Experimental evidence that soil heterogeneity enhances plant diversity during community assembly

Aims Environmental heterogeneity is a primary mechanism explaining species coexistence and extant patterns of diversity. Despite strong theoretical support and ample observational evidence, few experimental studies in plant communities have been able to demonstrate a causal link between environmental heterogeneity and plant diversity. This lack of experimental evidence suggests that either fine-scale heterogeneity has weak effects on plant diversity or previous experiments have been unable to effectively manipulate heterogeneity. Here, we utilize a unique soil manipulation to test whether fine-scale soil heterogeneity will increase plant richness through species sorting among experimental patch types.Methods This experiment was conducted in the tallgrass prairie region of south-central Kansas, USA. We utilized the inherent variation found in the vertical soil profile, which varied in both biotic and abiotic characteristics, and redistributed these strata into either homogeneous or heterogeneous spatial arrangements in 2.4×2.4 m plots. After the soil manipulation, 34 native prairie species were sown into all plots. We conducted annual censuses at peak biomass to quantify species composition and plant density by species within the experimental communities.Important findings After 2 years, species richness was significantly higher in heterogeneous relative to homogeneous plots and this pattern was independent of total plant density. In the heterogeneous plots, 13 species had higher establishment in a specific patch type representing one of the three soil strata. Conversely, no species had greater establishment in the mixed stratum, which comprised the homogeneous plots, relative to the heterogeneous strata. These species sorting patterns suggest that fine-scale heterogeneity creates opportunities for plant establishment due to niche differences, which translates into increased plant diversity at the plot scale. Species richness was more strongly related to plant density among patches comprising homogenous plots—where fine-scale heterogeneity was minimized, but weak in heterogeneous plots. This pattern is consistent with the idea that richness–density relationships dominate when neutral processes are important but are weak when niche processes operate. Unlike many previous attempts, our results provide clear, experimental evidence that fine-scale soil heterogeneity increases species richness through species sorting during community assembly.     

The Environment,Not Space,Dominantly Structures the Landscape Patterns of the Richness and Composition of the Tropical Understory Vegetation

The mechanisms driving the spatial patterns of species richness and composition are essential to the understanding of biodiversity. Numerous studies separately identify the contributions of the environment (niche process) and space (neutral process) to the species richness or composition at different scales, but few studies have investigated the contributions of both types of processes in the two types of data at the landscape scale. In this study, we partitioned the spatial variations in all, exotic and native understory plant species richness and composition constrained by environmental variables and space in 134 plots that were spread across 10 counties in Hainan Island in southern China. The 134 plots included 70 rubber (Hevea brasiliensis) plantation plots, 50 eucalyptus (Eucalyptus urophylla) plantation plots, and 14 secondary forest plots. RDA based variation partitioning was run to assess the contribution of environment and space to species richness and composition. The results showed that the environmental variables alone explained a large proportion of the variations in both the species richness and composition of all, native, and exotic species. The RDA results indicated that overstory composition (forest type here) plays a leading role in determining species richness and composition patterns. The alpha and beta diversities of the secondary forest plots were markedly higher than that of the two plantations. In conclusion, niche differentiation processes are the principal mechanisms that shape the alpha and beta diversities of understory plant species in Hainan Island.     

Do biogeographic parameters matter? Plant species richness and distribution of macrophytes in relation to area and isolation of ponds in NW Polish agricultural landscape

Effects of pond size and isolation on total vascular plant species richness and number of obligate wetland species were compared. Subsequently, the potential for the presence of spatial patterns in wetland species distribution among ponds in an agricultural landscape was explored. Relationships between species richness and two main biogeographic parameters were analysed using simple and multiple linearised regression models. Spatial patterns were looked for by means of analyses carried out with the R CRAN software (join-count statistics). Simple regression analyses performed on the regional scale (n = 50) revealed the significance of the effect of pond size only (r = 0.46 for total plant species richness and r = 0.28 for wetland species richness vs. pond area). Further analyses conducted on the local scale identified the best multiple regression models in the largest pond cluster (n = 20); the models showed statistical significance of relationships between the species richness and both independent variables (r = 0.80 for total plant species richness and r = 0.70 for wetland species richness vs. pond area and isolation, including mean distance to the nearest ten ponds). Spatial analyses were performed for 26 obligate wetland species selected from 149 species recorded in all the 50 ponds. Exploratory spatial data analysis revealed the presence of significant positive spatial autocorrelation in the distribution of 8 species. In such cases, it is possible to reject the random distribution hypothesis, which justifies exploration of spatial regimes. In practice, correct spatial model specifications may have implications for predicting species occurrences under changing environmental conditions, e.g. changes in the number of ponds.     

