Spatial and environmental determinants of plant species diversity in a temperate desert

Aims Deserts are one of the ecosystems most sensitive to global climate change. However, there are few studies examining how changing abiotic and biotic factors under climate change will affect plant species diversity in the temperate deserts of Asia. This study aimed to: (i) characterize species distributions and diversity patterns in an Asian temperate desert; and (ii) to quantify the effects of spatial and environment variables on plant species diversity.Methods We surveyed 61 sites to examine the relationship between plant species diversity and several spatial/environmental variables in the Gurbantunggut Desert. Spatial and environmental variables were used to predict plant species diversity in separate multiple regression and ordination models. Variation in species responses to spatial and environmental conditions was partitioned by combining these variables in a redundancy analysis (RDA) and by creating multivariate regression trees (MRT).Important findings We found 92 plant species across the 61 sites. Elevation and geographic location were the dominant environmental factors underlying variation in site species richness. A RDA indicated that 93% of the variance in the species–environment relationships was explained by altitude, latitude, longitude, precipitation and slope position. Precipitation and topographic heterogeneity, through their effects on water availability, were more important than soil chemistry in determining the distribution of species. MRT analyses categorized communities into four groups based on latitude, soil pH and elevation, explaining 42.3% of the standardized species variance. Soil pH strongly influenced community composition within homogeneous geographic areas. Our findings suggest that precipitation and topographic heterogeneity, rather than edaphic heterogeneity, are more closely correlated to the number of species and their distributions in the temperate desert.     

Floristic diversity of an eastern Mediterranean dwarf shrubland: the importance of soil pH

Questions: Does plant species richness and composition of eastern Mediterranean dwarf shrubland (phrygana) correlate with soil pH? How important is the effect of pH on species diversity in relation to other environmental factors in this ecosystem? What is the evolutionary background of the diversity–pH relationship? Location: Western Crete, Greece. Methods: Species composition of vascular plants, soil and other environmental variables were sampled in 100‐m² plots on acidic and basic bedrock in phrygana vegetation. The relationships between species composition and environmental variables (including climate) were tested using canonical correspondence analysis, and relationships between species richness and environment using correlation and regression analyses. Data were analysed separately for different plant functional types based on life form and life span. Results: Although soil pH varied across a narrow range (5.9‐8.1), species composition changed significantly along the pH gradient within all plant functional types. For most functional types, the effect of soil pH on species composition was stronger than that of other environmental variables. Species richness of annuals, geophytes and suffruticose chamaephytes increased with soil pH, while richness of hemicryptophytes and shrubs was not correlated with pH. Conclusions: The results are consistent with the evolutionary species pool hypothesis. High numbers of calcicole annuals, geophytes and suffruticose chamaephytes may be a result of the evolution of these groups on base‐rich dry soils in the Mediterranean climate. In contrast, hemicryptophytes, a life form typical of the temperate zone, evolved on both acidic and basic soils and therefore their species numbers do not respond to soil pH across the narrow range studied. The lack of a relationship between shrub species richness and pH is difficult to explain: it may reflect the more diverse or older origin of Mediterranean woody species and their conservative niches.     

Vegetation heterogeneity and diversity in flat and mountain landscapes of Patagonia (Argentina)

Abstract. We studied floristic and diversity patterns and their environmental controls in two landscapes of contrasting topography in the Patagonian steppe. The analyses were focused on the effects of water availability gradients and landscape configuration on plant species distribution and coexistence. Floristic variation was investigated using Correspondence Analysis. The relationship between floristic and environmental variation was analyzed using Canonical Correspondence Analysis and correlation tests. We explored diversity patterns by relating spatial distance to floristic dissimilarities. The floristic gradient was determined by shrub and grass species and was related to precipitation in the flat area, and to precipitation, elevation and potential radiation in the mountain area. Site species richness increased with water availability in both areas. Mean site species richness and species turnover in space was higher in the mountain than in the flat area. Landscape species richness and floristic gradients were more concentrated in the mountain than in the flat area. In contrast to shrubs and grasses, forb species distributions were uncoordinated and probably independent of any environmental gradient. Our results suggest (1) that landscape configuration affects species composition and diversity through its direct effect on abiotic environmental heterogeneity, and (2) that the environmental controls of the community composition vary depending on the plant functional type considered.     

