Analysis of the distribution of epiphytic lichens within homogeneousFagus sylvatica stands along an altitudinal gradient (Mount Olympos,Greece)

Epiphytic lichen vegetation onFagus sylvatica sas studied in 4 sites along an altitudinal gradient from 930 to 1500 m on SE facing slopes of Mount Olympos (Greece). The crucial factor determining the spatial heterogeneity of epiphytic lichens onF. sylvatica is the altitude and not the height on the trunk at which lichen community is established. 17 out of 26 taxa are confined to a particular elevation range, while another three are clearly ubiquitous in their distribution. The number of lichen species at breast height is higher than at the base of the trunks. The results were compared with those gathered earlier in an analogous study on the vertical distribution of epiphytic lichens onPinus nigra along an altitudinal gradient from 750 to 1510 m of the same mountain. Comparison suggests that spatial heterogeneity of epiphytic lichens onF. sylvatica is different from the one onP. nigra.     

Altitude effects on spatial components of vascular plant diversity in a subarctic mountain tundra

Environmental gradients are caused by gradual changes in abiotic factors, which affect species abundances and distributions, and are important for the spatial distribution of biodiversity. One prominent environmental gradient is the altitude gradient. Understanding ecological processes associated with altitude gradients may help us to understand the possible effects climate change could have on species communities. We quantified vegetation cover, species richness, species evenness, beta diversity, and spatial patterns of community structure of vascular plants along altitude gradients in a subarctic mountain tundra in northern Sweden. Vascular plant cover and plant species richness showed unimodal relationships with altitude. However, species evenness did not change with altitude, suggesting that no individual species became dominant when species richness declined. Beta diversity also showed a unimodal relationship with altitude, but only for an intermediate spatial scale of 1 km. A lack of relationships with altitude for either patch or landscape scales suggests that any altitude effects on plant spatial heterogeneity occurred on scales larger than individual patches but were not effective across the whole landscape. We observed both nested and modular patterns of community structures, but only the modular patterns corresponded with altitude. Our observations point to biotic regulations of plant communities at high altitudes, but we found both scale dependencies and inconsistent magnitude of the effects of altitude on different diversity components. We urge for further studies evaluating how different factors influence plant communities in high altitude and high latitude environments, as well as studies identifying scale and context dependencies in any such influences.     

长白山北坡植物群落间物种共有度的海拔梯度变化

群落同各生活植物及种所有植物种的共有度,一定程度上反映了群落间的相关性及沿环境梯度的物种替代关系。应用梯度格局法在长白山北坡海拔700－2600m之间,海拔每上升100m设置一块样地,共计20块样地,应用Jaccard指数,对各海拔植物群落间物种共有度的海拔梯度变化进行了分析,不同海拔群落间物种的共有度,无论以哪一层次的植物来表达,基本都以与其最相邻海拔的群落之间为最高;如相邻海拔的两个群落属于不同植被类型,其共有度较低。群落间物种共有度的峰值与谷点反映了群落类型随海拔具有间断性变化,乔、灌、草各生活型物种的共有度以及所有植物物的共有度,在同一海拔差群落间的数值都非常接近,并均随着海拔的增加呈明显的下降趋势,表明群落各层次物种的构成有很大的相关性以及物种之间的共存性。     

Variability of lichen diversity in a climatically heterogeneous area (Liguria,NW Italy)

Abstract:The influence of environmental variables on epiphytic lichens in Liguria (NW Italy) was examined using two complementary approaches. Firstly, the variability of lichen vegetation in relation to environmental variables was investigated. Secondly, the variability of Lichen Biodiversity (LB) counts, used in biomonitoring studies, was analysed in relation to bioclimatic areas. Geomorphology strongly affects lichen vegetation. The coastal mountain ridge and the Tyrrhenian-Po valley watershed limit the distribution range of three different communities: a Parmelion community with a high frequency of coastal suboceanic species, a Parmelion community rich in oak wood species and the Parmelietum acetabuli association, situated beyond the Po Valley watershed. Substantial differences in the distribution of lichen communities related to a climatic gradient (from humid Mediterranean to dry sub-Mediterranean regions) are not matched by corresponding statistically significant differences in LB counts. More accurate studies are necessary to define homogeneous bioclimatic areas, in which LB values can be compared for biomonitoring purposes.     