Finescale species associations in alvar limestone grasslands

To examine the importance of positive or negative interactions of plant species on a micro‐scale, species associations were studied in 38 1 m² ‐plots in alvar limestone grasslands on Öland, Sweden. Each plot was assumed to be homogeneous as to its environmental conditions and spatial distribution of dominant species, and was divided into 25 sub‐plots of 100 cm² size arranged in a regular grid. Presence‐absence data of rooted vascular plants were recorded for each sub‐plot. Significant positive or negative associations were observed in all plots. The number of significant interactions was positively related to the within‐plot variation in soil depth. In seven and nine cases, respectively, there were more positive or negative associations than expected on the basis of a random distribution of species over the sub‐plots. The ratio of the number of positive associations to the potential number of positive associations increased with increasing species richness. There was a significant spatial autocorrelation in species composition in most plots, but the coefficients of determination were on average very low, indicating a minor importance of spatial dependence in the data set. Correspondingly, the ratio of observed to potential species associations was unrelated to the extent of spatial autocorrelation. About 2/3 of all species encountered were at least once involved in a significant interaction. We found differences in the proportion of positive to negative associations between species with different habitat requirements and attributes. In general, species with predominantly negative associations were mostly relatively tall and competitive, long‐lived hemicryptophytes characteristic of Festuco‐Brometea and more mesotrophic grasslands, for example Filipendula vulgaris and Achillea millefolium. In contrast, species with largely positive associations were mostly smaller and shortlived stress‐tolerators and stress‐tolerant ruderals, preferring more shallow and exposed soils, such as Cerastium semidecandrum and Trifolium arvense. While the negative associations prevailing among the dominant species in the alvar grasslands are likely to be the outcome of interspecific competition for space and resources, the positive associations may be the result of facilitative relations between the dominant and sub‐ordinate species.     

Scale,disturbance and productivity control the native‐exotic richness relationship

The relationship between native and exotic species richness may be highly context‐dependent. Spatial scale, including both plot size (grain) and study area (extent), is likely to influence this relationship, as are environmental conditions such as resource availability and disturbance intensity. We used experimental manipulations of soil fertility and disturbance in a California coastal grassland to directly examine the sensitivity of the native–exotic richness relationship (NERR) to these factors across five grain sizes and two spatial extents. The slope of the NERR was a function of grain size, extent and treatment. Over small spatial extents, native and exotic richness were usually uncorrelated. Across a larger extent, NERRs were negative in control plots, neutral in disturbance plots, and positive in plots with experimentally reduced soil fertility. These patterns were strongest for small grain sizes. We verify the importance of spatial grain in determining the NERR, and emphasize the role of spatial extent.     

Landscape patterns of understory composition and richness across a moisture and nitrogen mineralization gradient in Ohio (U.S.A.) Quercus forests

This study quantified relationships of understory vascular plant species composition and richness along environmental gradients over a broad spatial scale in second-growth oak forests in eastern North America. Species frequencies were recorded in 108 25 × 25 m plots in four study sites extending over 70 km in southern Ohio, U.S.A.. The plots were stratified into three long-term soil moisture classes with a GIS-derived integrated moisture index (IMI). In addition to the IMI, the environmental data matrix included eight soil and three overstory variables. Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) indicated that variations in understory species composition were most strongly related to topographic variations in predicted moisture (IMI), N mineralization rate, nitrification rate, and soil pH. In addition, floristic variation at the regional scale was correlated with variations in soil texture, nitrification, pH, and PO₄ ^–, resulting from differences in the soil parent material complexes among sites. Species richness averaged 65 species/plot, and increased with moisture and fertility. Stepwise regression indicated that richness was positively correlated with N mineralization rate and nitrification rate, and inversely correlated with tree basal area. Greater richness on fertile plots was the largely the result of increasing forb richness. Forb richness per quadrat (2 m²) was most strongly and positively related to N mineralization rate. Conversely, richness of understory individuals of tree species was greatest on xeric, less-fertile plots. Our results describe general, broad-scale species-environment relationships that occurred at both the topographic scale (long-term moisture status and fertility) and the regional scale (geomorphological differences among the sites). Strong species richness-N mineralization correlations indicate an important link between below-ground processes and above-ground biodiversity. Because N availability was a strong correlate to vegetation patterns at a broad-scale, our results suggest that the increasing rates of atmospheric N deposition in the region could have a major impact on understory vegetation dynamics.     

