样地1,这种优势依次减弱,物种多样性指数也依次增加,这表现出由较少先锋物种种类组成的简单群落向稳定复杂群落方向演替的趋势,反映了植物群落结构随演替时间的延长越来越趋向复杂化。在同一个尾矿库区内土壤的不同水分含量和理化性质会对植物的定居与群落的组成关系密切。     

Regional productivity mediates the effects of grazing disturbance on plant cover and patch‐size distribution in arid and semi‐arid communities

Patch‐size distribution and plant cover are strongly associated to arid ecosystem functioning and may be a warning signal for the onset of desertification under changes in disturbance regimes. However, the interaction between regional productivity level and human‐induced disturbance regime as drivers for vegetation structure and dynamics remain poorly studied. We studied grazing disturbance effects on plant cover and patchiness in three plant communities located along a regional productivity gradient in Patagonia (Argentina): a semi‐desert (low‐productivity community), a shrub‐grass steppe (intermediate‐productivity community) and a grass steppe (high‐productivity community). We sampled paddocks with different sheep grazing pressure (continuous disturbance gradients) in all three communities. In each paddock, the presence or absence of perennial vegetation was recorded every 10 cm along a 50 m transect. Grazing effects on vegetation structure depended on the community and its association to the regional productivity. Grazing decreased total plant cover while increasing both the frequency of small patches and the inter‐patch distance in all communities. However, the size of these effects was the greatest in the high‐productivity community. Dominant species responses to grazing explained vegetation patch‐ and inter‐patch‐size distribution patterns. As productivity decreases, dominant species showed a higher degree of grazing resistance, probably because traits of species adapted to high aridity allow them to resist herbivore disturbance. In conclusion, our findings suggest that regional productivity mediates grazing disturbance impacts on vegetation mosaic. The changes within the same range of grazing pressure have higher effects on communities found in environments with higher productivity, markedly promoting their desertification. Understanding the complex interactions between environmental aridity and human‐induced disturbances is a key aspect for maintaining patchiness structure and dynamics, which has important implications for drylands management.     

桂西北喀斯特地区不同退化程度植被群落物种组成及多样性特征

世界范围内,很多自然生态系统均在不同程度上受到了损害,喀斯特脆弱生态系统的退化是一个复合过程,喀斯特地区不同退化程度植被群落特征有何差异有待研究。该文采用样方法进行全面的调查,研究了桂西北喀斯特地区5个退化程度植被群落的物种组成、群落结构特征和物种多样性。结果表明:(1)不同退化程度群落物种组成和生活型组成有较大差异,潜在退化群落科属种丰富度最高,沿着退化程度递增的梯度,群落乔木树种逐渐减少至消失,灌木比例呈先增后减的趋势,草本比例逐渐增加。(2)调查到维管束植物218种,隶属于86科168属;以大戟科、楝科、蔷薇科、马鞭草科、禾本科和肾蕨科植物为主;退化过程中,优势种的重要值逐渐降低,其在群落内的支配地位逐渐减弱,伴生种重要值逐渐升高。(3)退化过程中,群落结构趋于简单化,群落木本植物密度、高度和盖度逐渐减少。(4)不同退化程度植被群落乔灌草层物种多样性存在显著性差异,随着退化程度的增加,群落总植被物种丰富度指数、Shannon-Wiener多样性指数、Simpson优势度指数整体呈下降趋势。     

黄土高原四种人工植物群落土壤呼吸季节变化及其影响因子

以黄土高原侧柏、柠条、沙棘和油松人工植物群落为对象,土壤呼吸日动态和季节变化及其与环境因子之间的关系,结果表明:4种植物群落土壤呼吸速率具有典型的日变化和季节变化模式, 4种群落中,以侧柏6月土壤呼吸日变幅最大,沙棘6月土壤呼吸日变幅最小,大部分群落不同月份最大土壤呼吸与最小土壤呼吸倍数在1.1～1.6之间.4种群落中,以柠条土壤呼吸季节变幅最大,侧柏最小,最大土壤呼吸与最小土壤呼吸的倍数为1.5～2.2倍之间.同一植物类型土壤呼吸具有明显的季节变化特征,其具体变化趋势因植物类型而异.4种植物群落土壤呼吸速率与土壤和大气温度以及土壤含水量的关系在不同季节表现为不同的关系,其中侧柏和柠条土壤呼吸与土壤温度均呈乘幂关系,与大气温度为指数关系.沙棘土壤呼吸与土壤温度和大气温度均为乘幂关系,油松土壤呼吸与土壤温度和大气温度均为线性关系.这表明土壤呼吸与土壤和大气温度之间的关系及其紧密程度因植被类型而异.综合分析表明,同一气候区相同环境因子对不同植物群落土壤呼吸的影响作用不同,且因其自身具有明显的季节变化,从而导致对土壤呼吸的调控作用也具有明显的季节变异模式.     