Epiphytic macrolichen communities along regional gradients in northern Norway

Abstract. Question: What are the relative influences of human impact, macroclimate, geographic location and habitat related environmental differences on species composition of boreal epiphytic macrolichen communities? Location: Troms county in northern Norway. Methods: Detrended Correspondence Analysis revealed the main gradient structure in lists of epiphytic macrolichen species from deciduous forests. By Canonical Correspondence Analysis with variance partitioning, the relative amount of variance in macrolichen species composition attributable to human impact, macroclimate, spatial context and environmental differences was quantified. Results: There was no significant effect of human impact on species composition of epiphytic macrolichens of deciduous forests. Macroclimate was the most important factor determining epiphytic macrolichen communities, which were also strongly influenced by ecological differences such as forest stand properties. Conclusions: Epiphytic macrolichen communities are determined by a macroclimatic gradient from the coastline to the interior of central north Norway. In marked contrast, the species composition of epiphytic macrolichen communities seems to be unaffected by human impact in the study area, where air pollution was marginal.     

Forest edge-interior differentiation in the epiphytic lichen diversity of the forest steppe in the Khangai Mountains,Mongolia

Aims The effects of traditional land use by mobile livestock keepers on biodiversity in forest steppe ecotones are insufficiently studied. Epiphytes are an important part of forest plant diversity. Here we analyze differences in the diversity and composition of the epiphytic lichen vegetation between the edge and the interior of Siberian larch forests in the Khangai Mountains, western Mongolia, which are highly subdivided into patches. We asked whether the epiphytic lichen vegetation at the forest edge differs significantly from that in the interior, whether the edge is inhabited by more nitrophilous species than the interior and whether the density of nomad camps around the forest affects epiphytic lichen diversity.Methods Cover percentages of epiphytic lichen species were recorded from 20 trees per plot on 6 plots in the interior and 6 plots at the edge of Larix sibirica forests. The position of nomad summer camps was surveyed using Global Positioning System. Data were analyzed with pairwise significance tests, analysis of similarities, nonmetric multidimensional scaling and canonical correspondence analysis.Important findings The composition of the epiphytic lichen vegetation clearly differed between the two habitats, with more species being more frequent at the edge than in the interior. However, there was no difference in species richness (α-diversity). The epiphyte vegetation at the edge was more uniform and characterized by lower variation of tree-level α-diversity and lower β-diversity than in the interior. At the edge, only nitrophytic lichens were dominant, whereas in the interior, nitrophytes and acidophytes were among the dominant species. This pattern is probably attributable to the spatial heterogeneity of the intensity of forest grazing and was shown to be influenced by the density of nomad summer camps in the vicinity of the forests. Tree-level α-diversity increased with stem diameter, but high-diameter trees were rare. The results suggest that the present level of forest patchiness and the effect of forest grazing increases the diversity of epiphytic lichens on the landscape level, while logging of high-diameter trees reduces lichen diversity.     

Alpha diversity of communities and their variety along altitude gradient on northern slope of Changbai Mountain]

From 700 to 2600 m on northern slope of Changbai Mountain, twenty plots were investigated with an interval of 100 m in altitude, and alpha diversity of communities and their variety along altitude gradient were studied. The results showed that in different successional layers of trees, or shrub and herb layers, richness and diversity decreased linearly with the increase of altitude. Tree species decreased from 19 species at 700 m to only 1 species at timberline. Shrub and herb species decreased from 20 and 61 species at 700 m to 2 and 15 species at 2600 m respectively. The peak values of richness of trees and herbs along altitude gradient were appeared just in the ecotones between different types of vegetation, and it reflected the characteristics of high species richness in ecotones.     