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.     

Environmental correlates of plant diversity in Korean temperate forests

Mountainous areas of the Korean Peninsula are among the biodiversity hotspots of the world's temperate forests. Understanding patterns in spatial distribution of their species richness requires explicit consideration of different environmental drivers and their effects on functionally differing components. In this study, we assess the impact of both geographical and soil variables on the fine-scale (400 m²) pattern of plant diversity using field data from six national parks, spanning a 1300 m altitudinal gradient. Species richness and the slopes of species–area curves were calculated separately for the tree, shrub and herb layer and used as response variables in regression tree analyses. A cluster analysis distinguished three dominant forest communities with specific patterns in the diversity–environment relationship. The most widespread middle-altitude oak forests had the highest tree richness but the lowest richness of herbaceous plants due to a dense bamboo understory. Total richness was positively associated with soil reaction and negatively associated with soluble phosphorus and solar radiation (site dryness). Tree richness was associated mainly with soil factors, although trees are frequently assumed to be controlled mainly by factors with large-scale impact. A U-shaped relationship was found between herbaceous plant richness and altitude, caused by a distribution pattern of dwarf bamboo in understory. No correlation between the degree of canopy openness and herb layer richness was detected. Slopes of the species–area curves indicated the various origins of forest communities. Variable diversity–environment responses in different layers and communities reinforce the necessity of context-dependent differentiation for the assessment of impacts of climate and land-use changes in these diverse but intensively exploited regions.     

Impact of shrub canopies on understorey vegetation in western Eurasian tundra

Question: How does the composition and species richness of understorey vegetation associate with changing abundance of deciduous shrub canopies? What are the species‐specific associations between shrubs and understorey plants? Location: Tundra habitats along an over 1000‐km long range, spanning from NW Fennoscandia to the Yamal Peninsula in northwest Russia. Methods: The data from 758 vegetation sample plots from 12 sites comprised cover estimates of all plant species, including bryophytes and lichens, and canopy height of deciduous shrubs. The relationships between shrub volume and cover of plant groups and species richness of vegetation were investigated. In addition, species‐specific associations between understorey species and shrub volume were analysed. Results: Shrub abundance was shown to be associated with the composition of understorey vegetation, and the association patterns were consistent across the study sites. Increased forb cover was positively associated with shrub volume, whereas bryophyte, lichen, dwarf shrub and graminoid cover decreased in association with increasing volume of deciduous shrubs. The total species richness of vegetation declined with increasing shrub volume. Conclusions: The results suggest that an increase of shrubs – due to climatic warming or a decrease in grazing pressure – is likely to have strong effects on plant–plant interactions and lead to a decrease in the diversity of understorey vegetation.     

中国黑戈壁植物多样性分布格局及其影响因素

我国西北地区内陆分布着近20万km~2的黑戈壁,由于其环境的特殊性,使其具有独特的生态系统,境内分布着多样的植被,蕴藏着大量特有的自然资源。但由于自然环境苛刻与交通条件不便,目前我国关于黑戈壁区系统的植被与物种多样性的研究还很缺乏。针对黑戈壁区植物多样性组成与分布特点,基于遥感及实地调查,采用DCCA排序和半变异函数模型等分析方法,对黑戈壁区植物群落组成,植物多样性特点及影响因素进行分析。研究结果表明:研究区植物以藜科和蒺藜科灌木或半灌木为主,群落物种生活型具有逐渐趋于简单甚至单一的特性,重要值0.1的植物主要有梭梭、红砂、白刺等13种;群落物种多样性呈现区域性的斑块化分布,结构性因子引起的物种多样性空间异质性占主导地位;作为极端干旱区,该区植物群落类型具有贫乏化及单一化的趋势,群落结构简单,植被覆盖度低,植物生长随环境的变化具有明显的可塑性,群落空间分异明显,群落空间演变具有明显的水分及土壤结构梯度;DCCA结果显示气候、土壤、地形是群落物种及类型变化的主要原因,海拔、坡位、土壤机械组成、降水、温度等环境因子对群落有着显著的影响,水土条件的空间异质性是戈壁植物多样性维持的关键因素。     

