scholarly journals Effects of environmental conditions and space on species turnover for three plant functional groups in Brazilian savannas

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 1047-1058 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hélio Menegat ◽  
Divino Vicente Silvério ◽  
Henrique A Mews ◽  
Guarino R Colli ◽  
Ana Clara Abadia ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Functional Groups ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Environmental Gradients ◽  
Species Turnover ◽  
Geographic Distance ◽  
Floristic Composition ◽  
Environmental Variation ◽  
Variance Partitioning ◽  
Plant Functional Groups ◽  
Palm Species

Abstract Aims Different plant functional groups display diverging responses to the same environmental gradients. Here, we assess the effects of environmental and spatial predictors on species turnover of three functional groups of Brazilian savannas (Cerrado) plants—trees, palms and lianas—across the transition zone between the Cerrado and Amazon biomes in central Brazil. Methods We used edaphic, climatic and plant composition data from nine one-hectare plots to assess the effects of the environment and space on species turnover using a Redundancy Analysis and Generalized Dissimilarity Modeling (GDM), associated with variance partitioning. Important Findings We recorded 167 tree species, 5 palms and 4 liana species. Environmental variation was most important in explaining species turnover, relative to geographic distance, but the best predictors differed between functional groups: geographic distance and silt for lianas; silt for palms; geographic distance, temperature and elevation for trees. Geographic distances alone exerted little influence over species turnover for the three functional groups. The pure environmental variation explained most of the liana and palm turnover, while tree turnover was largely explained by the shared spatial and environmental contribution. The effects of geographic distance upon species turnover leveled off at about 300 km for trees, and 200 km for lianas, whereas they were unimportant for palm species turnover. Our results indicate that environmental factors that determine floristic composition and species turnover differ substantially between plant functional groups in savannas. Therefore, we recommend that studies that aim to investigate the role of environmental conditions in determining plant species turnover should examine plant functional groups separately.

Dynamics of plant functional groups composition along environmental gradients in the typical area of Yi-Luo River watershed

2011 ◽  
Vol 10 (65) ◽  
pp. 14485-14492 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liao Bing Hua ◽  
Ding Sheng Yan ◽  
Liang Guo Fu ◽  
Guo Yi Li ◽  
Tian Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Functional Groups ◽  
Environmental Gradients ◽  
Plant Functional Groups ◽  
River Watershed

The demography of a dominant Amazon liana species exhibits little environmental sensitivity

2015 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luciana de Campos Franci ◽  
Jens-Christian Svenning ◽  
Henrik Balslev ◽  
Fernando Roberto Martins ◽  
Jacob Nabe-Nielsen
Keyword(s):  
Dominant Species ◽  
Environmental Gradients ◽  
Floristic Composition ◽  
Environmental Variation ◽  
Common Species ◽  
Amazon Forest ◽  
Vegetation Density ◽  
Vital Rates ◽  
Relative Growth ◽  
Positive Effect

Abstract:Despite its high plant diversity, the Amazon forest is dominated by a limited number of highly abundant, oligarchic tree and liana species. The high diversity can be related to specific habitat requirements in many of the less common species, but fewer studies have investigated the characteristics of the dominant species. To test how environmental variation may contribute to the success of dominant species we investigated whether the vital rates of the abundant liana Machaerium cuspidatum is sensitive to canopy height, topographic steepness, vegetation density, soil components and floristic composition across an Ecuadorian Amazon forest. The population was inventoried in 1998 and in 2009. Plants were divided into seedling-sized individuals, non-climbers and climbers. Out of 448 seedling-sized plants 421 died, 539 of 732 non-climbers died, and 107 of 198 climbers died. There was weak positive effect of dense understorey on the relative growth rate of climbers. The mortality of seedling-sized plants was higher in areas with intermediate slope, but for larger plants mortality was not related to environmental variation. The limited sensitivity of the vital rates to environmental gradients in the area suggests that ecological generalism contributes to the success of this dominant Amazonian liana.