拉萨河流域亏组山植物物种丰富度和群落特征研究

为研究草地植物群落、物种丰富度及其分布格局与影响因子之间的关系,该文以拉萨河流域林周县卡孜乡亏组山为研究地点,对山体垂直样带(3900～5100 m)植物群落特征、植物物种丰富度与各影响因子之间的关系进行了研究.研究区域共设置了13个样带(每隔100 m设一个样带),每样带设置0.5 m×0.5 m的5个样方进行植被调...     

Vegetation patterns at the alpine treeline ecotone: the influence of tree cover on abrupt change in species composition of alpine communities

Aims: The upper elevation limit of forest vegetation in mountain ranges (the alpine treeline ecotone) is expected to be highly sensitive to global change. Treeline shifts and/or ecotone afforestation could cause fragmentation and loss of alpine habitat, and are expected to trigger considerable alterations in alpine vegetation. We performed an analysis of vegetation structure at the treeline ecotone to evaluate whether distribution of the tree population determines the spatial pattern of vegetation (species composition and diversity) across the transition from subalpine forest to alpine vegetation. Location: Iberian eastern range of the Pyrenees. Methods: We studied 12 alpine Pinus uncinata treeline ecotones. Rectangular plots ranging from 940 to 1900 m² were placed along the forest‐alpine vegetation transition, from closed forest to the treeless alpine area. To determine community structure and species distribution in the treeline ecotone, species variation along the forest‐alpine vegetation transition was sampled using relevés of 0.5 m² set every 2 m along the length of each plot. Fuzzy C‐means clustering was performed to assess the transitional status of the relevés in terms of species composition. The relation of P. uncinata canopy cover to spatial pattern of vegetation was evaluated using continuous wavelet transform analysis. Results: Vegetation analyses revealed a large degree of uniformity of the subalpine forest between all treeline ecotone areas studied. In contrast, the vegetation mosaic found upslope displayed great variation between sites and was characterized by abrupt changes in plant community across the treeline ecotone. Plant richness and diversity significantly increased across the ecotone, but tree cover and diversity boundaries were not spatially coincident. Conclusions: Our results revealed that no intermediate communities, in terms of species composition, are present in the treeline ecotone. Ecotone vegetation reflected both bedrock type and fine‐scale heterogeneity at ground level, thereby reinforcing the importance of microenvironmental conditions for alpine community composition. Tree cover did not appear to be the principal driver of alpine community changes across the treeline ecotone. Microenvironmental heterogeneity, together with effects of past climatic and land‐use changes on ecotone vegetation, may weaken the expected correlation between species distribution and vegetation structure.     

西藏岗巴拉山土壤细菌多样性海拔分布格局及其驱动因子

高原山地是对全球气候变化最为敏感的脆弱生态系统之一,研究高原山地土壤细菌群落沿海拔变化特征,对于揭示受气候变化和人为干扰的山地微生物群落结构和功能有十分重要的科学意义。研究以西藏岗巴拉山作为研究对象,运用Illumina MiSeq高通量测序技术,基于精细样方尺度分析了岗巴拉山沿海拔梯度土壤细菌群落组成和多样性的变化特征及其驱动因子。结果表明：岗巴拉山土壤细菌共包含36门125纲307目477科838属1878种,将12个海拔带分为高中低3组（低海拔从3800-4100 m、中海拔从4200-4500 m、高海拔从4600-4900 m）,中海拔总分类操作单元（OTU）数最多,特有OTU数最少,土壤细菌群落丰富度随海拔升高呈单峰趋势,但其特异性随海拔呈U型分布格局。岗巴拉山土壤细菌群落中的优势菌门是放线菌门、酸杆菌门、变形菌门、绿弯菌门、疣微菌门和芽单胞菌门等,土壤细菌群落Shannon多样性指数随海拔升高而逐渐减小,而Simpson多样性指数在高海拔最高,Chao指数随海拔升高呈单峰变化趋势。主坐标分析（PCoA）表明土壤细菌群落结构在不同海拔梯度上存在显著差异,且低海拔土壤细菌群落组内也存在显著差异。冗余分析（RDA）表明海拔、pH、总氮、总磷和有机碳对土壤细菌群落结构有显著影响,与环境因子相关性分析表明海拔、pH、总氮、总磷和有机碳与土壤细菌群落结构显著相关,曼特尔检验表明pH和海拔是影响土壤细菌群落的关键因素。岗巴拉山土壤细菌多样性沿海拔梯度呈单调下降趋势,pH是影响土壤细菌群落沿海拔变化特征的关键环境因子,总氮、总磷和有机碳也是影响土壤细菌群落的重要环境因子。     

