Novel evidence from Taxus fuana forests for niche-neutral process assembling community

Li, Tian-Xiang; Xu, Li; Wang, Feng; Wei-jun, Zhang; Junpeng, Duan; Shen-Tu, Xiao-Lu; Song, Yue; Zang, Runguo; Dong, Ming

doi:10.1016/j.fecs.2022.100035

Cited by 6 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 103 publications

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“…There was notable variance in the transition zone, suggesting a gradual change in the phylogenetic structure from dispersal to aggregation while moving from forest to grassland ( Figure 3K ). Negative NTI values in forest and forest-shrub interspersed suggest a diffuse community phylogeny primarily composed of distantly related species, often due to competitive exclusion ( Galván-Cisneros et al., 2023 ); Conversely, positive NTI values in other communities suggest an aggregated community phylogeny composed of closely related species, usually due to environmental filtration ( Stegen et al., 2012 ; Galván-Cisneros et al., 2023 ).NTI values in the transition zone ranged from -1.96 to 1.96 stochastic confidence intervals, indicating that the community composition in this zone is likely influenced primarily by stochastic processes, as suggested by other studies ( Li et al., 2022 ; Luo et al., 2023 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 58%

Phylogenetic diversity drives soil multifunctionality in arid montane forest-grassland transition zone

Wang,

Gong,

Luo

et al. 2024

Front. Plant Sci.

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Exploring plant diversity and ecosystem functioning in different dimensions is crucial to preserve ecological balance and advance ecosystem conservation efforts. Ecosystem transition zones serve as vital connectors linking two distinct ecosystems, yet the impact of various aspects of plant diversity (including taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic diversity) on soil multifunctionality in these zones remains to be clarified. This study focuses on the forest-grassland transition zone in the mountains on the northern slopes of the Tianshan Mountains, and investigates vegetation and soil characteristics from forest ecosystems to grassland ecosystems to characterize plant diversity and soil functioning, as well as the driving role of plant diversity in different dimensions. In the montane forest-grassland transition zone, urease (URE) and total nitrogen (TN) play a major role in regulating plant diversity by affecting the soil nutrient cycle. Phylogenetic diversity was found to be the strongest driver of soil multifunctionality, followed by functional diversity, while taxonomic diversity was the least important driver. Diverse species were shown to play an important role in maintaining soil multifunctionality in the transition zone, especially distantly related species with high phylogeny. The study of multidimensional plant diversity and soil multifunctionality in the montane forest-grassland transition zone can help to balance the relationship between these two elements, which is crucial in areas where the ecosystem overlaps, and the application of the findings can support sustainable development in these regions.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 58%

Phylogenetic diversity drives soil multifunctionality in arid montane forest-grassland transition zone

Wang,

Gong,

Luo

et al. 2024

Front. Plant Sci.

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“…Increasingly, studies found that ITV was probably an important ecological variable ( Moran et al., 2016 ; Derroire et al., 2018 ; Mougi, 2020 ; Senthilnathan and Gavrilets, 2021 ), which played a non-negligible role in species coexistence ( Ehlers et al., 2016 ; Hart et al., 2016 ; Zhang and Yu, 2018 ; Wang et al., 2022 ), interspecific competition ( Kostikova et al., 2016 ; He et al., 2018 ; Xu et al., 2020 ), and population maintenance ( Deepa, 2009 ; Bolnick et al., 2011 ; Raffard et al., 2019 ), etc. In this study, we found that leaf traits of six populations of T. fuana exhibited a certain degree of ITV, and the variation of leaf traits mostly originated from within populations and a small portion from among populations, which may be related to the distribution of T. fuana and local community features ( Zhang et al., 2020 ; Li et al., 2022 ). It was shown that the importance of interspecific trait variation was likely to be greater than that of ITV at the large spatial scales of the study subjects.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 79%