Patterns of vegetation and grasshopper community composition

Summary A study was conducted to evaluate differences in rangeland grasshopper communities over environmental gradients in Gallatin Valley, Montana, USA. The concept of habitat type (Daubenmire 1966) was used as a basis for discriminating between groupings of patches based on vegetation. A total of 39 patches were selected that represented five recognized grassland habitat types (Mueggler and Stewart 1980), as well as two disturbed types (replanting within a known habitat type). Repeated sampling in 1988 of both the insect and plant communities yielded a total of 40 grasshopper (19 664 individuals) and 97 plant species. Detrended Correspondence Analysis (DCA) indicated that patch classifications based on presence and percent cover of plants were appropriate and showed good between-group (habitat type) separation for patches along gradients of precipitation/elevation and plant community complexity. Results from undisturbed habitats showed that plant and grasshopper species composition changed over observed environmental gradients and suggested that habitat type influenced not only species presence, but also relative abundance. Discussion is presented that relates results with patch-use and core and satellite species paradigms.     

三峡库区澎溪河消落带植物群落分布格局及生境影响

三峡消落带是一条特殊的水—陆交错带,其生境的特殊性及对整个三峡库区的影响逐渐成为地学、环境科学、生态学等学科的研究热点。植被是消落带各项生态功能的载体。然而,三峡水库的运行使消落带原有植被遭到破坏。通过对澎溪河消落带植物群落及其生境的实地调查,采用双向指示种法(TWINSPAN)划分植物群落类型,并结合方差分解和CCA排序法研究4类生境影响因素组14个生境影响因子与植物群落空间分布的关系,探讨生境对消落带植物群落组成、结构及多样性的影响。结果表明:(1)消落带植物群落包括5种类型:狗牙根+雀稗群落、狗尾草+狗牙根群落、黄荆群落、白茅+鬼针草群落、苔草群落;(2)CCA排序中,第1排序轴对消落带植被空间变化的累计解释量为6.83%,占生境条件总解释量的44.73%,能很好地解释消落带植物群落与生境的相互关系,植物群落类型沿排序轴呈梯度分布;(3)土壤是影响消落带植被空间分布格局的主要影响因素组,各影响因素组间交互作用明显。淹水时间、海拔、土壤含水量是植物群落空间分布的主要影响因子,解释量分别为5.3%、3.0%、2.9%;(4)4类影响因素组共解释消落带植物群落空间格局变化的14.6%,未解释部分所占比例较大,可能是由于消落带内生境条件复杂,影响其群落组成及空间分布的潜在因素较多,如各种土地利用政策、人类活动干扰及景观组成等因素也可能对消落带植物群落构成有影响。研究消落带植物空间分布及其与生境的关系,以期为科学认识消落带、保护水库环境提供依据。     

Vegetation communities in continental boreal wetlands along a salinity gradient: Implications for oil sands mining reclamation