Spatial heterogeneity reduces temporal variability in stream insect communities

Although all natural systems are heterogeneous, the direct influence of spatial heterogeneity on most ecological variables is unknown. In many systems, spatial heterogeneity is positively correlated with both microhabitat refugia and species richness. Both an increased number of microhabitat refugia and the effects of statistical averaging via increased species richness should lead to an inverse relationship between spatial heterogeneity and variability in community composition. To test this prediction, I measured diversity and temporal variability of invertebrate communities in a northern New Hampshire stream along a natural gradient of spatial heterogeneity formed by variation in stream substrates. On average, there was a 42% decrease in community variability along a gradient of increasing heterogeneity. This pattern was robust to changes in metrics of both heterogeneity and community variability. There was also a significant positive relationship between taxon richness and spatial heterogeneity with predicted taxon richness increasing c. 1.5× along the heterogeneity gradient. By resampling community abundance data, I estimated that statistical averaging accounted for only 4% of the observed decrease in community variability in this study. I concluded that the remaining decrease was very likely explained by a greater number of refugia from predation and/or flooding in high‐heterogeneity habitats. The results of this study suggest that maximizing heterogeneity in ecological restoration programmes may promote temporally stable and diverse communities and may aid in responsible management of aquatic resources.     

河北坝上草原东沟植物群落生态梯度的数量分析

运用DCCA排序轴分类,将河北坝上草原东沟的植物群落划分为8类,效果较好．排序图表达了植物群落的环境梯度、结构梯度和人为干扰．第1轴反映了群落在海拔和坡度方面的空间梯度,第2轴反映了群落的坡向分异格局,两轴综合反映了群落沿水分梯度的空间分异．群落的层片构成和各层片物种组成也表现出相应的空间分布格局．白桦局限在阴坡高海拔陡峭处．阴坡灌木与草本层片优势种分别为金露梅与细叶苔草,阳坡则为蒿类和冰草．阳坡群落各层片优势种还存在海拔和坡度分布格局．另外,放牧、耕作和伐树等人为干扰对群落时空分布也有显著影响．一般来说,生境条件较好的群落,人为干扰较严重．     

Effects of forest management on epiphytic lichen diversity in Mediterranean forests

Question: What are the responses of epiphytic lichens to the intensity of management along a large environmental gradient in Mediterranean Quercus forests? Location: Central Spain. Methods: This study was carried out on 4590 trees located in 306 forest stands dominated by Quercus faginea or Quercus ilex ssp. ballota. The effect of forest management and other predictor variables on several species diversity indicators were studied. Variables modelled were total species richness, cyanolichen richness and community composition. A large number of predictor variables were included: forest fragmentation (patch size, stand variability), climate and topographic (altitude, slope, sun radiation, annual rainfall and mean annual temperature) and intensity of management. General linear models and constrained ordination techniques were used to model community traits and species composition, respectively. Results: Total richness and especially cyanolichens richness were significantly and negatively affected by the intensity of management. Lichen composition was influenced by management intensity, climatic and topographic variables and stand variability. Conclusions: In Mediterranean forests, human activities related to forestry, agricultural and livestock use cause impoverishment of lichen communities, including the local disappearance of the most demanding species. The conservation of unmanaged forests with a dense canopy is crucial for lichen diversity.     