Environmental factors influencing spatial patterns of shrub diversity in chaparral,Santa Ynez Mountains,California

We examined patterns of shrub species diversity relative to landscape‐scale variability in environmental factors within two watersheds on the coastal flank of the Santa Ynez Mountains, California. Shrub species richness and dominance was sampled at a hierarchy of spatial units using a high‐powered telescope from remote vantage points. Explanatory variables included field estimates of total canopy cover and percentage rock cover, and modeled distributions of slope, elevation, photosynthetically active radiation, topographic moisture index, and local topographic variability. Correlation, multiple regression, and regression tree analyses showed consistent relationships between field‐based measurements of species richness and dominance, and topographically‐mediated environmental variables. In general, higher richness and lower dominance occurred where environmental conditions indicated greater levels of resource limitation with respect to soil moisture and substrate availability. Maximum richness in shrub species occurred on high elevation sites with low topographic moisture index, rocky substrate, and steep slopes. Maximum dominance occurred at low elevation sites with low topographic variability, high potential solar insolation, and high total shrub canopy cover. The observed patterns are evaluated with respect to studies on species‐environment relations, resource use, and regeneration of shrubs in chaparral and coastal sage scrub. The results are discussed in the context of existing species‐diversity hypotheses that hinge on reduced competitive dominance and increased resource heterogeneity under conditions of resource limitation.     

Arctic arthropod assemblages in habitats of differing shrub dominance

Recent climate warming in the Arctic has caused advancement in the timing of snowmelt and expansion of shrubs into open tundra. Such an altered climate may directly and indirectly (via effects on vegetation) affect arctic arthropod abundance, diversity and assemblage taxonomic composition. To allow better predictions about how climate changes may affect these organisms, we compared arthropod assemblages between open and shrub‐dominated tundra at three field sites in northern Alaska that encompass a range of shrub communities. Over ten weeks of sampling in 2011, pitfall traps captured significantly more arthropods in shrub plots than open tundra plots at two of the three sites. Furthermore, taxonomic richness and diversity were significantly greater in shrub plots than open tundra plots, although this pattern was site‐specific as well. Patterns of abundance within the five most abundant arthropod orders differed, with spiders (Order: Araneae) more abundant in open tundra habitats and true bugs (Order: Hemiptera), flies (Order: Diptera), and wasps and bees (Order: Hymenoptera) more abundant in shrub‐dominated habitats. Few strong relationships were found between vegetation and environmental variables and arthropod abundance; however, lichen cover seemed to be important for the overall abundance of arthropods. Some arthropod orders showed significant relationships with other vegetation variables, including maximum shrub height (Coleoptera) and foliar canopy cover (Diptera). As climate warming continues over the coming decades, and with further shrub expansion likely to occur, changes in arthropod abundance, richness, and diversity associated with shrub‐dominated habitat may have important ecological effects on arctic food webs since arthropods play important ecological roles in the tundra, including in decomposition and trophic interactions.     