scholarly journals The role of environmental filtering, geographic distance and dispersal barriers in shaping the turnover of plant and animal species in Amazonia

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (13) ◽  
pp. 3609-3634 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristian Dambros ◽  
Gabriela Zuquim ◽  
Gabriel M. Moulatlet ◽  
Flávia R. C. Costa ◽  
Hanna Tuomisto ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Community Composition ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Environmental Gradients ◽  
Isolation By Distance ◽  
Geographic Distance ◽  
Environmental Filtering ◽  
Dispersal Limitation ◽  
Multivariate Techniques ◽  
Time Period ◽  
Dispersal Barriers

Abstract To determine the effect of rivers, environmental conditions, and isolation by distance on the distribution of species in Amazonia. Location: Brazilian Amazonia. Time period: Current. Major taxa studied: Birds, fishes, bats, ants, termites, butterflies, ferns + lycophytes, gingers and palms. We compiled a unique dataset of biotic and abiotic information from 822 plots spread over the Brazilian Amazon. We evaluated the effects of environment, geographic distance and dispersal barriers (rivers) on assemblage composition of animal and plant taxa using multivariate techniques and distance- and raw-data-based regression approaches. Environmental variables (soil/water), geographic distance, and rivers were associated with the distribution of most taxa. The wide and relatively old Amazon River tended to determine differences in community composition for most biological groups. Despite this association, environment and geographic distance were generally more important than rivers in explaining the changes in species composition. The results from multi-taxa comparisons suggest that variation in community composition in Amazonia reflects both dispersal limitation (isolation by distance or by large rivers) and the adaptation of species to local environmental conditions. Larger and older river barriers influenced the distribution of species. However, in general this effect is weaker than the effects of environmental gradients or geographical distance at broad scales in Amazonia, but the relative importance of each of these processes varies among biological groups.

scholarly journals A comparison of the vegetation of forested and non-forested solution dolines in Hungary: a preliminary study

Biologia ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 69 (10) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zoltán Bátori ◽  
Tünde Farkas ◽  
László Erdős ◽  
Csaba Tölgyesi ◽  
László Körmöczi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
Environmental Gradients ◽  
Species Turnover ◽  
Detrended Correspondence Analysis ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Linear Regression Models ◽  
Species Groups ◽  
Vegetation Characteristics ◽  
Floristic Variation

AbstractThe present study compares the vegetation characteristics of two large forested and one large non-forested solution dolines in Hungary. We investigated the species composition and vegetation pattern along north to south transects (across the doline bottoms) and compared the richness of different species groups (dry and wet groups) on the doline slopes. We applied linear regression models for each slope to explore the effects of topography on species richness, and Detrended Correspondence Analysis (DCA) to detect the major gradients of floristic variation within each site. We found that the vegetation changed significantly along all transects; and, regardless of the vegetation cover, the doline bottoms contained several cool-adapted species. Variations within the two species groups were more pronounced on the south-facing slopes. The changes were similar in the forested dolines, indicating the role of forest cover in maintaining many cool-adapted species on the north-facing slopes as well. However, the number of cool-adapted species increased significantly along both slopes of the non-forested doline from the upper edge to the bottom. Contrary to our expectations, the species turnover along the slopes of the non-forested doline was lower than that along the slopes of the forested ones. We conclude that both the forested and non-forested dolines serve as refuges for many plant species adapted to different environmental conditions. Apart from providing an understanding of population patterns along environmental gradients, our results may also contribute to our understanding of an even more fundamental question for a future research agenda: the probable effects of climate change on vegetation characteristics in climatic islands with environmental conditions substantially different from the surrounding areas.

scholarly journals Seasonal and spatial patterns of eukaryotic phytoplankton communities in an urban river based on marker gene