Species richness of vascular plants, bryophytes and lichens in dry grasslands: The effects of environment, landscape structure and competition

We studied the relative importance of local habitat conditions and landscape structure for species richness of vascular plants, bryophytes and lichens in dry grasslands on the Baltic island of Öland (Sweden). In addition, we tested whether relationships between species richness and vegetation cover indicate that competition within and between the studied taxonomic groups is important. We recorded species numbers of vascular plants, bryophytes and lichens in 4 m² plots (n=452), distributed over dry grassland patches differing in size and degree of isolation. Structural and environmental data were collected for each plot. We tested effects of local environmental conditions, landscape structure and vegetation cover on species richness using generalized linear mixed models. Different environmental variables explained species richness of vascular plants, bryophytes and lichens. Environmental effects, particularly soil pH, were more important than landscape structure. Interaction effects of soil pH with other environmental variables were significant in vascular plants. Plot heterogeneity enhanced species richness. Size and degree of isolation of dry grassland patches significantly affected bryophyte and lichen species richness, but not that of vascular plants. We observed negative relationships between bryophyte and lichen species richness and the cover of vascular plants. To conclude, effects of single environmental variables on species richness depend both on the taxonomic group and on the combination of environmental factors on a whole. Dispersal limitation in bryophytes and lichens confined to dry grasslands may be more common than is often assumed. Our study further suggests that competition between vascular plants and cryptogams is rather asymmetric.     

Spatial analysis of within-population microsatellite variability reveals restricted gene flow in the Pacific golden chanterelle (Cantharellus formosus)

We examined the within-population genetic structure of the Pacific golden chanterelle (Cantharellus formosus) in a 50 y old forest stand dominated by Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) and western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla) with spatial autocorrelation analysis. We tested the null hypothesis that multilocus genotypes possessed by chanterelle genets were randomly distributed within the study area. Fruit bodies from 203 C. formosus genets were collected from a 50 ha study plot. One hundred six unique multilocus genotypes were identified after scoring these collections at five microsatellite loci. Statistically significant positive spatial autocorrelation was detected indicating the presence of fine-scale genetic structure within the area. Repeated autocorrelation analyses with varied minimum distance classes (50-500 m) detected positive spatial genetic structure up to 400 m. Therefore nonrandom evolutionary processes (e.g., isolation by distance) can cause fine-scale genetic structure in C. formosus. The implications of this research for future broad-scale population studies of this species are that population samples should be separated by at least 400 m to be considered statistically independent. Sampling designs that account for fine-scale genetic structure will better characterize heterogeneity distributed across the landscape by avoiding the effects of pseudo replication.     

Noncrop features and heterogeneity mediate overwintering bird diversity in agricultural landscapes of southwest China

Farmland birds are of conservation concerns around the world. In China, conservation management has focused primarily on natural habitats, whereas little attention has been given to agricultural landscapes. Although agricultural land use is intensive in China, environmental heterogeneity can be highly variable in some regions due to variations in crop and noncrop elements within a landscape. We examined how noncrop heterogeneity, crop heterogeneity, and noncrop features (noncrop vegetation and water body such as open water) influenced species richness and abundance of all birds as well as three functional groups (woodland species, agricultural land species, and agricultural wetland species) in the paddy‐dominated landscapes of Erhai water basin situated in northwest Yunnan, China. Birds, crop, and noncrop vegetation surveys in twenty 1 km × 1 km landscape plots were conducted during the winter season (from 2014 to 2015). The results revealed that bird community compositions were best explained by amounts of noncrop vegetation and compositional heterogeneity of noncrop habitat (Shannon–Wiener index). Both variables also had a positive effect on richness and abundance of woodland species. Richness of agricultural wetland species increased with increasing areas of water bodies within the landscape plot. Richness of total species was also greater in the landscapes characterized by larger areas of water bodies, high proportion of noncrop vegetation, high compositional heterogeneity of noncrop habitat, or small field patches (high crop configurational heterogeneity). Crop compositional heterogeneity did not show significant effects neither on the whole community (all birds) nor on any of the three functional groups considered. These findings suggest that total bird diversity and some functional groups, especially woodland species, would benefit from increases in the proportion of noncrop features such as woody vegetation and water bodies as well as compositional heterogeneity of noncrop features within landscape.     