Shrub range expansion alters diversity and distribution of soil fungal communities across an alpine elevation gradient

Global climate and land use change are altering plant and soil microbial communities worldwide, particularly in arctic and alpine biomes where warming is accelerated. The widespread expansion of woody shrubs into historically herbaceous alpine plant zones is likely to interact with climate to affect soil microbial community structure and function; however, our understanding of alpine soil ecology remains limited. This study aimed to (i) determine whether the diversity and community composition of soil fungi vary across elevation gradients and to (ii) assess the impact of woody shrub expansion on these patterns. In the White Mountains of California, sagebrush (Artemisia rothrockii) shrubs have been expanding upwards into alpine areas since 1960. In this study, we combined observational field data with a manipulative shrub removal experiment along an elevation transect of alpine shrub expansion. We utilized next‐generation sequencing of the ITS1 region for fungi and joint distribution modelling to tease apart effects of the environment and intracommunity interactions on soil fungi. We found that soil fungal diversity declines and community composition changes with increasing elevation. Both abiotic factors (primarily soil moisture and soil organic C) and woody sagebrush range expansion had significant effects on these patterns. However, fungal diversity and relative abundance had high spatial variation, overwhelming the predictive power of vegetation type, elevation and abiotic soil conditions at the landscape scale. Finally, we observed positive and negative associations among fungal taxa which may be important in structuring community responses to global change.     

Variation in floristic and trait composition along environmental gradients in the herb layer of temperate forests in the transition zone between Central and SE Europe

Species- and trait-environment linkages in forest plant communities continue to be a frequent topic in ecological research. We studied the dependence of floristic and functional trait composition on environmental factors, namely local soil properties, overstory characteristics, climatic parameters and other abiotic and biotic variables. The study area comprised 50 monitoring plots across Slovenia, belonging to the EU ICP Forests monitoring network. Vegetation was surveyed in accordance with harmonized protocols, and environmental variables were either measured or estimated during vegetation sampling. Significant predictors of species composition were identified by canonical correspondence analysis. Correlations between plant traits, i.e. plant growth habit, life form, flowering features and CSR signature, were examined with fourth-corner analysis and linear regressions. Our results show that variation in floristic composition was mainly explained by climatic parameters (mean annual temperature, mean annual precipitation), soil properties (pH) and tree layer-dependent light conditions. Trait composition was most closely related with tree layer characteristics, such as shade-casting ability (SCA, a proxy for light availability in the understory layer), tree species richness and tree species composition. Amongst soil properties, total nitrogen content and soil texture (proportion of clay) were most frequently correlated with different species traits or trait states. The CSR signature of herb communities was associated with tree layer SCA, soil pH and mean annual temperature. The floristic composition of the studied herb-layer vegetation depended on temperature and precipitation, which are likely to be influenced by ongoing climate change (warming and drying). Trait composition exhibited significant links to tree layer characteristics and soil conditions, which are in turn directly modified by forest management interventions.

     

Landscape‐ and small‐scale determinants of grassland species diversity: direct and indirect influences

Species richness is influenced both by mechanisms occurring at landscape scales, such as habitat availability, and local‐scale processes, that are related to abiotic conditions and plant–plant interactions. However, it is rarely tested to what extent local species richness can be explained by the combined effect of factors measured at multiple spatial scales. In this study, we quantified the simultaneous influence of historical landscape‐scale factors (past human population density, and past habitat availability – an index combining area and connectivity) and small‐scale environmental conditions (shrub cover, and heterogeneity of light, soil depth, and other soil environmental variables) on plant species richness in dry calcareous grasslands (alvars). By applying structural equation modelling (SEM) we found that both landscape conditions and local environmental factors had significant direct and indirect (i.e. through the modification of another factor), effects on species richness. At the landscape scale, we found a direct positive influence of historical habitat availability on species richness, and indirect positive influence of past human population (via its effects on historical habitat availability). At small scales, we found a positive direct influence of light heterogeneity and shrub cover on species richness. Conversely, we found that small‐scale soil environmental heterogeneity, which was mainly determined by soil depth heterogeneity, had a negative effect on species richness. Our study indicates that patterns of species richness in alvar grasslands are positively influenced by the anthropogenic management regime that maintained the landscape habitat conditions in the past. However, the abandonment of management, leading to shrub invasion and increased competition for light resources also influenced species richness. In contrast to the positive heterogeneity–diversity relationship we found that soil heterogeneity reduced species richness. Environmental heterogeneity, occurring at the plant neighbourhood scale (i.e. centimetres), can increase the isolation among suitable soil patches and thus hinder the normal functioning of populations. The combination of previous knowledge of the system with new ecological theories facilitates disentangling how species richness responds to complex relationships among factors operating at multiple scales.     