Pattern of local plant species richness along a gradient of landscape topographical heterogeneity: result of spatial mass effect or environmental shift?

Several processes are hypothesised to mediate the relationship between local (microsite) plant species richness and the topographical heterogeneity of the surrounding landscape. In a topographically heterogeneous landscape with various habitats occurring close to each other, local species richness may be enriched by species from surrounding habitats due to the spatial mass effect (sink‐source dynamics). In contrast, increased habitat fragmentation due to spatial heterogeneity may have a negative effect on local species richness. The spatial mass effect is thought to be more pronounced in communities with a higher ratio of generalists, as generalists are more likely to establish viable populations in sink habitats. To reveal the pattern of local species richness along a gradient of landscape topographical heterogeneity at middle altitudes of the Bohemian Massif, we used 2551 forest vegetation plots stored in the Czech National Phytosociological Database. We developed an analytical approach relating the pattern of local species richness of vegetation types to the gradient of landscape topographical heterogeneity. An increase or decrease in species richness with increasing landscape heterogeneity was related to changes in the generalist/specialist ratio, and also to changes in soil reaction and productivity estimated through Ellenberg indicator values. Local species richness along a gradient of increasing landscape heterogeneity increased in nutrient‐poor vegetation and decreased in nutrient‐rich vegetation. Nutrient‐poor vegetation types, such as thermophilous and acidophilous oak forests, also had a high proportion of habitat generalists, supporting the hypothesis that increased richness in heterogeneous landscapes may result from the spatial mass effect. However, the same pattern may be explained by a shift in environmental conditions along the landscape heterogeneity gradient, such as increasing productivity of nutrient‐rich vegetation types or increasing soil reaction of most vegetation types in more heterogeneous landscapes. We discuss available evidence and conclude that these two explanations need not be mutually exclusive.     

Characteristics of the soil seed bank in Mediterranean temporary ponds and its role in ecosystem dynamics

Species in temporary ponds overcome periods of unfavorable weather conditions by building up a large seed bank. With this strategy, the species diversity of ponds is preserved and information on their dynamics and structure is retained. Little is known about the characteristics, spatial patterns and role in the vegetation dynamics of the soil seed banks of Mediterranean temporary ponds, which are regarded as priority habitats under protection. We studied two sites of western Crete: Omalos, a mountain plateau at 1,060 m a.s.l. and Elafonisos, located near the coast at 60 m a.s.l. The seed bank was surveyed along transects using the germination method. Aboveground vegetation was measured on quadrats along the same transects. Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) was run to define the zonation patterns. High density and species richness were recorded in both sites, with an average of 75,662 seeds/m² found in Omalos and 22,941 seeds/m² in Elafonisos. The community composition of both sites was remarkably different but in both locations perennial species were inconspicuous while annuals, prevailed in the seed banks. An important array of protected or rare species as well as several others which were absent from the vegetation were hosted in the soil seed banks, thereby rendering a low similarity between their composition. Soil seed banks in these ecosystems indicated a spatial heterogeneity that mirrored the aboveground vegetation distribution, sorted along the moisture gradient by their tolerance to flooding. Soil seed banks play a key role in the vegetation recovery after summer drought. The acts of preserving the soil seed bank and ensuring a transient flooding regime are essential to protect the unique vegetation communities of Mediterranean temporary ponds.     

