Plant–plant interactions influence phylogenetic diversity at multiple spatial scales in a semi-arid mountain rangeland

Pashirzad, Maral; Ejtehadi, Hamid; Vaezi, Jamil; Shefferson, Richard P.

doi:10.1007/s00442-019-04345-9

Cited by 11 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 53 publications

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“…To evaluate nurse plant effects with respect to land abandonment ages (i.e., across three sites), we considered two spatial scales: (1) the plot scale and (2) the vegetation‐patch scale (Pashirzad et al, 2019 ; Soliveres et al, 2012 , 2014 ) (Table 1 ; see details in Appendix S1 ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Then, the same number of quadrats were sampled in open areas adjacent to these nurse plants (hereafter Stipa patch, Artemisia patch, and Open patch) (see details in Appendix S1 ). To properly assess the nurse plant effects across different spatial scales, it is important that the vegetation‐patch scale is located within larger spatial scale (Pashirzad et al, 2019 ; Soliveres et al, 2012 ). The number of samples and patch cover (i.e., 0.5 × 0.5 m) at the vegetation‐patch scale were obtained through assessing species‐area curves and previous groundbreaking references that advise a range of 20 to 30 samples with 0.5 × 0.5 m cover beneath the canopies of nurse species as appropriate replication and sample size for vegetation sampling beneath grasses and dwarf shrubs (Soliveres et al, 2012 , 2014 ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Plant–plant interactions specifically influence biodiversity facets and beneficiary relatedness depending on the biodiversity facets and life forms of nurse species in particular (Pashirzad et al, 2019 ; Soliveres et al, 2012 ). For example, some studies indicated that cushion plants have the most important effects on taxonomic and phylogenetic diversity in alpine environments (Butterfield et al, 2013 ; Cavieres et al, 2013 ), whereas nurse grasses can strongly affect functional diversity by providing suitable microhabitats for beneficiary species with distant relatedness (Gastauer et al, 2018 ; Navarro‐Cano et al, 2014 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Plant–plant interactions determine natural restoration of plant biodiversity over time, in a degraded mined land

Bashirzadeh

Shefferson

Farzam

2022

Ecology and Evolution

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Restoration of degraded environments is essential to mitigate adverse impacts of human activities on ecosystems. Plant–plant interactions may provide effective means for restoring degraded arid lands, but little is understood about these impacts. In this regard, we analyzed the effects of two dominant nurse plants (i.e., Artemisia sieberi and Stipa arabica ) on taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic diversity across different ages of land abandonment (i.e., control, recent, and old ages) in a limestone mine site in Iran. In addition, we considered two spatial scales: i) the plot scale (i.e., under 1m2 plots) and ii) the vegetation‐patch scale (i.e., under the canopies of nurse plants), to assess nurse plant effects, land abandonment ages, and their relative importance on biodiversity facets by performing Kruskal–Wallis H test and variation partitioning analysis. Our results indicated an increase in taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic diversity at the plot scale, when considering the presence of nurse plants under old ages of land abandonment. Such significant differences were consistent with the positive effects of Artemisia patches on taxonomic diversity and Stipa patches on functional and phylogenetic diversity. In addition, we found a larger contribution from nurse plants than land abandonment age on biodiversity variation at both spatial scales studied. Therefore, these results indicate the importance of plant–plant interactions in restoring vegetation, with their effects on the presence of beneficiary species and their functional and phylogenetic relatedness depending on the nurse life forms under the stress‐gradient hypothesis.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Plant–plant interactions determine natural restoration of plant biodiversity over time, in a degraded mined land

