Relationship between Diversity and Stability of a Karst Plant Community

The relationships among species diversity, functional diversity, functional redundancy, and community stability are central to community and ecosystem ecology. This paper examines plant communities at different stages of vegetation restoration in the Guizhou karst plateau to study the relationship among functional diversity, functional redundancy, and stability of plant communities. The most important results include the following. (1) Species diversity (SD), functional redundancy (FR), and stability (STB) gradually increased with restoration, and there were significant differences among the different stages; functional diversity (FD) increased at first and then decreased, and reached the highest level at the tree irrigation stage. (2) Plant height (PLH) and specific leaf area (SLA) were functional traits that affected the diversity and stability of the plant community, and PLH was positively correlated with plant community diversity and stability, while SLA was negatively correlated with plant community diversity and stability. (3) During the community recovery, FD and FR interacted to maintain stability. In the early and late stages of recovery, the effect of functional redundancy on stability was greater than that of functional diversity, but it was the opposite in the middle stages. (4) The tree irrigation stage is the likely point at which the species diversity of plant communities in karst areas reached saturation, and the growth rate of functional redundancy after species diversity saturation was greater than that before saturation.

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Relationship between ecological stoichiometry and community diversity of plant ecosystems in the upper reaches of the Tarim River, China

10.1101/432278 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Jingjing Zhao ◽

Lu Gong ◽

Xin Chen

Keyword(s):

Species Diversity ◽

Plant Community ◽

Ecological Stoichiometry ◽

Diversity Indices ◽

Community Diversity ◽

Tarim River ◽

Arid Zones ◽

The Tarim River ◽

P Content ◽

The Relationship

AbstractAimAlthough it is commonly proposed that nutrient cycling can impact plant community diversity, this relationship has not been fully examined in arid and semi-arid zones. Here, we expand on the framework for evaluating the relationship between biodiversity and ecological stoichiometry by scaling up from the level of the community.LocationThe upper reaches of the Tarim River (Northwest China, 80°10’-84°36’E, 0°25’-41°10’N).MethodsWe used multivariate analysis of variance to compare the stoichiometric characteristics and species diversity indices of sampled plant communities. We also measured carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorous (P) content of plants. We then assessed correlations between community stoichiometry and species diversity through structural equation models (SEM) and redundancy analysis (RDA).ResultsWe found that the differences between stoichiometric characteristics and community diversity indices were highly significant. The Margalef index was strongly related to C and P content. The Simpson’s index and Shannon-Weaner index were most strongly correlated with C content. Pielou’s index was closely related to C and N contents, and the C:N and C:P ratios were important at driving ecological dominance.Main ConclusionsOur study highlights the importance of ecological stoichiometry in driving community assembly and diversity within a desert ecosystems in northwestern China. The relationship between eclogical stoichiometry in the desert plant community had an effect on species diversity, and it was a good indicator of plant community diversity.

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Shifts in soil and plant functional diversity along an altitudinal gradient in the French Alps

BMC Research Notes ◽

10.1186/s13104-021-05468-0 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Alexia Stokes ◽

Guillermo Angeles ◽

Fabien Anthelme ◽

Eduardo Aranda-Delgado ◽

Isabelle Barois ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Plant Community ◽

Functional Diversity ◽

Plant Communities ◽

Species Abundance ◽

Chemical Properties ◽

Water Infiltration ◽

Temperate Climate ◽

Biophysical Properties ◽

Tropical Zone ◽

Soil Microbial

Abstract Objectives Altitude integrates changes in environmental conditions that determine shifts in vegetation, including temperature, precipitation, solar radiation and edaphogenetic processes. In turn, vegetation alters soil biophysical properties through litter input, root growth, microbial and macrofaunal interactions. The belowground traits of plant communities modify soil processes in different ways, but it is not known how root traits influence soil biota at the community level. We collected data to investigate how elevation affects belowground community traits and soil microbial and faunal communities. This dataset comprises data from a temperate climate in France and a twin study was performed in a tropical zone in Mexico. Data description The paper describes soil physical and chemical properties, climatic variables, plant community composition and species abundance, plant community traits, soil microbial functional diversity and macrofaunal abundance and diversity. Data are provided for six elevations (1400–2400 m) ranging from montane forest to alpine prairie. We focused on soil biophysical properties beneath three dominant plant species that structure local vegetation. These data are useful for understanding how shifts in vegetation communities affect belowground processes, such as water infiltration, soil aggregation and carbon storage. Data will also help researchers understand how plant communities adjust to a changing climate/environment.

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The relationship between species diversity and functional diversity along aridity gradients in semi-arid rangeland

Journal of Arid Environments ◽

10.1016/j.jaridenv.2021.104632 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 195 ◽

pp. 104632

Author(s):

Guy Dovrat ◽

Ehud Meron ◽

Moshe Shachak ◽

Yosef Moshe ◽

Yagil Osem

Keyword(s):

Species Diversity ◽

Functional Diversity ◽

The Relationship ◽

Semi Arid ◽

Arid Rangeland

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Disturbance effects on species diversity and functional diversity in riparian and upland plant communities

Ecology ◽

10.1890/08-0887.1 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 91 (1) ◽

pp. 28-35 ◽

Cited By ~ 122

Author(s):

Shekhar R. Biswas ◽

Azim U. Mallik

Keyword(s):

Species Diversity ◽

Functional Diversity ◽

Plant Communities ◽

Disturbance Effects

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Effects of interspecific trait dissimilarity and species evenness on the relationship between species diversity and functional diversity in alpine meadow

Acta Ecologica Sinica ◽

10.5846/stxb201405070903 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 36 (3) ◽

Author(s):

