What is the Relationship Between Plant Trait Diversity and Geodiversity? A Plot-Based, Pan-European Analysis

IF 6.3 1区环境科学与生态学 Q1 ECOLOGY

Global Ecology and Biogeography Pub Date : 2024-08-21 DOI:10.1111/geb.13904

Grant Vernham, Joseph J. Bailey, Richard Field, Franziska Schrodt

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Aim

Heterogeneity of the Earth's abiotic surface and subsurface (geodiversity) is increasingly recognised as an important driver of biodiversity. Theoretically, species' traits should match to abiotic conditions in the local environment. Here, we test this for the first time at a continental extent by analysing the relationships between geodiversity and plant trait diversity in forested vegetation plots across Europe, at three plot sizes (100, 400 and 1000 m²).

Location

Europe.

Time Period

1930–present.

Major Taxa Studied

Plants.

Methods

We analysed geodiversity–trait diversity relationships across Europe at 1 km resolution using 2637 forested vegetation plots from the sPlotOpen database. We computed geodiversity (topographic, landform, wetness and soil physical and chemical heterogeneity) variables, combined with climate and land use data to analyse the direct and indirect effects of geodiversity on plant trait diversity, using structural equation modelling.

Results

Topographic heterogeneity, and annual temperature to a lesser degree, showed significant positive weak to moderately strong association with plant trait richness and evenness across all plot sizes. We also detected multiple highly significant but weak effects of geodiversity components on trait diversity dimensions. Some notable exceptions include moderate negative effects of soil silt heterogeneity on trait divergence across 1000 m² plots and positive and weak negative effects of TWI and soil sand heterogeneity on trait evenness, respectively. Explained variance was low across models, but higher for models from 1000 m² vegetation plots. Evidence for the indirect effects of geodiversity on trait diversity was extremely weak.

Main Conclusions

Our findings suggest variable-specific effects of geodiversity on trait diversity, with significant effects of multiple geodiversity components but dominated by topographic heterogeneity. Importantly, data precision is limited, and we are thus trying to detect signal amongst high noise. Hence, the significant but weak signals we detect may indicate more important underlying patterns than our effect sizes suggest.

Abstract Image

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植物性状多样性与地理多样性之间有什么关系？基于地块的泛欧分析

目的地球表面和地下的非生物多样性（地质多样性）越来越被认为是生物多样性的重要驱动因素。从理论上讲，物种的特征应与当地环境的非生物条件相匹配。我们利用 sPlotOpen 数据库中的 2637 块森林植被小块，以 1 千米的分辨率分析了欧洲的地理多样性与植物性状多样性之间的关系。我们计算了地理多样性（地形、地貌、湿度以及土壤物理和化学异质性）变量，并结合气候和土地利用数据，使用结构方程建模法分析了地理多样性对植物性状多样性的直接和间接影响。我们还发现了地理多样性成分对性状多样性维度的多种高度显著但微弱的影响。值得注意的例外情况包括：土壤淤泥异质性对 1000 平方米地块的性状差异有中等程度的负效应，TWI 和土壤沙异质性分别对性状均匀度有正效应和弱负效应。各模型的解释方差较低，但来自 1000 平方米植被小区的模型解释方差较高。主要结论：我们的研究结果表明，地貌多样性对性状多样性有特定的影响，多种地貌多样性成分都有显著影响，但地形异质性的影响最大。重要的是，数据精度有限，因此我们试图在高噪音中发现信号。因此，我们检测到的重要但微弱的信号可能表明了比我们的效应大小所显示的更重要的潜在模式。

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来源期刊

Global Ecology and Biogeography 环境科学-生态学

CiteScore

12.10

自引率

3.10%

发文量

170

审稿时长

3 months

期刊介绍： Global Ecology and Biogeography (GEB) welcomes papers that investigate broad-scale (in space, time and/or taxonomy), general patterns in the organization of ecological systems and assemblages, and the processes that underlie them. In particular, GEB welcomes studies that use macroecological methods, comparative analyses, meta-analyses, reviews, spatial analyses and modelling to arrive at general, conceptual conclusions. Studies in GEB need not be global in spatial extent, but the conclusions and implications of the study must be relevant to ecologists and biogeographers globally, rather than being limited to local areas, or specific taxa. Similarly, GEB is not limited to spatial studies; we are equally interested in the general patterns of nature through time, among taxa (e.g., body sizes, dispersal abilities), through the course of evolution, etc. Further, GEB welcomes papers that investigate general impacts of human activities on ecological systems in accordance with the above criteria.