吉林灌木群落物种多样性与气候和局域环境因子的关系

为了研究气候和局域环境因子对物种多样性的相对作用大小,以及验证两种均匀度地理格局的假说在半湿润地区次生灌丛的适用性,对吉林东、南部地区的灌木群落进行了研究。共调查森林破坏后形成的次生灌丛样方45个,结合气候数据和局域环境因子数据,研究了气候、局域环境因子对群落、灌木层、草本层的物种丰富度、均匀度的影响,以及对不同水分生态型(旱生、旱中生、湿中生)灌木影响的差异。结果表明:1)吉林次生灌丛的群落、草本层物种丰富度,以及草本层均匀度,随纬度增加而显著上升。2)对物种多样性和气候、局域环境因子的分析表明,群落、草本层物种数主要受局域环境因子而不是气候的影响;其物种丰富度与纬度的反常关系,是由于灌木层盖度随降水增加而上升,从而导致物种数下降。灌木层物种数与纬度、气候因子的相关性不显著,则是由于不同水分生态型对气候梯度的响应不一致,反映出功能群对多样性格局的影响。3)群落、灌木层均匀度主要受气候因子的影响;而草本层均匀度主要受局域环境因子的影响,降水同样通过对灌木层盖度的影响间接作用于草本均匀度。但群落、灌木和草本层的结果,都支持均匀度随着环境条件改善而增加的假说,而不支持随着生产力增加、竞争加剧,从而导致均匀度下降的假说。结果表明,物种丰富度和均匀度的影响机制存在很大差异,但二者都受到局域环境因子的强烈影响。气候通过局域生物因素(如盖度、生活型)间接作用于多样性格局,是气候对多样性影响的一个重要方面,但尚未得到应有的重视。由于局域生物因素也随气候而变化,仅研究多样性和气候的表面关系,将无法准确预测气候变化对多样性的影响。     

Environmental effects on Neotropical liana species richness

Aim Lianas differ physiologically from trees, and therefore their species‐richness patterns and potential climate‐change responses might also differ. However, multivariate assessments of spatial patterns in liana species richness and their controls are lacking. Our aim in this paper is to identify the environmental factors that best explain the variation in liana species richness within tropical forests. Location Lowland and montane Neotropical forests. Methods We quantified the contributions of environmental variables and liana and tree‐and‐shrub abundance to the species richness of lianas, trees and shrubs ≥ 2.5 cm in diameter using a subset of 65 standardized (0.1 ha) plots from 57 Neotropical sites from a global dataset collected by the late Alwyn Gentry. We used both regression and structural equation modelling to account for the effects of environmental variables (climate, soil and disturbance) and liana density on liana species richness, and we compared the species‐richness patterns of lianas with those of trees and shrubs. Results We found that, after accounting for liana density, dry‐season length was the dominant predictor of liana species richness. In addition, liana species richness was also related to stand‐level wood density (a proxy for disturbance) in lowland forests, a pattern that has not hitherto been shown across such a large study region. Liana species richness had a weak association with soil properties, but the effect of soil may be obscured by the strong correlation between soil properties and climate. The diversity patterns of lianas and of trees and shrubs were congruent: wetter forests had a greater species richness of all woody plants. Main conclusions The primary association of both liana and tree‐and‐shrub species richness with water availability suggests that, if parts of the Neotropics become drier as a result of climate change, substantial declines in the species richness of woody plants at the stand level may be anticipated.     