陈超 CHEN Chao ◽

朱志红 ZHU Zhihong ◽

李英年 LI Yingnian ◽

姚天华 YAO Tianhua ◽

潘石玉 PAN Shiyu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Species Diversity ◽

Functional Diversity ◽

Alpine Meadow ◽

Species Evenness ◽

The Relationship

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Plant community diversity and composition provide little resistance to Juniperus encroachment

Botany ◽

10.1139/b08-110 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 86 (12) ◽

pp. 1416-1426 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Amy C. Ganguli ◽

David M. Engle ◽

Paul M. Mayer ◽

Eric C. Hellgren

Keyword(s):

Species Richness ◽

Species Diversity ◽

Species Composition ◽

Plant Species ◽

Plant Community ◽

Tallgrass Prairie ◽

Abiotic Factors ◽

Community Diversity ◽

Oak Forest ◽

Old Field

Widespread encroachment of the fire-intolerant species Juniperus virginiana L. into North American grasslands and savannahs where fire has largely been removed has prompted the need to identify mechanisms driving J. virginiana encroachment. We tested whether encroachment success of J. virginiana is related to plant species diversity and composition across three plant communities. We predicted J. virginiana encroachment success would (i) decrease with increasing diversity, and (ii) J. virginiana encroachment success would be unrelated to species composition. We simulated encroachment by planting J. virginiana seedlings in tallgrass prairie, old-field grassland, and upland oak forest. We used J. virginiana survival and growth as an index of encroachment success and evaluated success as a function of plant community traits (i.e., species richness, species diversity, and species composition). Our results indicated that J. virginiana encroachment success increased with increasing plant richness and diversity. Moreover, growth and survival of J. virginiana seedlings was associated with plant species composition only in the old-field grassland and upland oak forest. These results suggest that greater plant species richness and diversity provide little resistance to J. virginiana encroachment, and the results suggest resource availability and other biotic or abiotic factors are determinants of J. virginiana encroachment success.

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Plant Community Analysis along Environmental Gradients in Moist Afromontane Forest of Gerba Dima, South-western Ethiopia

10.21203/rs.3.rs-19997/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Abyot Dibaba Hundie ◽

Teshome Soromessa Urgessa ◽

Bikila Warkineh Dullo

Keyword(s):

Cluster Analysis ◽

Species Diversity ◽

Plant Species ◽

Plant Community ◽

Plant Communities ◽

Environmental Gradients ◽

Floristic Composition ◽

Regional Government ◽

Community Types ◽

Western Ethiopia

Abstract Background This study was carried out in Gerba Dima Forest, South-Western Ethiopia, to determine the floristic composition, species diversity and community types along environmental gradients. Ninety sample plots having a size of 25 × 25 m (625 m2) were laid by employing stratified random sampling. Nested plots were used to sample plants of different sizes and different environmental variables. All woody plant species with Diameter at breast height (DBH) ≥ 2.5 cm and height ≥ 1.5 m were recorded in 25 m X 25 m plots. Within the major plots, five 3 m x 3 m subplots (9 m2) was used to collect shrubs with dbh < 2.5 cm and > 1.5 m height. Within each 9 m2subplots, two 1 m2 subplots were used to collect data on the species and abundance of herbaceous plants. Hierarchical (agglomerative) cluster analysis was performed using the free statistical software R version 3.6.1 using package cluster to classify the vegetation into plant community types. Redundancy Analysis (RDA) ordination was used in describing the pattern of plant communities along an environmental gradient. Result One hundred and eighty plant species belonging to 145 genera, 69 families and comprising of 15 endemic species were recorded. Cluster analysis resulted in five different plant communities and this result was supported by the ordination result. RDA result showed altitude was the main environmental variable in determining the plant communities. The ANOVA test indicated that the five community types differ significantly from each other with regard to EC and K. Conclusions The studied forest can play a significant role in biodiversity conservation since it harbours high species diversity and richness. Thus, all Stakeholders including Oromia Forest and wildlife enterprise (OFWE) and the regional government should work to designate the forest as a biosphere reserve and being registered under UNESCO.

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Resource availability is much more important than resource heterogeneity in determining the species diversity and abundance of karst plant communities

10.22541/au.161759028.88059659/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Yuan LIU ◽

Wenchao Qi ◽

Danni He ◽

Yunrong Xiang ◽

Jin Chun Liu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Species Diversity ◽

Community Composition ◽

Plant Community ◽

Plant Communities ◽

Resource Availability ◽

Structural Equation ◽

Variation Partitioning ◽

Equation Model ◽

Plant Community Composition ◽

Resource Heterogeneity

Resource availability and heterogeneity are recognized as two essential environmental aspects to determine species diversity and community abundance. However, how resource availability and heterogeneity determine species diversity and community abundance in highly heterogeneous and most fragile karst landscapes is largely unknown. We examined the effects of resource availability and heterogeneity on plant community composition and quantified their relative contribution by variation partitioning. Then, a structural equation model (SEM) was used to further disentangle the multiple direct and indirect effects of resource availability on plant community composition. Species diversity was significantly influenced by the resource availability in shrubland and woodland but not by the heterogeneity in woodland. Abundance was significantly affected by both resource availability and heterogeneity, whereas variation partitioning results showed that resource availability explained the majority of the variance in abundance, and the contribution of resource heterogeneity was marginal. These results indicated that resource availability plays a more important role in determining karst plant community composition than resource heterogeneity. Our SEMs further found that the multiple direct and indirect processes of resource availability in determining karst species diversity and abundance were different in different vegetation types. Resource availability and heterogeneity both played a certain role in determining karst plant community composition, while the importance of resource availability far exceeded resource heterogeneity. We propose that steering community restoration and reconstruction should be highly dependent on resource availability, and multiple direct and indirect pathways of resource availability for structuring karst plant communities need to be taken into account.

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