Species Associations in a Species-Rich Subtropical Forest Were Not Well-Explained by Stochastic Geometry of Biodiversity

The stochastic dilution hypothesis has been proposed to explain species coexistence in species-rich communities. The relative importance of the stochastic dilution effects with respect to other effects such as competition and habitat filtering required to be tested. In this study, using data from a 25-ha species-rich subtropical forest plot with a strong topographic structure at Badagongshan in central China, we analyzed overall species associations and fine-scale species interactions between 2,550 species pairs. The result showed that: (1) the proportion of segregation in overall species association analysis at 2 m neighborhood in this plot followed the prediction of the stochastic dilution hypothesis that segregations should decrease with species richness but that at 10 m neighborhood was higher than the prediction. (2) The proportion of no association type was lower than the expectation of stochastic dilution hypothesis. (3) Fine-scale species interaction analyses using Heterogeneous Poisson processes as null models revealed a high proportion (47%) of significant species effects. However, the assumption of separation of scale of this method was not fully met in this plot with a strong fine-scale topographic structure. We also found that for species within the same families, fine-scale positive species interactions occurred more frequently and negative ones occurred less frequently than expected by chance. These results suggested effects of environmental filtering other than species interaction in this forest. (4) We also found that arbor species showed a much higher proportion of significant fine-scale species interactions (66%) than shrub species (18%). We concluded that the stochastic dilution hypothesis only be partly supported and environmental filtering left discernible spatial signals in the spatial associations between species in this species-rich subtropical forest with a strong topographic structure.     

Effects of spatial heterogeneity on butterfly species richness in Rocky Mountain National Park, CO, USA

We investigated butterfly responses to plot-level characteristics (plant species richness, vegetation height, and range in NDVI [normalized difference vegetation index]) and spatial heterogeneity in topography and landscape patterns (composition and configuration) at multiple spatial scales. Stratified random sampling was used to collect data on butterfly species richness from seventy-six 20 × 50 m plots. The plant species richness and average vegetation height data were collected from 76 modified-Whittaker plots overlaid on 76 butterfly plots. Spatial heterogeneity around sample plots was quantified by measuring topographic variables and landscape metrics at eight spatial extents (radii of 300, 600 to 2,400 m). The number of butterfly species recorded was strongly positively correlated with plant species richness, proportion of shrubland and mean patch size of shrubland. Patterns in butterfly species richness were negatively correlated with other variables including mean patch size, average vegetation height, elevation, and range in NDVI. The best predictive model selected using Akaike’s Information Criterion corrected for small sample size (AIC_c), explained 62% of the variation in butterfly species richness at the 2,100 m spatial extent. Average vegetation height and mean patch size were among the best predictors of butterfly species richness. The models that included plot-level information and topographic variables explained relatively less variation in butterfly species richness, and were improved significantly after including landscape metrics. Our results suggest that spatial heterogeneity greatly influences patterns in butterfly species richness, and that it should be explicitly considered in conservation and management actions.     

Environmental correlates of leguminosae species richness in Mexico: Quantifying the contributions of energy and environmental seasonality

Explaining species richness patterns is a central issue in ecology, but a general explanation remains elusive. Environmental conditions have been proposed to be important drivers of these patterns, but we still need to better understand the relative contribution of environmental factors. Here, we aim at testing two environmental hypotheses for richness gradients: energy availability and environmental seasonality using diversity patterns of the family Leguminosae across Mexico. We compiled a data base of 502 species and 32,962 records. After dividing Mexico into 100 × 100 km grid cells, we constructed a map of variation in species richness that accounts for heterogeneity in sampling effort. We found the cells with the highest species richness of legumes are in the Neotropical region of Pacific coastal and southern Mexico, where the legume family dominates the tropical rain forests and seasonally dry tropical forests. Regression models show that energy and seasonality predictors can explain 25% and 49% of the variation in richness, respectively. Spatial autocorrelation analysis showed that richness has a strong spatial structure, but that most of this structure disappears when both energy and seasonality are used to account for richness gradient. Our study demonstrates multiple environmental conditions contribute complementarily to explain diversity gradients. Moreover, it shows that in some regions, environmental seasonality can be more important than energy availability, contradicting studies at coarser spatial scales. More basic taxonomic and floristic work is needed to help describe patterns of diversity for many groups to allow for testing the underlying mechanisms responsible for diversity gradients. Abstract in Spanish is available with online material.     