Latitudinal changes in species diversity of permafrost wetland plant communities in Great Xing’an Mountain valleys of Northeast China

Studying the changes of species diversity in plant communities along latitude gradients is important to discover the correlation between biodiversity and environmental factors. Along the main ridges of the Great Xing’an Mountains, 12 natural permafrost wetlands in the valleys were investigated from north to south. Latitudinal changes in species diversity were analyzed with regressive analysis. About 150 plant species were recorded and were found to be in the 12 permafrost wetland plant communities. Most plants belong to the Compositae or Gramineae. The number of family, genus and species increased significantly in the herb layer with decreasing latitude (P < 0.01), but decreased significantly in the shrub layer (P < 0.01). Species composition and the orders of dominant species in the plant communities by importance value changed along latitude. Latitudinal changes of α-diversity in permafrost wetland plant communities were different in the herb and shrub layers. With decreasing latitude, species richness and species diversity increased in the herb layer; but decreased in the shrub layer. The opposite patterns were found for species dominance. Species evenness in the shrub layer decreased with decreasing latitude. ?-diversity in the herb and shrub layers decreased first, and then increased, and finally decreased with increasing latitude. Species composition in the herb layer was similar among the plots at higher latitudes.     

Plant composition,not richness,drives occurrence of specialist herbivores

1. How herbivore plant diversity relationships are shaped by the interplay of biotic and abiotic environmental variables is only partly understood. For instance, plant diversity is commonly assumed to determine abundance and richness of associated specialist herbivores. However, this relationship can be altered when environmental variables such as temperature covary with plant diversity. 2. Using gall‐inducing arthropods as focal organisms, biotic and abiotic environmental variables were tested for their relevance to specialist herbivores and their relationship to host plants. In particular, the hypothesis that abundance and richness of gall‐inducing arthropods increase with plant richness was addressed. Additionally, the study asked whether communities of gall‐inducing arthropods match the communities of their host plants. 3. Neither abundance nor species richness of gall‐inducing arthropods was correlated with plant richness or any other of the tested environmental variables. Instead, the number of gall species found per plant decreased with plant richness. This indicates that processes of associational resistance may explain the specialised plant herbivore relationship in our study. 4. Community composition of gall‐inducing arthropods matched host plant communities. In specialised plant herbivore relationships, the presence of obligate host plant species is a prerequisite for the occurrence of its herbivores. 5. It is concluded that the abiotic environment may only play an indirect role in shaping specialist herbivore communities. Instead, the occurrence of specialist herbivore communities might be best explained by plant species composition. Thus, plant species identity should be considered when aiming to understand the processes that shape diversity patterns of specialist herbivores.     

Patterns of diversity in the strata of boreal montane forest in British Columbia

Abstract. Patterns of diversity were analyzed in a boreal coniferous forest and its strata (tree, shrub, herb and bryophyte layers): number of species per community — α-diversity, total species richness — γ-diversity, mean similarity — β-diversity, and mosaic diversity, a measure of complexity. These four measures of diversity consistently decreased from lower to upper vegetation layers. To study the effect of juveniles of larger life forms on diversity of lower layers, they were removed from the data and the measures of diversity reanalyzed. Number of species per community and mosaic diversity decreased substantially, but β-diversity did not change. So, the effect of juveniles on γ-diversity is due to the greater number of species per community. Multiple regression models revealed that the relationships between α-diversity and the environmental variables were the same for the whole forest and for the herb layer. Elevation and soil pH were the major variables explaining α-diversity in the whole community. Climate was the only environmental gradient related to species richness in all individual strata. Tree and herb richness values were negatively related to soil drainage and acidity, respectively. Species richness of the plant community was affected by environmental variability mostly through the herb layer. Various explanations of the observed diversity patterns included: environmental constraints, resource competition, generation time, and colonization processes.     