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jing Yang ◽  
Junping Lv ◽  
Qi Liu ◽  
Fangru Nan ◽  
Bo Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Functional Groups ◽  
Environmental Gradients ◽  
Pearson Correlation ◽  
Marker Gene ◽  
Variance Partitioning ◽  
Linear Discriminant ◽  
Eukaryotic Phytoplankton ◽  
Phytoplankton Communities ◽  
Phytoplankton Functional Groups ◽  
Determining Factors

AbstractThe seasonal and spatial eukaryotic phytoplankton composition in the Fenhe River was investigated based on the 18S rDNA V4 region. The relationship between phytoplankton functional groups and environmental factors was explored to effectively capture the responses of these taxa to environmental gradients and their effects on ecosystem function. Our results indicated that the Chlorophyta and Bacillariophyta had higher relative abundance than other taxa, and their diversity and richness indices in spring were higher than those in other seasons. The linear discriminant analysis effect size (LEfSe) analyses detected that the potential seasonal biomarkers included Desmodesmus, Cyclotella, Pseudoschroederia, Discostella, Scenedesmus, Monoraphidium, and Nannochloropsis; the spatial biomarkers included Amphora, Neochloris, Hindakia, Pseudomuriella, Coccomyxa, Chloroidium, Scherffelia, Chromochloris, and Scotinosphaera. The systemic evolution and distribution characteristics of the first 50 representative sequences showed that the dominant genus included Desmodesmus in spring, Pseudopediastrum in summer, Mychonastes in autumn, and Monoraphidium in winter. Main seasonal variation of phytoplankton functional groups was as follows: spring (J + F + C + X1) → summer (J + F + X1 + X2) → autumn (J + F + X1 + C) → winter (X1 + J + B + X2). Pearson correlation, redundancy analysis, and variance partitioning analysis showed temperature and phosphate were the determining factors causing the changes of phytoplankton functional groups and community composition in the Fenhe River.

Defining functional groups and their vulnerability to the edge effect in a peri-urban forest in Mexico City

2018 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 342-351 ◽  
Author(s):  
GABRIELA SANTIBÁÑEZ-ANDRADE ◽  
CARLOS GRANADOS-PELÁEZ ◽  
ARTURO GARCÍA-ROMERO
Keyword(s):  
Functional Groups ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Urban Forest ◽  
Environmental Gradients ◽  
Plant Functional Groups ◽  
Edge Zone ◽  
Site Factor ◽  
Canopy Opening ◽  
Litter Cover ◽  
Interior Zone

SUMMARYThe expansion of human settlements and primary-sector activities (agriculture and forestry) has resulted in the fragmentation of forests, but the impacts of this are still poorly understood. We examined the effect of patch size on the presence of plant functional groups along an edge–interior gradient. Plant species were classified based on a two-way indicator species analysis in order to determine their establishment thresholds and vulnerability along the gradient, while detrended correspondence analyses and canonical correspondence analyses were performed to identify environmental gradients related to vegetation distribution. Two groups of plant species were recognized in all patch sizes: one commonly found towards the edge and the other in the interior zone. The incidence of these groups was correlated with environmental factors associated with the edge–interior gradient, mainly with humidity, soil moisture and light (canopy opening and global site factor) in the edge zone and with litter cover, depth of litter, slope and soil and air temperature in the interior zone. Identifying the species’ threshold responses to fragmentation is key, as they provide tools to prevent the potential local extinction of species.

Pure spatial and spatially structured environmental variables explain Skistodiaptomus copepod range limits in the northeastern USA

2006 ◽  
Vol 63 (6) ◽  
pp. 1397-1404 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan A Thum ◽  
Richard S Stemberger
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Function Analysis ◽  
Spatial Location ◽  
Environmental Variation ◽  
Variance Partitioning ◽  
Range Limits ◽  
Lake Productivity ◽  
Species Occurrences ◽  
Northeastern Usa