Understanding landscape patterns of temporal variability in avian populations to improve environmental impact assessments

It is recognized that wildlife populations exhibit spatial and temporal variability in patterns of species richness across heterogeneous landscapes. This phenomenon can prove problematic for environmental practitioners when attempting to complete comprehensive environmental assessments (EAs) with limited field surveys. A better understanding of regional spatio-temporal patterns in population dynamics should enhance site-level decision-making. In this study, the variability of seasonal data across the Credit River Watershed, southern Ontario, is assessed for a hierarchy of conservation measures including species richness, and two conservation wildlife response guilds based on primary habitat and area sensitivity. Bird populations were monitored at 24 forest monitoring plots across the watershed by the authors twice a season from 2003 to 2010 following the protocol of Environment Canada's Forest Bird Monitoring Program. The monitoring plots are located within four land management zones identified as 1) urban, 2) transitional, 3) escarpment and 4) rural. Data from the monitoring program are used to compare species richness among plots across the watershed and among land management zones. In addition, the variability of records from each plot over the 8 year period was determined by means of the Coefficient of Variation (CV) statistic. The mean variability of these records at each site within each land management zone was determined in order to assess whether the temporal variability of bird records might affect the integrity of short term assessments. Finally, a one-way ANOVA was applied to learn whether the result of short-term assessments may be further compounded by differences in the response of selected bird guilds to landscape heterogeneity. The results show that there is a significant difference in mean richness of forest birds among the four management zones. The ANOVAs indicate that significant difference is due to the temporal variability of a) breeding forest interior birds rather than edge birds or generalist species and b) breeding area sensitive species rather than area non-sensitive species. Recommendations are made that environmental assessments targeting forest interior bird populations need to plan sampling strategies that recognize this variability, especially for sites within the transitional and urban zones. Planning in the transition or urbanizing landscape should incorporate landscape ecology principles to sustain current levels of richness in forest species.     

The relationship between psyllid leaf galls and redbay (Persea borbonia) fitness traits in sun and shade

Spatial autocorrelation in vegetation has been discussed extensively, but little is yet known about how standard plant sampling methods perform when confronted with varying levels of patchiness. Simulated species maps with a range of total abundance and spatial autocorrelation (patchiness) were sampled using four methods: strip transect, randomly located quadrats, the non-nested multiscale modified Whittaker plot and the nested multiscale North Carolina Vegetation Survey (NCVS) plot. Cover and frequency estimates varied widely within and between methods, especially in the presence of high patchiness and for species with moderate abundances. Transect sampling showed the highest variability, returning estimates of 19–94% cover for a species with an actual cover of 50%. Transect and random methods were likely to miss rare species entirely unless large numbers of quadrats were sampled. NCVS plots produced the most accurate cover estimates because they sampled the largest area. Total species richness calculated using semilog species-area curves was overestimated by transect and random sampling. Both multiscale methods, the modified Whittaker and the NCVS plots, overestimated species richness when patchiness was low, and underestimated it when patchiness was high. There was no clear distinction between the nested NCVS or the non-nested modified Whittaker plot for any of the measures assessed. For all sampling methods, cover and especially frequency estimates were highly variable, and depended on both the level of autocorrelation and the sampling method used. The spatial structure of the vegetation must be considered when choosing field sampling protocols or comparing results between studies that used different methods.     