Richness and composition of herbaceous species in restored shrubland and grassland ecosystems in the northern Loess Plateau of China

Restored grasslands and shrublands are integral parts of the semi-natural landscape and are of major importance for biodiversity in the northern Loess Plateau. Determining the underlying factors that control the richness and composition of herbaceous species in restored grasslands and shrublands is urgently needed. Thus, the specific objective of this study was to evaluate the relative importance of soil, plant, and topographic explanatory variables affecting the richness and composition of herbaceous species in restored shrubland and grassland ecosystems in a typical watershed within the northern Loess Plateau. In this study, 27 restored grassland sites and 16 restored shrubland sites were sampled during September 2009. Using variation partitioning (partial canonical correspondence analysis), we determined the individual and shared effects of these three sets of explanatory variables on herbaceous biodiversity in the two restored habitats. Most of the explained variation in plant diversity was related to the pure effect of soil, plant, and topographic variables. Restored shrublands had significantly more species than grasslands, and abandoned dam farmlands had significantly more species than other grassland sites. Moreover, botanical diversity responded differently to the explanatory variables in different plant communities. The pure effects of soil properties, soil moisture in particular, accounted for the largest fractions of explained variation in species diversity in restored grasslands. Both plant and topographic variables had balancing pure effects on species diversity in restored shrublands, in particular the shrub density and slope angle. We conclude that the maintenance of a moderate density of shrubs (less than 3600 shrubs per ha), construction of check-dams, and grazing at a low stocking rate, taking conditions of soil and topographic site into account, may help to conserve biodiversity in the northern Loess Plateau.     

Spatial variation in seed limitation of plant species richness and population sizes in floodplain tallgrass prairie

The relative importance of seed availability versus biotic interactions that affect early life stages in limiting plant population sizes and determining composition of plant communities is a central debate in plant ecology. We conducted a seed addition experiment in restored tallgrass prairie in central Kansas to determine (1) whether addition of seed of 18 native forb species produced persistent (three growing seasons) increases in the species' population sizes and plant species richness, (2) what properties of recipient communities best explained spatial variation in added species' establishment, and (3) whether seed size explained interspecific patterns in establishment success. Adding seed led to persistent increases in the number of added species present and in plant species richness at one of three sites. Increased species richness at the one site where community composition was structured by seed availability largely resulted from greater densities of four species. Seed size did not predict species' establishment success. Pre-existing plant species richness was correlated with added species' establishment success, but the direction of the relationship (positive vs. negative) varied among sites. Living aboveground plant biomass in experimental plots in the year of seed addition was negatively correlated with the number of added species established three years later. Our results provide further evidence for large spatial variation in seed limitation of plant community composition. Surprisingly, mean light availability and heterogeneity in light, both important parameters in conceptual models of grassland plant coexistence, did not predict the response of the recipient plant community to seed addition as well as pre-existing plant species richness and living aboveground biomass.     

历山自然保护区猪尾沟森林群落植物多样性研究

采用丰富度指数、物种多样性指数和均匀度指数对山西历山自然保护区猪尾沟森林群落多样性进行研究。结果表明 :1 )同一群落内 ,多样性指数存在一定的波动范围 ;不同群落间 ,物种多样性也存在差异 ,但其并不一定具有统计学意义。由此表明 ,群落之间存在差异 ,同时也存在着连续性。 2 )海拔高度是决定本区多样性分布格局的主导因子 ,随着群落分布海拔高度的增加 ,多样性呈一致的上升趋势 ,即多样性与海拔呈正相关关系。 3)群落物种多样性对海拔的敏感性由大到小的次序为草本层 >乔木层 >灌木层 ,其中乔木层的丰富度指数、草本层均匀度指数与海拔有着极显著的正相关关系 ,而乔木层的多样性指数、草本层的丰富度指数与海拔有着极显著的负相关关系 ,灌木层的多样性与海拔没有显著的相关性。 4)群落中不同结构、不同层次对群落总体多样性的贡献是不同的 ,两种测定方法所产生的总体多样性之间呈显著相关关系 ,表明给定加权参数的测定方法没有影响客观生态意义的反映 ,同时也更好地反映出群落结构对于群落多样性的功能差异