Oil sands mining is a major disturbance to boreal landscapes in north-eastern Alberta, Canada. Freshwater peatlands dominate the landscape prior to mining, but the post-mining reclamation landscape will have wetlands that span a salinity gradient. Little is known about the native vegetation communities in subsaline and saline marshes in the boreal region, yet these communities offer the best potential for reclamation of wetlands after oil sands mining. The overall intent of this study is to provide information on natural wetland communities along a gradient of salinities that can be used to enhance oil sands wetland reclamation. Our specific study objectives were to: (1) characterize environmental conditions of industrial and natural wetlands, (2) characterize vegetation communities (composition and diversity) in these wetlands, (3) and explore how vegetation communities (composition and diversity) may be influenced by environmental conditions. We surveyed vegetation communities and environmental variables in 25 natural boreal wetlands along a salinity gradient and in 10 industrial marshes in the oil sands mining region. We observed an electrical conductivity (EC) range of 0.5-28 mS cm⁻¹ in the wetlands, indicating that salinity similar to or higher than anticipated for oil sands reclamation is naturally present in some boreal wetlands. We observed low species richness in both industrial and natural wetlands. There were 101 plant species observed in all the wetlands, with 82 species recorded in the natural wetlands and 44 species in industrial wetlands. At the plot level, richness decreased with increasing EC and pH, but increased with soil organic matter. Using Cluster Analysis and indicator species analysis we defined 16 distinct vegetation community types, each dominated by one or two species of graminoid vegetation. In general these communities resembled those of boreal or prairie marshes. Electrical conductivity, pH, and water depth were important factors correlating with community composition of the wetlands, however peat depth and soil organic content did not differ among community types. Not all community types were present in industrial wetlands, indicating that these communities may need to be planted to enhance overall diversity in future reclaimed oil sands wetlands.     

金沙江干旱河谷植物群落的数量分类及其结构分异的环境解释

植物群落的空间分异格局是异质生境条件下物种性状、种间相互作用等生态学过程共同作用的结果, 对其分析有助于深入理解群落构建进程。本文基于金沙江流域干旱河谷116个样点562个样方的植物群落调查数据, 采用自适应仿射传播聚类的方法进行群落数量分类, 运用莫兰特征向量地图, 和方差分解的方法对影响群落结构的空间和环境因子进行分析。结果表明: (1)自适应仿射传播聚类将金沙江干旱河谷的植物群落分为30组, 可归为7个植被型, 23个群系, 以稀树草原(30.0%)、暖性落叶阔叶灌丛(55.7%)为最主要的植被类型。(2)年均温和干燥指数是限制金沙江干旱河谷植物群落分布的主要环境因子。稀树草原、肉质灌丛、常绿阔叶灌丛是典型的干热河谷植被类型; 暖性落叶阔叶灌丛、常绿硬叶林是干暖河谷植被的优势类型; 暖性针叶林、落叶阔叶林则主要在干温河谷环境占优势。(3)纯环境因子可以解释群落物种组成变化的5.5%, 纯空间因子可以解释的物种组成变化为22.5%, 有空间结构的环境因子部分为6.6%, 未解释的部分为65.4%。在诸多环境因子中, 年均温及干燥指数的不同显示了不同群落生境的重要差异, 并显著影响到群落的分布格局。大尺度的空间因子则主要通过地理隔离对群落结构的差异产生影响。     

新疆奇台荒漠类草地自然保护区主要植物群落及其特征

该文调查了新疆奇台荒漠类草地自然保护区的主要植被类型, 通过对65个样地的样方数据分析, 量化描述了该保护区的主要植物群落特征。该保护区内主要包括梭梭荒漠(Haloxylon ammodendron Semi-Arbor and Shrub Desert Alliance)、膜果麻黄荒漠(Ephedra przewalskii Simi-Arbor and Shrub Desert Alliance)、裸果木荒漠(Gymnocarpos przewalskii Simi-Arbor and Shrub Desert Alliance)、红砂荒漠(Reaumuria soongarica Simi-Arbor and Shrub Desert Alliance)、戈壁藜荒漠(Iljinia regelii Semi-Shrub and Herb Desert Alliance)、短叶假木贼荒漠(Anabasis brevifolia Semi-Shrub and Herb Desert Alliance)、短穗柽柳落叶阔叶灌丛(Tamarix laxa Deciduous Broadleaf Shrubland Alliance)、盐爪爪荒漠(Kalidium foliatum Semi-Shrub and Herb Desert Alliance)、灌木亚菊荒漠(Ajania fruticulosa Semi-Shrub and Herb Desert Alliance)、芨芨草草地(Achnatherum splendens Tussock Grassland Alliance)、窄颖赖草草地(Leymus angustus Rhizome Grassland Alliance)和芦苇草地(Phragmites australis Rhizome Grassland Alliance)共12个主要群系, 并进一步划分出15个群丛。     