Mountain summer farms in Røldal,western Norway –; vegetation classification and patterns in species turnover and richness

This paper discusses vegetation types and diversity patterns in relation to environment and land-use at summer farms, a characteristic cultural landscape in the Norwegian mountains. Floristic data (189 taxa) were collected in 130 4-m² sample plots within 12 summer farms in Røldal, western Norway. The study was designed to sample as fully as possible the range of floristic, environmental, and land-use conditions. Vegetation types delimited by two-way indicator species analysis were consistent with results from earlier phytosociological studies. Detrended correspondence analysis and canonical correspondence analysis show that rather than being distinct vegetation types, the major floristic variation is structured along a spatial gradient from summer farm to the surrounding heathland vegetation. Species richness (alpha diversity) was modelled against environmental variables by generalized linear modelling and compositional turnover (beta diversity) by canonical correspondence analysis. Most environmental factors made significant contributions, but the spatial distance-to-farm gradient was the best predictor of both species richness and turnover. While summer farms reduce mean species richness at the plot scale, the compositional heterogeneity of the upland landscapes is increased, thereby creating ‘ecological room’ for additional vegetation types and species. Within an overall similarity across scales, soil variables (pH, base saturation, LOI, phosphate and nitrogen) differed considerably in their explanatory power for richness and turnover. A difference between ‘productivity limiting’ factors and ‘environmental sieves’ is proposed as an explanation. Species turnover with altitude is relatively low in grasslands as compared to heaths.     

Modeling Spatial Trends in Estimated Species Richness using Breeding Bird Survey Data: A Valuable Tool in Biodiversity Assessment

We used data from the French breeding bird survey to estimate local bird species richness within sampled sites, using capture–recapture models. We investigated the possible effects of habitat structure and composition (landscape fragmentation, habitat cover and diversity) on estimated species richness at a local scale, and used the identified trends to help with modeling species richness at a large spatial scale. We performed geostatistical analyses based on spatial autocorrelation – cokriging models – to interpolate estimated species richness over the entire country, providing an opportunity to predict species-rich areas. We further compared species richness obtained with this method to species and rarity richness obtained using a national atlas of breeding birds. Estimated species richness was higher in species richness hotspots identified by the atlas. Combining informations on rare species from Atlas and species richness estimates from sound sampling based schemes should help with identifying species-rich areas for various taxa and locating biodiversity hotspots to be protected as high conservation value areas, especially in temperate zones where diversity hotspots are likely to match centers of high species richness because of very few centers of true endemicity.     

Landscape structure effects on forest plant diversity at local scale: Exploring the role of spatial extent

Since landscape attributes show different patterns at different spatial extents, it is fundamental to identify how the relation between landscape structure and plant species diversity at local scale varies with scale. Then, it is fundamental to assess the appropriate extent at which landscape factors affect plant species richness at the local scale. To investigate this relation, data on plant species richness of forest communities at plot scale were extracted from a large data set and landscape metrics were calculated around the same plots for a range of extents (250–3000 m). Then, multiple regression models and variance partitioning techniques were applied to assess the amount of variance explained by the landscape metrics on plant species richness for a range of extents. In general, we found that increasing extent of the surrounding landscape analyzed, improved the strength of relationship between the landscape metrics and the properties of plant communities at plot scale. The medium-large extent was most informative as it combined a decent total variance explained with high variance explained by the pure fractions of complexity, fragmentation and disturbance and the minimum of collinearity. In conclusion, we found that it is possible and beneficial to identify a specific extent, where the redundancy in the predictor variables is minimized and the explanatory power of the pure fractions (or single groups) maximized, when examining landscape structure effects on local plant species richness.     

三江平原湿地鸟类丰富度的空间格局及热点地区保护

全球气候变化和人类的开垦开发活动使湿地生物多样性遭到严重的干扰和破坏,导致生物多样性空间分布格局及热点地区的保护成为研究的热点。在对三江平原湿地鸟类预测的基础上,利用空间自相关方法分析三江平原湿地鸟类丰富度的空间分布格局,并找出湿地鸟类多样性的热点地区及优先保护顺序。研究结果表明,三江平原湿地鸟类丰富度高高集聚区主要分布在保护区及周边地区、河流和湖泊沿岸,是新建和扩建自然保护区的最佳区域。湿地鸟类丰富度高低集聚区主要分布在农田景观中,将它们设立成微型保护地块对于区域景观生态安全具有重要意义;利用湿地鸟类物种丰富度、国家级保护湿地鸟类、生境类型和结构、距最近保护区距离、破碎度、干扰度等指标,在研究区内共找到13个热点地区,总面积为1018.7km²,占研究区总面积的8%;利用系统聚类分析,将13个热点地区划分成3种优先保护顺序。构建的小区域范围内寻找生物多样性热点地区的方法,为相关政府部门更有效地进行湿地生物多样性的保护和管理提供科学依据。