Patterns of β-diversity and similarity reveal biotic homogenization of epiphytic lichen communities associated with the spread of black locust forests

We compared epiphytic lichen communities of native broadleaved and secondary black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) forests to detect possible differences in community structure that could be indicative of biological homogenization enhanced by the replacement of native by black locust forests. The study was carried out in two areas of Italy with different bioclimatic conditions using a balanced stratified random sampling. Results reveal a different pattern of community structure between native and black locust forests across the two regions that may reflect a process of biological homogenization. In particular, lichen communities of black locust forests share several species between the two study regions. This pattern of floristic homogenization parallels with a functional homogenization related to the spread of highly competitive species. This research provides early evidence that the decrease of native forests associated with the spread of black locust is a mechanism triggering biological homogenization of the epiphytic lichen biota.     

Multi-scale altitudinal patterns in species richness of land snail communities in south-eastern France

Aim Species richness is an important feature of communities that varies along elevational gradients. Different patterns of distribution have been described in the literature for various taxonomic groups. This study aims to distinguish between species density and species richness and to describe, for land snails in south‐eastern France, the altitudinal patterns of both at different spatial scales. Location The study was conducted on five calcareous mountains in south‐eastern France (Etoile, Sainte Baume, Sainte Victoire, Ventoux and Queyras). Methods Stratified sampling according to vegetation and altitude was undertaken on five mountains, forming a composite altitudinal gradient ranging from 100 to 3100 m. Visual searching and analysis of turf samples were undertaken to collect land snail species. Species density is defined as the number of species found within quadrats of 25 m². Species richness is defined as the number of species found within an elevation zone. Different methods involving accumulation curves are used to describe the patterns in species richness. Elevation zones of different sizes are studied. Results Eighty‐seven species of land snails were recovered from 209 samples analysed during this study. Land snail species density, which can vary between 29 and 1 species per 25 m², decreases logarithmically with increasing altitude along the full gradient. However, on each mountain separately, only a linear decrease is observable. The climatic altitudinal gradient can explain a large part of this pattern, but the great variability suggests that other factors, such as heterogeneity of ground cover, also exert an influence on species density. The altitudinal pattern of species richness varies depending on the spatial resolution of the study. At fine resolution (altitudinal zones of 100 m) land snail species richness forms a plateau at altitudes below 1000 m, before decreasing with increasing altitude. At coarse resolution (altitudinal zones of 500 and 1000 m) the relationship becomes linear. Main conclusions This study reveals that land snail species density and land snail species richness form two different altitudinal patterns. Species density exhibits strong variability between sites of comparable altitude. A large number of samples seem necessary to study altitudinal patterns of species density. Species density decreases logarithmically with increasing altitude. Above a critical altitudinal threshold, this decrease lessens below the rate seen in the first 1500 m. Different methods exist to scale‐up species density to species richness but these often produce different patterns. In this study, the use of accumulation curves has yielded a pattern of species richness showing a plateau at low altitude, whereas simple plotting of known altitudinal ranges from single mountains would have produced stronger mid‐altitudinal peaks. This study shows that not only factors such as temperatures and habitat heterogeneity, but also an ecotone effect, are responsible for the observed patterns.     

长白山溪流河岸带森林木本植物多样性沿海拔梯度分布规律

采用样带网格调查方法和α、β多样性指数分析方法,研究了长白山河岸带原始林和次生林群落木本植物多样性沿海拔梯度分布规律及其对采伐干扰的响应.结果表明：不同海拔区域河岸带原始林群落均由11～13个树种组成,其在群落中的地位随海拔升高而发生变化,阔叶树种优势地位逐步被针叶树种所取代,采伐干扰不仅改变了群落树种丰富度及其在群落中的地位,而且使针叶树种取代阔叶树种的趋势有所增强;河岸带原始林群落物种多样性沿海拔梯度呈现出中、低海拔区域相对较高且比较恒定(2.454～2.544),高海拔区域(2.250)下降的分布规律,采伐干扰改变了其沿海拔梯度分布格局(波动型),加大了不同海拔区域群落间的波动性(2.174～2.692);河岸带原始林群落树种沿海拔梯度的变动速率相对较低(1.5～3.5),且群落相似性较高(0.85～0.94),采伐干扰使次生林群落树种沿海拔梯度的变动幅度增大(0.5～6.0),群落相似性下降(0.68～0.91),但次生林群落沿海拔梯度分布仍具有较高连续性.     