Modelling Environmental Responses of Plant Associations: A Review of Some Critical Concepts in Vegetation Study

The definition of vegetation types at different hierarchical levels, both to study the vegetation processes and for practical cartographic representation, is still considered a critical issue in many circles of plant ecologists. The problems are mainly related to the misleading idea that classification of the vegetation system, as developed by European phytosociologists during the last century within the discipline called syntaxonomy, would imply the assumption of the organismic concept of the plant community. After a short discussion on the role of Braun-Blanquet approach in plant ecology and in landscape ecology, the methods to detect multispecies responses along environmental gradients are briefly reviewed. In the main part of this article, we intend to stress that concepts considered critical, such as plant association and its ecological niche, are just operational tools that have nothing to do with the individualistic or organismic interpretation of plant communities in vegetation studies. Important to our views on vegetation, we believe that plant associations as well as the higher syntaxa can be regarded as fuzzy sets in an operational context for describing vegetation along ecological gradients in synthetic ways and can further the understanding of vegetation variation.     

青海海北植物群落类型与土壤线虫群落相互关系

土壤线虫是良好的指示生物, 是植物群落演替的重要驱动力, 其生态功能影响着生态系统正常生态效应的发挥。该研究以海北矮生嵩草(Kobresia humilis)草甸、西藏嵩草(Kobresia tibetica)沼泽化草甸、暗褐薹草(Carex atrofusca)沼泽化草甸和金露梅(Potentilla fruticosa)灌丛4种不同植物群落类型的土壤线虫为研究对象, 研究不同植物群落类型下的土壤线虫群落组成、分布特征、物种多样性及其营养类群组成, 分析植物类群结构与土壤线虫群落之间的相关性。主要研究结果: (1)在4种植物群落土壤样本中共分离线虫3 800条, 分属于2纲5目15科30属, 线虫平均个体密度为每100 g干土580条, 随土壤深度增加而递减, 具有明显的表聚性。不同植物群落间的土壤线虫群落组成存在一定差异, 矮生嵩草草甸0-40 cm土壤线虫总数(1 811条·392.5 cm^-3)显著高于其他植物群落类型, 暗褐薹草沼泽化草甸的土壤线虫总数最少(324条·392.5 cm^-3)。4种植物群落下土壤线虫的优势属和营养类群组成存在差异, 这种差异在矮生嵩草草甸与暗褐薹草沼泽化草甸之间表现得尤为明显。 (2)不同植物群落下土壤线虫的多样性指数(H′)和均匀度指数(J′)均为金露梅灌丛最高, 暗褐薹草沼泽化草甸最低, 其两种植物群落间H′差异显著, 而优势度指数(λ)相反, 为暗褐薹草沼泽化草甸最高, 金露梅灌丛最低。表明金露梅灌丛土壤线虫群落多样性最高, 暗褐薹草沼泽化草甸土壤线虫群落多样性最低, 土壤线虫群落趋于单一化。4种植物群落土壤有机质的分解途径均以细菌通道为主。西藏嵩草沼泽化草甸的瓦斯乐斯卡指数(WI)显著高于矮生嵩草草甸, 表明从高寒沼泽化草甸过渡到高寒灌丛、高寒草甸, 土壤肥力不断降低, 沼泽化草甸有利于食微生物线虫的生长。暗褐薹草沼泽化草甸的植物寄生线虫指数(PPI)、成熟度指数(MI)均表现为最低, 表明其生态系统的成熟度较低, 这与暗褐薹草沼泽化草甸土壤含水量较高有关。不同植物群落下的富集指数(EI)、结构指数(SI)均为暗褐薹草沼泽化草甸最高, 由此可以看出暗褐薹草沼泽化草甸的食物网相对连通性较高, 食物链较长, 食物网的阻力相对较小。(3)主成分分析(PCA)结果显示4种植物群落最大贡献属不同。相关性分析表明: 食细菌性线虫数量与西藏嵩草沼泽化草甸有显著的正相关关系; 金露梅灌丛的植物多样性与线虫的H′、J′有显著的负相关关系, 与λ则有显著的正相关关系; WI与矮生嵩草草甸的植物多样性有显著的正相关关系, PPI与矮生嵩草草甸的物种多样性指数有显著的负相关关系。综上所述, 植物群落深刻地影响着土壤线虫群落的多样性。     