Bashirzadeh

Shefferson

Farzam

2022

Ecology and Evolution

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Section: How Does Evolutionary History Influence Community Ecosystmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Evolutionary history has become of particular interest to community ecologists in the last two decades. The field of community evolution has developed as a means of exploring the factors distributing biodiversity across regions at all geographical scales via ecological and evolutionary mechanisms, primarily involving tests of the influences of ecological interactions, such as competition and facilitation, of the abiotic environment as a filter, and of random processes such as dispersal (Emerson & Gillespie, ; Kraft, Cornwell, Webb, & Ackerly, ; Pashirzad, Ejtehadi, Vaezi, & Shefferson, ). Recent research has tied evolutionary processes both to community diversity and ecosystem functioning, finding that natural selection can cause dramatic changes in plant community productivity and implying that speciation and extinction may have similarly dramatic effects on ecosystem functioning in general (van Moorsel et al ).…”

Section: Major Themes and Contributionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

History sets the stage: Macroevolutionary influence on biotic interactions

Shefferson

2019

Journal of Ecology

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Evolutionary history has profound influences on ecological systems. Such influence is generally observed as phylogenetic signal, in which trait similarity is a function of evolutionary relationships, or phylogenetic niche conservatism, in which clades of species exhibit a single trait value. These patterns are observed so often in ecological research that the lack of phylogenetic influence on a system should be viewed as an exception to the rule. This special feature showcases research at the cutting edge of phylogenetic analysis of biotic interactions. Eight papers address three dominant questions: (a) What determines which species associate with each other? (b) How does evolutionary history constrain adaptation in response to interactions? (c) How does evolutionary history influence community, ecosystem, and global ecological processes and patterns? The interactions studied include symbioses such the mycorrhiza and the lichen, plant–soil interactions and herbivory. Synthesis: Phylogenetics presents important perspectives and tools to understand fundamental ecological processes. Among the most in need of research are geographic patterns in interaction strength and commonness, such as the latitudinal gradient in herbivory; the relationship between rapid evolution and evolutionary history, and the interaction of the two onto community and ecosystem processes and patterns; and the influence of evolutionary history on outcome in conservation problems and management.

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Drivers of plant diversity, community composition, functional traits, and soil processes along an alpine gradient in the central Chilean Andes

Schroeder,

Robles,

Jara‐Arancio

et al. 2024

Ecology and Evolution

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High alpine regions are threatened but understudied ecosystems that harbor diverse endemic species, making them an important biome for testing the role of environmental factors in driving functional trait‐mediated community assembly processes. We tested the hypothesis that plant community assembly along a climatic and elevation gradient is influenced by shifts in habitat suitability, which drive plant functional, phylogenetic, and spectral diversity. In a high mountain system (2400–3500 m) Región Metropolitana in the central Chilean Andes (33°S, 70°W). We surveyed vegetation and spectroscopic reflectance (400–2400 nm) to quantify taxonomic, phylogenetic, functional, and spectral diversity at five sites from 2400 to 3500 m elevation. We characterized soil attributes and processes by measuring water content, carbon and nitrogen, and net nitrogen mineralization rates. At high elevation, colder temperatures reduced available soil nitrogen, while at warmer, lower elevations, soil moisture was lower. Metrics of taxonomic, functional, and spectral alpha diversity peaked at mid‐elevations, while phylogenetic species richness was highest at low elevation. Leaf nitrogen increased with elevation at the community level and within individual species, consistent with global patterns of increasing leaf nitrogen with colder temperatures. The increase in leaf nitrogen, coupled with shifts in taxonomic and functional diversity associated with turnover in lineages, indicate that the ability to acquire and retain nitrogen in colder temperatures may be important in plant community assembly in this range. Such environmental filters have important implications for forecasting shifts in alpine plant communities under a warming climate.

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Plant–plant interactions influence phylogenetic diversity at multiple spatial scales in a semi-arid mountain rangeland

Cited by 11 publications

References 53 publications

Plant–plant interactions determine natural restoration of plant biodiversity over time, in a degraded mined land

Plant–plant interactions determine natural restoration of plant biodiversity over time, in a degraded mined land

History sets the stage: Macroevolutionary influence on biotic interactions

Drivers of plant diversity, community composition, functional traits, and soil processes along an alpine gradient in the central Chilean Andes

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