Species–topography association in a species-rich subtropical forest of China |
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Authors: | Zhigao Wang Wanhui Ye Honglin Cao Zhongliang Huang Juyu Lian Lin Li Shiguang Wei I-Fang Sun |
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Affiliation: | aSouth China Botany Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, PR China;bGraduate School of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100039, PR China;cDepartment of Life Science, Anqing Teachers College, Anqing 246011, PR China;dCenter for Tropical Ecology and Biodiversity, Tunghai University, 40704, Taichung, China |
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Abstract: | Habitat specialization has been considered as a primary factor in determining the distribution of species. In this study, we investigated species–habitat associations while controlling for spatial neighbourhood effects in a large-scale (20 ha) stem-mapping plot in a species-rich subtropical forest of China. Habitat specialization was measured by topographic variation and its effects on species distributions were modelled at three different spatial scales (10×10, 20×20 and 25×25 m2) using log-linear regression models and randomization tests. Our results showed: (1) 83% of the species were related to at least one or more topographic variables. Among them, 66%, 60%, 65% and 70% were closely dependent on slope, aspect, elevation and convexity, respectively. (2) Topographic variables have much stronger non-linear (quadratic and cubic) effects on species distributions than linear effects. (3) The effects of topographic heterogeneity on the distribution of shrubs species are smaller than on the distribution of canopy species, and smaller effects were also found in less abundant species. (4) There was a strong neighbourhood effect on species distribution: In 85% of the species, abundance in a focal quadrat was significantly correlated with abundance in the neighbour quadrats. We conclude that habitat specialization plays an important role in maintaining the diversity of this species-rich subtropical forest. |
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Keywords: | Dinghu plot Log-linear regression model Neighbourhood effect Species distribution Stem-mapping plot Subtropical forest Topographic variation |
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