Spatial patterns of wood traits in China are controlled by phylogeny and the environment

Aim Wood properties are related to tree physiology and mechanical stability and are influenced by both phylogeny and the environment. However, it remains unclear to what extent geographical gradients in wood traits are shaped by either phylogeny or the environment. Here we aimed to disentangle the influences of phylogeny and the environment on spatial trends in wood traits. Location China. Methods We compiled a data set of 11 wood properties for 618 tree species from 98 sampling sites in China to assess their phylogenetic and spatial patterns, and to determine how many of the spatial patterns in wood properties are attributable to the environment after correction for phylogenetic influences. Result All wood traits examined exhibited significant phylogenetic signal. The widest divergence in wood traits was observed between gymnosperms and angiosperms, Rosids and Asterids, Magnoiliids and Eudicots, and in Lamiales. For most wood traits, the majority of trait variation was observed at genus and species levels. The mechanical properties of wood showed correlated evolution with wood density. Most of the mechanical properties of wood exhibited significant latitudinal variation but limited or no altitudinal variation, and were positively correlated with mean annual precipitation based on both Pearson's correlation analysis and the phylogenetic comparative method. Correlations at family level between mean annual temperature and wood density, compression strength, cross‐section hardness, modulus of elasticity and volumetric shrinkage coefficient became significant after correction for phylogenetic influences. Main conclusions Phylogeny interacted with the environment in shaping the spatial patterns of wood traits of trees across China because most wood properties showed strong phylogenetic conservatism and thus affected environmental tolerances and distributions of tree species. Mean annual precipitation was a key environmental factor explaining the spatial patterns of wood traits. Our study provides valuable insights into the geographical patterns in productivity, distribution and ecological strategy of trees linking to wood traits.     

中国660种陆生植物叶片8种元素含量特征

对全国范围内120个样点660种陆生植物共1781个植物样本的叶片S、K、Na、Fe、Ca、SiO2、Al、Mn含量特征进行了研究。各元素的平均含量大小顺序为KCaSiO2NaSAlFeMn,总体上属于KCa型。与世界陆生植物平均元素含量相比较,我国植物叶片Na的含量偏高。除Ca在草本植物中的含量低于木本植物外,为满足快速生长的需要,S、K、Na、Fe、Ca、SiO2的含量草本植物木本植物、落叶植物常绿植物、阔叶植物针叶植物,而Mn的含量在这些功能组却刚好相反,Al的含量变化不大。S、K、SiO2在针叶林中的含量最低,S、Na、Fe在荒漠植物中的含量最高。Ca与SiO2、Al,以及Mn与除Al之外的其他6种元素之间均呈极显著负相关(P0.01),除此之外,植物元素含量间的相关关系都为极显著正相关(P0.01)。植物叶片元素含量与植物所处的地理位置的相关分析表明,S、K、Na、Fe、Ca、SiO2含量随纬度的增加而增加,Al、Mn随纬度的增加而减少;S、K、Na、Fe、SiO2、Al随经度的增加而减少,Mn随经度的增加而增加,而Ca与经度间相关性不显著。     

Leaf nitrogen and phosphorus stoichiometry across 753 terrestrial plant species in China

Leaf nitrogen and phosphorus stoichiometry of Chinese terrestrial plants was studied based on a national data set including 753 species across the country. Geometric means were calculated for functional groups based on life form, phylogeny and photosynthetic pathway, as well as for all 753 species. The relationships between leaf N and P stoichiometric traits and latitude (and temperature) were analysed. The geometric means of leaf N, P, and N : P ratio for the 753 species were 18.6 and 1.21 mg g(-1) and 14.4, respectively. With increasing latitude (decreasing mean annual temperature, MAT), leaf N and P increased, but the N : P ratio did not show significant changes. Although patterns of leaf N, P and N : P ratios across the functional groups were generally consistent with those reported previously, the overall N : P ratio of China's flora was considerably higher than the global averages, probably caused by a greater shortage of soil P in China than elsewhere. The relationships between leaf N, P and N : P ratio and latitude (and MAT) also suggested the existence of broad biogeographical patterns of these leaf traits in Chinese flora.     

