A Structural Equation Model of Plant Species Richness and Its Application to a Coastal Wetland

Grace, James B.; Pugesek, Bruce H.

doi:10.1086/285999

Cited by 259 publications

(233 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…This method has been successfully used for modelling drivers of species richness in other species groups and habitats (Grace & Pugesek, 1997;Stevens, 2004). Its specific contribution is to provide a way to understand the individual contribution of each variable within complex systems and to evaluate the relative strengths of direct and indirect interactions among unmanipulated variables (Wootton, 1994;Shipley, 2000).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental correlates of avian diversity in lowland Panama rain forests

Rompré

Robinson

Desrochers

et al. 2007

Journal of Biogeography

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Aim The composition of communities is known to be influenced by biogeographical history, but also by local environmental conditions. Yet few studies have evaluated the relative importance of the direct and indirect effects of multiple factors on species diversity in rich Neotropical forests. Our study aims to assess drivers of change in local bird species richness in lowland tropical rain forests.Location Thirty-two physiographic subregions along the corridor of the Panama Canal, Panama.Methods We mapped the distributions of all forest-dwelling bird species and quantified the environmental characteristics of all subregions, including mean annual rainfall, topographic complexity, elevational variability, forest age and forest area. Plant species richness, believed to be correlated with structural complexity, was estimated by interpolation through kriging for subregions where data were unavailable.Results The study region has a strong rainfall gradient across a short distance (65 km), which is also accompanied by steep gradients in plant and bird species diversity. Path analysis showed that precipitation strongly affected plant species diversity, which in turn affected avian diversity. Forest age and topography affected bird diversity independently of plant diversity. Forest area and its proportion occurring in the largest two fragments of each subregion (habitat configuration) were also positive correlates of bird species richness.Main conclusions Our results suggest that plant species richness, known to be influenced in part by biogeographical history and geology, also affects bird species assemblages locally. We provide support for the hypothesis that bird species richness increases with structural complexity of the habitat. Our analysis of the distributions of the region's most disturbance-sensitive bird species showed that subregions with more rainfall, more complex topography and older forests harboured not only richer communities but also more sensitive species; while subregions with the opposite characteristics usually lacked large fractions of the regional forest bird community and hosted only common, widely distributed species. Results also emphasize the importance of preserving forest diversity from habitat loss and fragmentation, and confirm that larger, continuous forest tracts are necessary to maintain the rich avian diversity in the region.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental correlates of avian diversity in lowland Panama rain forests

Rompré

Robinson

Desrochers

et al. 2007

Journal of Biogeography

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“…Direct pathways represent the path model consistent with the data while indirect pathways between variables are those involving intermediary variables [30,31]. More introductory discussion and practical issues of SEM were described by Kubota et al [29], Gough et al [31] and Grace et al [30]. In conclusion, the use of SEM enables us to determine how Abies faxoniana regeneration is affected by forest gaps and elevation in a subalpine coniferous forest.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…Multiple regression analyses do not allow for the investigation of the direct and indirect effects of elevation, forest gaps, biotic factors and abiotic factors on regeneration; however, a structural equation model (SEM), which is also known as a path analysis, alleviates this problem. SEM is also an extension of the general linear model (GLM), which enables evaluating a network of dependence relationships through the analysis of covariance [29,30]. The general methodology of SEM enables the testing of a hypothesis that infers causation with observational data [31].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The general methodology of SEM enables the testing of a hypothesis that infers causation with observational data [31]. Direct pathways represent the path model consistent with the data while indirect pathways between variables are those involving intermediary variables [30,31]. More introductory discussion and practical issues of SEM were described by Kubota et al [29], Gough et al [31] and Grace et al [30].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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How Forest Gap and Elevation Shaped Abies faxoniana Rehd. et Wils. Regeneration in a Subalpine Coniferous Forest, Southwestern China

Chen

Liu

2018

Forests

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Abstract:Focusing on the underlying ecological mechanisms of dominant species regeneration in forest gaps at a landscape scale can provide detailed understanding for gap-based forest management. The individual effects of forest gaps or elevation on the regeneration of Abies faxoniana Rehd. et Wils. are well known, although elucidating how gap characteristics and elevation concurrently influence regeneration remains an important challenge. In this paper, we present an explorative study using structural equation models (SEMs) to assess the direct and indirect effects of forest gaps and elevation on Abies faxoniana Rehd. et Wils. regeneration. Four of the predicted SEMs showed the following results: (1) Temperature, photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD), soil total carbon, gap openness, shrub layer cover, herb layer cover, and moss layer thickness in forest gaps were associated with Abies faxoniana regeneration along an elevation gradient in subalpine coniferous forest. (2) Elevation had a generally negative and indirect effect on Abies faxoniana regeneration. Forest gaps positively affected regeneration when compared with non-gap plots and gap size was positively related to small tree regeneration density and the ratio of height to diameter at breast height (HD ratio) of the tallest Abies faxoniana small trees but was negatively related to Abies faxoniana sapling regeneration density. (3) In forest gaps, the Abies faxoniana sapling density and HD ratio of the tallest Abies faxoniana small trees were mainly indirectly influenced by elevation, and Abies faxoniana small tree regeneration density was directly associated with the dominance of the sapling regeneration density. In summary, Abies faxoniana regeneration was negatively and largely affected by elevation (total effect), although forest gaps enhanced Abies faxoniana regeneration by multiple pathways (direct and indirect effects).

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“…To evaluate our hypotheses, we constructed a conceptual model based on a priori knowledge (see below), which was tested against a dependence model using structural equation modeling (Grace & Pugesek 1997;Minden & Kleyer 2015;Peppler-Lisbach et al 2015). The model allowed us to identify direct and indirect interactions between environment, ecosystem, and services, and to quantify the explained variation of the final services as a measure of uncertainty.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interactions between ecosystem properties and land use clarify spatial strategies to optimize trade-offs between agriculture and species conservation

Cebrián‐Piqueras

Trinogga

Grande

et al. 2017

International Journal of Biodiversity Science, Ecosystem Servic

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Species conservation and forage production are both important, yet conflicting components of sustainable grassland management. We modeled forage production and conservation value as dependents in a chain of responses and effects, starting with abiotic environmental conditions that affect the spatial distribution of land uses and biotic ecosystem properties. We asked which relationships in this causal chain determine trade-offs between forage production and conservation value. Abiotic and biotic ecosystem properties were recorded on 46 plots in the coastal marshes of Northwest Germany. Plant and bird conservation values were calculated using Red Lists, and sales of forage-based agricultural products were assessed by interviewing farmers. We used a structural equation model to determine responses and effects. Groundwater depth and salinity represent the ultimate causes for the spatial variation in sales and conservation value. The water gradient translated into more proximate causes, such as land-use intensity affecting aboveground net primary productivity, forage quality, and species richness. Plant species conservation and forage production were segregated along the water gradient, and both bird conservation and forage production depended on grassland management, albeit at different fertilization levels. Our study points to segregation and integration as two spatial strategies to react to trade-offs between services.ARTICLE HISTORY

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A Structural Equation Model of Plant Species Richness and Its Application to a Coastal Wetland

Cited by 259 publications

References 38 publications

Environmental correlates of avian diversity in lowland Panama rain forests

Environmental correlates of avian diversity in lowland Panama rain forests

How Forest Gap and Elevation Shaped Abies faxoniana Rehd. et Wils. Regeneration in a Subalpine Coniferous Forest, Southwestern China

Interactions between ecosystem properties and land use clarify spatial strategies to optimize trade-offs between agriculture and species conservation

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