“…In this study, leaf δ 15 N was positively correlated with altitude, and from another perspective, it could be considered to be indirectly negatively correlated with temperature and precipitation, i.e., it is consistent with the relationship of precipitation in the global pattern and opposite to that of temperature. The possible reason was that the increase in altitude would lead to a decrease in precipitation and temperature, but the Gyirong region was more influenced by the warm and humid airflow from the Indian Ocean ( Adhikari and Mejia, 2021 ; Li et al., 2022 ), so that precipitation might have a more prominent effect on T. fuana . Therefore, the leaf δ 15 N of T. fuana showed a positive trend with altitude.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Among six known populations (Tangbo, Kaire, Guofu, Jilong, Langjiu, and Jipu) ( Song et al., 2020b ; Li et al., 2022 ) ( Figure 1 ), individuals of T. fuana were randomly selected along an altitude gradient, with the distance between trees ensured to be above 50 m as far as possible. Fresh, mature (fully developed), and healthy leaves (needles) of T. fuana were sampled during the growing season (July–August) in 2018.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Intraspecific and sex-dependent variation of leaf traits along altitude gradient in the endangered dioecious tree Taxus fuana Nan Li & R.R. Mill

Shen-Tu

et al. 2022

Front. Plant Sci.

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Plant intraspecific trait variation (ITV) including sex-dependent differences are matters of many ecological consequences, from individual to ecosystem, especially in endangered and rare species. Taxus fuana is an endangered dioecious species with small and isolated populations endemic to the Himalayas region. Little is known about its trait variation between sexes, and among populations. In this study, 18 leaf traits from 179 reproductive trees (males and females) along the altitude (2600-3200m a.s.l.) of the T. fuana populations distributed in Gyirong County, Tibet, China, were measured. ITV and sources of variation in leaf traits were assessed. The relationship between leaf traits of males and females and altitude was analyzed separately. Variations in leaf traits of T. fuana ranged from 3.1% to 24.2%, with the smallest in leaf carbon content and the largest in leaf thickness to area ratio. On average 78.13% of the variation in leaf traits was from within populations and 21.87% among populations. The trends in leaf width, leaf nitrogen to phosphorus ratio, leaf carbon to nitrogen ratio, leaf carbon isotope ratio, and leaf nitrogen isotope ratio in relation to altitude were the same for males and females. Leaf length to width ratio varied significantly with altitude only in males, while leaf phosphorus content, leaf nitrogen content, and leaf carbon to phosphorus ratio varied significantly with altitude only in females. The correlation coefficients of most leaf traits of females with altitude were larger than that of males. In the relationship between leaf traits, there was a high similarity among males and females, but the altitude accounted for more explanation in females than in males. Our results suggested that the variation in leaf traits of T. fuana was small and did not dominate the interspecific competition in the local communities. Adaptation to the altitude gradient of T. fuana might be through altering nutrient storage processes and water use efficiency. Adaptation of male and female T. fuana to environmental changes showed differences, where the males were more tolerant and the females responded greatly to altitude. The differences in adaptation strategies between male and female T. fuana may be detrimental to the maintenance of their populations.

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Relationship Between Evolutionary Diversity and Aboveground Biomass During 150 Years of Natural Vegetation Regeneration in Temperate China

Tian,

Zhang,

Wang

et al. 2024

Ecology and Evolution

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While the link between plant species diversity and biomass has been well‐studied, the impact of evolutionary diversity on community biomass across long timescales or ongoing change remains a subject of debate. We elucidated the association between evolutionary diversity and community aboveground biomass (AGB) using an ideal experimental system with over 150‐year history of natural vegetation regeneration. Higher phylogenetic diversity facilitated the sampling effect under the influence of environmental filtering, and caused an increase in AGB. Phylogenetic structure varied from aggregation to dispersion during the later period of vegetation recovery (70–150 years), which was correlated with increases in niche complementarity and increasing AGB. Woody plant evolutionary diversity was used as a key to predict the relationship between vegetation recovery and AGB, with a total explanatory power of ~84.7%. Mixed forests composed of evergreen conifers and deciduous broadleaf forests had higher carbon sequestration potential than that of pure forests, which is advantageous for increasing top‐stage AGB. This research expands our knowledge of the causes and effects of biodiversity and ecosystem function dynamics over time and space, which is important for accurately predicting future climate change effects.

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Novel evidence from Taxus fuana forests for niche-neutral process assembling community

Cited by 6 publications

References 103 publications

Phylogenetic diversity drives soil multifunctionality in arid montane forest-grassland transition zone

Phylogenetic diversity drives soil multifunctionality in arid montane forest-grassland transition zone

Intraspecific and sex-dependent variation of leaf traits along altitude gradient in the endangered dioecious tree Taxus fuana Nan Li & R.R. Mill

Relationship Between Evolutionary Diversity and Aboveground Biomass During 150 Years of Natural Vegetation Regeneration in Temperate China

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