Plant Community Recovery following Restoration in Temporally Variable Riparian Wetlands

Wetlands historically provided many ecosystem services but most have been lost or degraded through land conversion. Recent appreciation for wetland values and increasing ecotourism in the Central Platte River Valley (U.S.A.) has promoted restoration of wet meadow systems, although recovery patterns are not well known. We quantified plant community structure in sloughs (deeper habitats) and adjacent margins (slightly higher elevation) of six wetland sites, restored for 1–7 years at the onset of a 3-year study, and three natural wetlands to assess recovery dynamics. Plant community metrics recovered differentially between habitats. Within restored margins, richness and diversity showed a weak quadratic response with time since restoration, indicating that both indexes overshoot natural levels shortly following restoration. Within sloughs, richness and diversity showed no change with time, suggesting that recovery occurs more quickly in these deeper, moister habitats. Percent similarity of plant communities in restorations and natural wetlands increased linearly over time. However, ordinations of plant community composition showed that recovery was strongly influenced by site-specific hydrology and that recovery may not be a linear trajectory toward natural systems. The analysis and interpretation of plant community dynamics revealed several challenges to restoration assessment, including the role of interannual variability in precipitation, limitations to hydrologic recovery, and temporal variability in plant community structure in natural systems that resulted in "moving targets" for recovery comparisons. Temporal variability in climate must be considered when assessing restoration success in systems where plant community structure is responsive to variable moisture regimes.     

我国西南山地喀斯特植被的根系生物量初探

在贵州茂兰喀斯特森林国家自然保护区内,选取2种立地条件上(岩石和土壤分别占优势)的5个植被恢复阶段(草本群落、灌草群落、灌木群落、次顶极常绿落叶阔叶林和顶极常绿落叶阔叶林)共10个样地,利用平均标准木机械布点法对根系进行采集,分析了其生物量总量、不同根系径级的分配格局和地下空间的分布规律。结果表明:1)喀斯特植物群落的正向植被恢复进程极显著地增加了地下生物量(p0.001),从草本群落的2.63Mg·hm–2增加到顶极森林群落的58.15Mg·hm-2;同一恢复阶段的石生和土壤立地上根系生物量的差异不显著(p0.05),在顶极和次顶极常绿落叶阔叶林阶段,石生立地的根系生物量高于土壤立地,而灌木、灌草和草本群落阶段则相反。2)同一恢复阶段的石生立地的粗根生物量均高于土壤立地,但差异不显著(p0.05),而细根和小根生物量则从石生到土壤立地显著增加(p0.05);随着喀斯特植被的恢复,石生和土壤立地上粗根占总根系生物量的比例均逐渐增加。3)石生立地根系的分布以水平扩散和穿梭为主,无垂直层次分布;而土壤立地各恢复阶段的根系生物量主要集中在地面到地下10cm的垂直空间内;在不同的土层深度,粗根占所有根径级生物量的80%,且随土层加深,其比例降低。该研究不仅填补了喀斯特植被根系生物量观测的空白,为估算我国西南喀斯特地区植被的总生物量和生产力提供了本底数据,也为进一步研究喀斯特森林稳定性维持机制和喀斯特石漠化防治与植被适应性修复奠定了基础。     

Ecological consequences of evolution in plant defenses in a metacommunity

Dispersal can affect the assembly of local communities in a metacommunity as well as evolution of local populations in a metapopulation. These two processes may also affect each other in ways that have not yet been well studied and that may have novel effects on community structure. Here, we illustrate the interaction of these two processes on community structure with a model of adaptive evolutionary dynamics of plant defenses in a metacommunity food web involving multiple patches along a productivity gradient. We find an enhanced suite of adaptive plant types in our metacommunity model than is predicted in the absence of dispersal. We also find that this, and the movement of nutrients among patches via dispersal, alters patterns of food web architecture, trophic structure and diversity along the productivity gradient. Overall, our model illustrates that evolutionary and metacommunity dynamics may influence communities in complex interactive ways that may not be predicted by models that ignore either of these types of processes.