Experimental comparison of competition and facilitation in alpine communities varying in productivity

Question. Competitive and facilitative interactions among plant species in different abiotic environments potentially link productivity, vegetation structure, species composition and functional diversity. We investigated these interactions among four alpine communities along an environmental productivity gradient in a generally harsh climate. We hypothesised that the importance of competition would be higher in more productive sites. Location. Mt. M. Khatipara (43°27′N, 41°41′E, altitude 2750 m), NW Caucasus, Russia. Communities ranged from low‐productivity alpine lichen heath (ALH) and snowbed communities (SBC), to intermediate productivity Festuca grassland (FVG), and high‐productivity Geranium‐Hedysarum meadow (GHM). Methods. We quantified the relative influence of competition and facilitation on community structure by expressing biomass of target species within each natural community proportionally to biomass of the species in a “null community” with experimental release from interspecific competition by removing all other species (for 6 years). An overall index of change in community composition due to interspecific interactions was calculated as the sum of absolute or proportional differences of the component species. Results. Species responses to neighbour removal ranged from positive to neutral. There was no evidence of facilitation among the selected dominant species. As expected, competition was generally most important in the most productive alpine community (GHM). The intermediate position for low‐productivity communities of stressful environments (ALH, SBC) and the last position of intermediately productive FVG were unexpected. Conclusions. Our results appear to support the Fretwell‐Oksanen hypothesis in that competition in communities of intermediate productivity was less intense than in low‐ or high‐productive communities. However, the zero net effect of competition and facilitation in FVG might be the result of abiotic stress due to strong sun exposure and high soil temperatures after neighbour removal. Thus, non‐linear relationships between soil fertility, productivity and different abiotic stresses may also determine the balance between competition and facilitation.     

白龙江干旱河谷不同坡向主要灌丛群落随海拔梯度变化的物种多样性研究

采用样方调查法,研究了白龙江干旱河谷不同坡向主要灌丛群落沿着海拔梯度的结构特征、物种多样性的变化规律,旨在了解白龙江干旱河谷不同海拔梯度植被特征和物种多样性变化,为白龙江干旱河谷区域不同海拔植被恢复提供理论依据。研究结果表明：（1）不同海拔梯度同一坡向物种数不同,同一海拔不同坡向物种数也不同,随着海拔的升高不同坡向物种数表现为先增加后减少的趋势,同一海拔梯度内不同坡向主要植被类型也不同。（2）主要灌木群落α多样性在不同坡向随着海拔梯度的升高,表现出先升高后减小的趋势。不同坡向草本群落α多样性随着海拔的升高,也表现出先升高后减小的趋势。对主要灌丛α多样性指数进行相关性分析得物种丰富度指数对物种多样性贡献率最大,表现为丰富度指数（D₁、D₂）> 生态优势度指数（SN）> 种间机遇指数（H）> 群落均匀度指数（R）。（3）不同坡向主要灌丛群落β多样性Whittaker指数沿着不同海拔梯度变化不大,最大值出现在海拔1250~1650m;Routledge和Codyβ多样性指数在海拔1450~1650m出现最大值,但是大体呈现出波形变化。草本β多样性随着海拔的升高变化较大,阳坡植物的β多样性指数在海拔1050~1250m达到最大,阴坡和半阴半阳坡在海拔区间1250~1450m达到最大,半阴半阳坡的β多样性指数均大于阳坡。白龙江干旱河谷不同坡向、不同海拔梯度物种α多样性和β多样性都不同,且不同坡向随着海拔梯度的变化物种α多样性和β多样性呈一定的相关性,说明海拔和坡向是影响生物多样性主要因子之一。