We assessed the ability of present-day environmental factors to explain the nonoverlapping range boundaries of Skistodiaptomus copepods in the northeastern USA. Variance partitioning using partial canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) attributed 21% of the variance in species occurrences to spatial location, 20% to spatially structured environmental variation, and 12% to environmental factors that are not spatially structured. Discriminant function analysis (DFA) aided our interpretation of the variance in species' occurrences attributed to spatially structured environmental variation. Skistodiaptomus pallidus lakes were discriminated from Skistodiaptomus oregonensis and Skistodiaptomus pygmaeus lakes along a productivity gradient, with S. pallidus occurring in more productive lakes. In contrast, S. oregonensis and S. pygmaeus lakes were environmentally similar. Thus, a large portion of the spatially structured variation in the variance-partitioning analysis most likely reflected the shared correlations between the spatial locations and environmental conditions of S. pallidus lakes. Taken together, the results from CCA and DFA analyses suggested that S. pallidus' range boundary is controlled by environmental factors (lake productivity), while the range boundaries for S. oregonensis and S. pygmaeus were related more to their biogeographic histories than to present-day environments. We discuss alternative explanations for range limits that are independent of environmental conditions.

Alpha- and beta- diversity of woody species across environmental gradients in African and Australian tropical savannas

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Felix Trotter ◽  
Caroline Lehmann ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Beta Diversity ◽  
Woody Plant ◽  
Environmental Gradients ◽  
Species Turnover ◽  
Geographic Distance ◽  
Alpha Diversity ◽  
Woody Species ◽  
Mean Annual Temperature ◽  
Alpha And Beta Diversity ◽  
Rainfall Seasonality

<p>Patterns of woody plant diversity in the tropical savanna biome has received little research attention but is relevant to understanding the complex vegetation dynamics of a biome that have remained contentious for almost a century. Tropical savannas of Africa and Australia are defined by the co-existence of woody plants and grasses, and the evolution and assembly of the savanna biome trace back 3-10 million years. Here, we explored patterns of local (alpha-) diversity and species turnover (beta-diversity) of woody plant species across African and Australian savannas. We aimed test the relative role of the environmental gradients of rainfall, temperature, fire and soil in shaping the relative abundance of all of woody species, genera, and families. Using generalized additive models (GAMs) and generalised dissimilarity models (GDMs) of field inventory data from vegetation plots across sub-Saharan Africa and Northern Australia we analysed changes in alpha- and beta-diversity. Environmental gradients were characterised as effective rainfall (ER), rainfall seasonality (coefficient of variation of monthly rainfall), mean annual temperature (MAT), temperature seasonality, fire frequency, and cation exchange capacity (CEC) in soils.</p><p>Savannas in Australia are on average drier and hotter than in Africa likely as a product of lower altitude. Crucially, diversity across all taxonomic levels is approximately two to three times greater in Africa compared with Australia. Within each continent, rainfall seasonality was the strongest environmental correlate of both alpha- and beta-diversity. In Africa, there is a strongly negative relationship between alpha-diversity at all taxonomic levels and rainfall seasonality. In contrast, in Australia, the relationship between alpha-diversity and rainfall seasonality while relevant is non-linear. Surprisingly within continents, rainfall, temperature, soils and fire had little bearing in these data on patterns of alpha diversity.</p><p>In terms of beta-diversity, and likely linked to the overall differences in diversity between continents, the geographic distance equalling total species turnover is greater in Australia than in Africa. Effective rainfall was the only additional significant correlate of woody species turnover in Australia, but only in arid regions. In Australia, at higher taxonomic levels the capacity of GDMs to explain variation in the data diminished substantially as a product of low diversity in genera and families. When compared to Australia, species turnover in Africa increases when geographic distance, rainfall seasonality and mean annual temperature are relatively low.</p><p>Our findings highlight that with ongoing climate change specifically with shifts in rainfall distribution that will also affect local drought regimes, rainfall seasonality could substantially alter patterns of diversity, specifically in Africa. There have been persistent attempts to explain ecosystem dynamics in savannas with respect to climate, soils and fire with emphasis often on total rainfall, but our findings suggest that rainfall seasonality can have strong effects on diversity that may interact with other environmental correlates such as fire.</p>

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