Mechanisms behind elevational plant species richness patterns revealed by a trait-based approach

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F60460709%3A41330%2F23%3A97574" target="_blank" >RIV/60460709:41330/23:97574 - isvavai.cz</a>

Result on the web

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jvs.13171" target="_blank" >http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jvs.13171</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jvs.13171" target="_blank" >10.1111/jvs.13171</a>

Result language

angličtina

Original language name

Mechanisms behind elevational plant species richness patterns revealed by a trait-based approach

Original language description

Aims: Elevational patterns of plant species richness may be caused by multiple underlying mechanisms, and the same pattern can be predicted by different mechanisms. Using the steep elevational gradient of Tenerife as a model system, we aimed to test if the application of a trait-based approach can help disentangle the role of potential mechanisms behind local elevational plant species richness patterns.Location: Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain.Methods: Based on vegetation releves from natural vegetation and disturbed roadside habitat, along an elevational gradient of 2300 m, we observed a peak of plant species richness in the lowest third of the gradient. We considered three mechanisms potentially shaping this pattern: environmental filtering (temperature and precipitation), effects of area and disturbance. For these mechanisms, we hypothesized a distinct pattern of functional trait-elevation relationships. These were tested with in-situ data of nine functional leaf traits, from which we calculated community-weighted means (CWM) of traits and functional diversity (Rao's Q).Results: While species richness was significantly positively correlated with temperature, area and disturbance, filtering through temperature was the only mechanism for which we could confirm most of our mechanism-specific hypotheses about elevational trait changes: with increasing elevation, CWMs of most traits indicated shifts from acquisitive to conservative growth strategies, and functional diversity decreased. The shift of growth strategies also supported the disturbance effect, as we found overall more acquisitive communities at roadsides compared to natural habitats.Conclusions: Our results indicate that simple correlations between species richness and abiotic variables are not necessarily causal. Additional testing of mechanism-specific hypotheses for elevational patterns of both CWMs and functional diversity can help distinguishing between correlational and mechanistic relationships between species richness and environmental variables. The trait-based framework presented here can be fruitfully applied to better understand species richness patterns in other regions and across other types of environmental gradients.

Czech name

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Czech description

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Type

J_imp - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database

CEP classification

—

OECD FORD branch

10611 - Plant sciences, botany

Project

—

Continuities

S - Specificky vyzkum na vysokych skolach

Publication year

2023

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Name of the periodical

Journal of Vegetation Science

ISSN

1100-9233

e-ISSN

1100-9233

Volume of the periodical

34

Issue of the periodical within the volume

1

Country of publishing house

SE - SWEDEN

Number of pages

15

Pages from-to

1-15

UT code for WoS article

000918021500001

EID of the result in the Scopus database

2-s2.0-85149823533