Contrasting Latitudinal Diversity Gradients in Karst and Non-Karst Forests: Evidence for Bedrock-Driven Modulation

IF 4.2 2区 环境科学与生态学 Q1 BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION
Li Huang, Yunpeng Nie, Ivan Prieto, Zidong Luo, Wenna Liu, Wei Zhang, Hongsong Chen
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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Aim

Plant diversity is essential for ecosystem stability and the delivery of ecosystem services. While climate, through energy and water (i.e., productivity), is the primary driver of the latitudinal diversity gradient (LDG), edaphic conditions modulate resource storage and heterogeneity. The role of bedrock-driven edaphic gradients in shaping LDG patterns remains poorly understood. Here, we tested how edaphic conditions interact with climate to shape species diversity and LDG patterns, underscoring the role of geodiversity in conservation.

Location

Subtropical forests spanning ~10° latitude in Southwestern China.

Methods

We conducted a large-scale vegetation survey across 60 forest plots on parallel limestone (karst) and clastic (non-karst) bedrocks recording over 17,000 individuals belonging to 654 woody species. We analysed diversity patterns in relation to latitude, climate, soil physicochemical properties and bedrock composition using structural equation modelling and linear mixed models.

Results

Despite similar climatic variation, karst forests exhibited higher topsoil Ca and Mg concentrations (SoilPC1) than non-karst forests. Together with shallower soils and lower SiO2 contents at low latitudes, elevated SoilPC1 was associated with lower species richness, consistent with the ~20% lower richness in karst forests. We found a positive effect of climate on richness (0.22), while SoilPC1 exerted a stronger negative effect (−0.34). Non-karst forests followed the traditional LDG pattern, with diversity increasing towards lower latitudes whereas it declined towards lower latitudes within karst forests, reversing the LDG trend. This divergence was associated with increasing SoilPC1 and declining soil depth and SiO2 contents towards low-latitude karst regions.

Main Conclusions

Our findings provide evidence that bedrock-driven differences in edaphic conditions between karst and non-karst systems fundamentally regulate plant diversity reshaping LDG patterns. This advances the floristic geo-lithology hypothesis and calls for integrating geodiversity into conservation frameworks. Given the ecological sensitivity and global extent of karst ecosystems, understanding bedrock–climate interactions is critical for conservation planning.

Abstract Image

喀斯特和非喀斯特森林的纬度多样性梯度对比:基岩驱动调节的证据
目的植物多样性对生态系统稳定和提供生态系统服务至关重要。气候通过能量和水(即生产力)是纬向多样性梯度(LDG)的主要驱动因素,而土壤条件调节资源储量和异质性。基岩驱动的地形梯度在形成LDG格局中的作用仍然知之甚少。在这里,我们测试了地理条件如何与气候相互作用来塑造物种多样性和LDG模式,强调了地质多样性在保护中的作用。地理位置中国西南部分布于~10°纬度的亚热带森林。方法对60个平行于石灰岩(喀斯特)和碎屑(非喀斯特)基岩的森林样地进行了大规模植被调查,记录了654种木本植物、17000余个个体。我们使用结构方程模型和线性混合模型分析了与纬度、气候、土壤理化性质和基岩组成有关的多样性模式。结果尽管气候变化相似,但喀斯特森林的表层土壤Ca和Mg浓度(SoilPC1)高于非喀斯特森林。低纬地区土壤较浅,SiO2含量较低,土壤pc1升高与物种丰富度降低相关,与喀斯特森林物种丰富度降低约20%相一致。气候对丰富度有正影响(0.22),而土壤pc1对丰富度有负影响(- 0.34)。非喀斯特森林遵循传统的LDG格局,在喀斯特森林内,多样性向低纬度增加,向低纬度下降,逆转了LDG趋势。这种差异与低纬喀斯特地区土壤pc1升高、土壤深度和SiO2含量下降有关。研究结果表明,基岩驱动的喀斯特和非喀斯特土壤条件差异从根本上调节了植物多样性重塑LDG模式。这提出了植物区系地质岩性假说,并呼吁将地质多样性纳入保护框架。考虑到喀斯特生态系统的生态敏感性和全球范围,了解基岩-气候相互作用对保护规划至关重要。
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来源期刊
Diversity and Distributions
Diversity and Distributions 环境科学-生态学
CiteScore
8.90
自引率
4.30%
发文量
195
审稿时长
8-16 weeks
期刊介绍: Diversity and Distributions is a journal of conservation biogeography. We publish papers that deal with the application of biogeographical principles, theories, and analyses (being those concerned with the distributional dynamics of taxa and assemblages) to problems concerning the conservation of biodiversity. We no longer consider papers the sole aim of which is to describe or analyze patterns of biodiversity or to elucidate processes that generate biodiversity.
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