Floral,climatic and soil pH controls on leaf ash content in China's terrestrial plants

Aim To investigate broad‐scale patterns of plant leaf ash content and their possible causes in China. Location Mainland China and Hainan island, with the geographic ranges for the data used from 18.7° N to 49.2° N and 76.0° E to 128.3° E. Methods By analysing a data set of 2022 leaf samples, involving 704 species of terrestrial plants. Results Leaf ash content increases with increasing latitude at an average rate of 2.7 mg ash g^?1 dry weight per degree latitude from south to north of China. Plant functional group shows a more powerful influence on the spatial variation in leaf ash than soil pH and climate. Fast‐growing species or those with leaves with a short life span have higher leaf ash than slow‐growing species or those with a long leaf life span. Plants from alkaline soils have higher leaf ash than those from acid soils (39.5 mg g^?1 increase in leaf ash content per unit increase of pH). Increasing precipitation significantly reduces leaf ash (with a mean rate of 4.8 mg g^?1 for every 100 mm rainfall), whereas the effect of temperature appears to be nonlinear. Main conclusions This study shows a significant latitudinal trend in leaf ash content in China. This geographic pattern is possibly shaped by the floral, edaphic and climatic factors that control the biogeochemical cycling of plant minerals. The results suggest that leaf ash content is a useful biogeographic indicator that can be used to explore the complex interactions between plants and the environment.     

中国大帽藓科（Encalyptaceae,Musci）植物分类和分布的研究

在研究文献和标本的基础上,简要回顾了中国大帽藓科（Encalyptaceae）植物的研究进展,对中国大帽藓科植物的分类和分布进行了整理研究。现知中国仅分布大帽藓属（Encalypta Hedw.)1属10种。本研究按照吴征镒^[1]关于划分中国种子植物属的分布区类型的划分方法,将中国大帽藓属划分为6个分布区类型和3个变型,其中的拟烟杆大帽藓（Encalypta buxbaumioidea)、中华大帽藓（E.sinica）和天山大帽藓（E.tianschanica）等3种为中国特有分布类型。文中概括了每个种的识别特征、生境和分布区类型,并以拟烟杆大帽藓、中华大帽藓和天山大帽藓绘图描述。根据标本编制了中国大帽藓属植物分种检索表。     

Influence of phylogenetic scale on the relationships of taxonomic and phylogenetic turnovers with environment for angiosperms in China

We aim to assess the influence of phylogenetic scale on the relationships of taxonomic and phylogenetic turnovers with environment for angiosperms in China. Specifically, we quantify the effects of contemporary climate on β‐diversity at different phylogenetic scales representing different evolutionary depths of angiosperms. We sampled a latitudinal gradient and a longitudinal gradient of angiosperm assemblages across China (each ≥3400 km). Species composition in each assemblage was documented. Three metrics of β‐diversity (β_sim.tax measuring taxonomic β‐diversity; β_sim.phy and D_pw measuring tip‐ and basal‐weighted phylogenetic β‐diversity, respectively) were quantified among assemblages at sequential depths in the evolutionary history of angiosperms from the tips to deeper branches. This was done by slicing the angiosperm phylogenetic tree at six evolutionary depths (0, 15, 30, 45, 60, and 75 million years ago). β‐diversity at each evolutionary depth was related to geographic and climatic distances between assemblages. In general, the relationship between β‐diversity and climatic distance decreased from shallow to deep evolutionary time slice for all the three metrics. The slopes of the decreasing trends for β_sim.tax and β_sim.phy were much steeper for the latitudinal gradient than for the longitudinal gradient. The decreasing trend of the strength of the relationship was monotonic in all cases except for D_pw across the longitudinal gradient. Geographic distance between assemblages explained little variation in β‐diversity that was not explained by climatic distance. Our study shows that the strength of the relationship between β‐diversity and climatic distance decreases conspicuously from shallow to deep evolutionary depth for the latitudinal gradient, but this decreasing trend is less steep for the longitudinal gradient than for the latitudinal gradient, which likely reflects the influence of historical processes (e.g., the collision of the Indian plate with the Eurasian plate) on β‐diversity.     

