Remote sensing of β‐diversity: Evidence from plant communities in a semi‐natural system

Hoffmann, Samuel; Schmitt, Thomas M.; Chiarucci, Alessandro; Irl, Severin D. H.; Rocchini, Duccio; Vetaas, Ole R.; Tanase, Mihai A.; Mermoz, Stéphane; Bouvet, Alexandre; Beierkuhnlein, Carl

doi:10.1111/avsc.12403

Cited by 26 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 86 publications

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“…The relationship between γ-diversity and elevation was negative for all life forms as has been previously reported for other regions and type of ecosystems [23,38,68]. The lower species richness observed at higher elevational zones may be partly due to the area effect, as area decreases with increasing elevation due to conical shape of mountains [69], and therefore according to species-area relationship, the species richness also decreases [22].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 69%

Diversity Patterns of Different Life Forms of Plants along an Elevational Gradient in Crete, Greece

et al. 2019

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Elevational gradients provide a unique opportunity to explore species responses to changing environmental conditions. Here, we focus on an elevational gradient in Crete, a climate-vulnerable Mediterranean plant biodiversity hotspot and explore the diversity patterns and underlying mechanisms of different plant life forms. We found that the significant differences in life forms’ elevational and environmental ranges are reflected in α- diversity (species richness at local scale), γ-diversity (species richness at regional scale) and β-diversity (variation in species composition). The α- and γ-diversity decreased with elevation, while β-diversity followed a hump-shaped relationship, with the peak varying between life forms. However, β-deviation (deviation from null expectations) varied significantly with elevation but was life formindependent. This suggests that species composition is shaped by the size of the available species pool which depends on life form, but also by other deterministic or stochastic processes that act in a similar way for different life forms. The strength of these processes varies with elevation, with hotter–drier conditions and increased human activities filtering species composition at lowlands and large-scale processes determining the species pool size overriding local ecological processes at higher elevations.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 69%

Diversity Patterns of Different Life Forms of Plants along an Elevational Gradient in Crete, Greece

et al. 2019

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“…Lotus campylocladus subsp. hillebrandii , Cistus symphytifolius or Adenocarpus foliolosus ; Hoffmann et al., ). With time, the influence of the surrounding (mature) communities likely becomes increasingly important as propagule sources for the lava flows, often leading to successional trajectories converging towards the surrounding communities (Prach et al., ; Rolim, Machado, & Pillar, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatiotemporal dynamics of plant diversity and endemism during primary succession on an oceanic‐volcanic island

Irl

Schweiger

Hoffmann

et al. 2019

J Vegetation Science

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Questions: How does the diversity of native, endemic and alien plant species, as well as the diversity of plant life forms, change during primary succession on lava flows of an oceanic-volcanic island? How do environmental factors such as moisture and soil properties alter diversity during primary succession? Location: La Palma, Canary Islands. Methods: We recorded vascular plants and bryophytes in 210 plots on a chronosequence of nine lava flows spanning approx. 6,000 years and covering an elevational range of 1,100 m. In a subset (n = 78 plots) we collected and analyzed soil samples for soil nitrogen and plant-available phosphorus. We used generalized linear models, variance partitioning and structural equation models (SEMs) to analyze the data. Results: Species richness, endemic richness and alien richness increased with time. Natives dominated during early successional stages, whereas endemics and aliens increased with time. At early successional stages, vascular plants and bryophytes had an equal contribution to the species pool, while vascular plants increased up to an 80% contribution at later stages. In the variance partitioning and SEMs, time was the only consistent factor influencing different aspects of diversity during succession (species richness, endemic richness and percent endemism). Only for percent endemism did soil attributes have a substantial impact. Conclusion: Primary succession on lava flows on La Palma shows a pattern of increasing overall diversity, endemism and alien richness with time. Time is the only factor consistently explaining diversity and endemism, indicating that environmental influences such as climate and soil properties do not substantially alter them during primary succession. Our study contributes to understanding how different facets of diversity assemble through time by using an understudied, yet important island system, and, for the first time, specifically addresses how endemics contribute to the process of primary succession. K E Y W O R D S alien, chronosequence, diversity, endemism, island, lava flow, primary succession, structural equation model, vascular plants 588 | Journal of Vegetation Science IRL et aL. | 589 Journal of Vegetation Science IRL et aL.

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“…For example, in a survey on La Palma island, Canary islands, Hoffmann et al. () investigated whether beta‐diversity patterns agree with community types and if remotely sensed data can be used to detect compositional changes of elevational belts. They found that at the lower ecotone, i.e.…”

Section: Statistical Approaches To Identify Vegetational Belts Based mentioning

confidence: 99%

Recognizing and interpreting vegetational belts: New wine in the old bottles of a von Humboldt's legacy

Fattorini

Biase²,

Chiarucci

2019

Journal of Biogeography

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Since von Humboldt, recognizing and using elevational subdivisions is at the core of biogeographical and ecological studies in mountain ecosystems. However, despite the large use of vegetational belts, their conceptual definition and practical identification appear to be surprisingly loose and inconsistent. Many authors use variations in climatic conditions to identify elevational belts. These belts are useful to set a framework for ecological studies but cannot be considered a surrogate of vegetational belts, because factors different from climate play a major role in determining the distribution of plant assemblages. Vegetation physiognomy can be used to identify ‘biome‐type’ belts that are useful for comparisons across geographical areas with different floras. However, to properly reflect ecological conditions at local scale, vegetational belts should be based on species composition. One of the most effective statistical approaches for this purpose is the use spatially constrained cluster analysis. The use of indicator species analysis may be also recommended to identify the species that most characterize vegetational belts. This can help researchers to identify belts in the field. Since species identification can be difficult, some authors use plant functional types for belt delimitation. Plant functional types can be helpful to trace the adaptative responses of vegetation along elevational gradients, but cannot be recommended as a standard way to identify belts. In general, criteria to identify vegetational belts can be based on both vegetation structure (namely physiognomy and structural parameters) and/or species composition, depending on the scale and the aim of the analyses, and they should be clearly stated.

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Remote sensing of β‐diversity: Evidence from plant communities in a semi‐natural system

Cited by 26 publications

References 86 publications

Diversity Patterns of Different Life Forms of Plants along an Elevational Gradient in Crete, Greece

Diversity Patterns of Different Life Forms of Plants along an Elevational Gradient in Crete, Greece

Spatiotemporal dynamics of plant diversity and endemism during primary succession on an oceanic‐volcanic island

Recognizing and interpreting vegetational belts: New wine in the old bottles of a von Humboldt's legacy

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