不同起源时间的植物叶凋落物在中亚热带的分解特性

选择9种起源时间不同的植物的凋落叶,采用分解袋法,在浙江千岛湖地区从2006年6月到2008年6月进行了分解试验,试图探索植物进化过程中凋落物分解特性的演变趋势.所选的9种植物分属于4个类群,按起源时间由早到晚依次为蕨类植物(芒萁和桫椤)、裸子植物(苏铁、水杉、杉木和马尾松)、双子叶植物(木荷和青冈)及单子叶植物(毛竹).每隔一个月取样,每种凋落物3次重复.结果表明:不同植物类群凋落物基质的氮(N)、木质素(Lignin)含量及Lignin/N比值与分解速率具有良好的相关性.起源时间越晚的植物凋落物的基质N含量越高,为单子叶植物>双子叶植物>裸子植物>蕨类植物.Lignin含量和Lignin/N比值的趋势一致,均为起源时间越晚而值越低,即蕨类植物>裸子植物>双子叶植物>单子叶植物.凋落物分解系数k值的范围在0.25～0.63之间,表现出毛竹>青冈>木荷>水杉>马尾松>杉木>苏铁>桫椤>芒萁的趋势.4个植物类群的凋落物分解速率的均值为单子叶植物>双子叶植物>裸子植物>蕨类植物.试验结果初步表明:植物凋落物分解的进化趋势是由分解缓慢逐渐演变为分解较快.     

A review of the bladed Bangiales (Rhodophyta) in China: history,culture and taxonomy

In this paper, we review cultural history, mariculture and taxonomic work to date for Porphyra sensu lato (bladed Bangiales) in China. The bladed Bangiales are a red seaweed group with high species biodiversity and economic value. In China, species occur along the length of the coast and are highly integrated into the country’s culture. Chinese people have used the bladed Bangiales as food and pharmaceuticals for about 1700 years with many references to these seaweeds in ancient books. The mariculture of bladed Bangiales in China also has a long history and an industry has been established based on some species, notably Pyropia yezoensis. The scientific study of the taxonomy of the bladed Bangiales in China began in the late 1920s and to date, based on morphological identification, 25 species and five varieties have been recorded for China, of which 12 species are considered to be endemic to the country. The majority of species have distribution data showing evidence of possible changes due to increasing water temperatures along the coast. The global biodiversity of the bladed Bangiales has been revealed using molecular approaches. This points to the need for molecular taxonomy of Chinese material to document species diversity and distribution, particularly as it includes the wild stocks for seaweed cultivation and because coastal habitats are increasingly impacted by the increasing human population and an expanding mariculture industry. There is a considerable body of literature on the bladed Bangiales in China, but much of it is Chinese and in obscure publications, so we review it here for the benefit of readers worldwide.     

Elevational turnover in the composition of leaf miners and their interactions with host plants in Australian subtropical rainforest

Leaf miners are specialist herbivorous insects that are potentially vulnerable to environmental change because of their dependency on particular host plants. Little, however, is known about how climate affects the distribution of leaf miner communities and their interactions with host plants. Elevational gradients are useful tools for understanding how ecological communities respond to local clines in climate. Given that plant communities are known to undergo elevational turnover in response to changes in climatic conditions, we expect that leaf miner species will also change with elevation. We repeatedly hand collected leaf miners along three elevational gradients in subtropical rainforest in eastern Australia. Individual leaf miners were counted and identified to species, and their host plants were recorded. We tested if leaf miner species richness and the number of unique interactions among leaf miner and host plant species were affected by elevation. We also tested if the composition of leaf miner species and the composition of interactions between leaf miners and host plants showed a relationship with elevation. The rarefied number of unique leaf miner–host plant interactions significantly decreased with elevation, with a slight peak at approx. 700 m a.s.l., while neither rarefied or observed species richness (species density) of leaf miners nor observed numbers of unique interactions (interaction density) were significantly affected by elevation. The composition of leaf miner species and the composition of leaf miner–host plant interactions (occurrence of pairwise interactions) were significantly related to elevation. Elevational turnover in leaf miner species composition indicated that different species varied in their response to changes in biotic and/or abiotic conditions imposed by increasing elevation. Through our analyses, we identified four leaf miner species that may be locally vulnerable to climate change, as a result of their restricted elevational distribution and level of host specificity.