Basic and Applied Ecology最新文献

{"title":"Unravelling the multi-scale structure of vertebrate scavenger communities: The role of beta-diversity in livestock carcass consumption","authors":"María Eugenia Cabrera-García ,&nbsp;Patricia Mateo-Tomás ,&nbsp;José Hernán Sarasola ,&nbsp;Juan I. Zanón Martínez ,&nbsp;Beatriz Martínez-Miranzo ,&nbsp;Pedro P. Olea","doi":"10.1016/j.baae.2025.01.008","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.baae.2025.01.008","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Understanding the structure of communities across multiple scales is useful for predicting impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Scavenging, an important ecological function performed by scavenger assemblages, stands as a significant force shaping ecosystems. Using biodiversity partitioning, we assess the relative contribution of multiple scales (i.e., within and among individual carcasses, species and habitats) to the richness and Shannon diversity of vertebrate scavenger communities consuming anthropogenic food subsidies (i.e. livestock carrion) in central Argentina. We further evaluate the potential effect of carcass and habitat characteristics (including human impact) on the richness, abundance and diversity of vertebrate scavengers. A total of 31 carcasses, 22 of cow and nine of sheep, were monitored using remote cameras in cropland and natural habitats, recording consumption by 10 vertebrate species (four birds and six mammals). 50 % of scavenger species were observed at carcass level (<em>α₁</em> = 4.94 species), a contribution lower than expected by chance. While the turnover of species among carcasses (<em>β₁</em> diversity) significantly contributed (40 %) to regional richness (γ diversity), turnover of species between carrion types and habitats (β₂ diversity) contributed a smaller fraction (10 %). Partitioning of Shannon diversity showed similar patterns to richness. Scavenger abundance increased during spring and was positively influenced by carcass weight; furthermore, carcasses in croplands supported less abundance that those located in natural habitats. Aligning with the theory of carrion unpredictability in maintaining biodiversity, our results suggest that scavenger species replacement (turnover) at human-mediated carcasses scattered in the field plays a significant role in shaping vertebrate scavenger assemblages.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8708,"journal":{"name":"Basic and Applied Ecology","volume":"83 ","pages":"Pages 64-72"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143098328","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Integration of ground-based and remote sensing data with deep learning algorithms for mapping habitats in Natura 2000 protected oak forests","authors":"Lucia Čahojová ,&nbsp;Ivan Jarolímek ,&nbsp;Barbora Klímová ,&nbsp;Michal Kollár ,&nbsp;Michaela Michalková ,&nbsp;Karol Mikula ,&nbsp;Aneta A. Ožvat ,&nbsp;Denisa Slabejová ,&nbsp;Mária Šibíková","doi":"10.1016/j.baae.2025.01.006","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.baae.2025.01.006","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Landscape changes caused by climate change require new methods for forest research, analysis, mapping, and monitoring. This study aims to combine ground-based and remote sensing data utilising deep learning techniques to map protected forest habitats and communities within the Natura 2000 network. The study also seeks to evaluate the accuracy of this approach, specifically in oak-dominated forests, as well as identify the optimal time period within a year for effective habitat identification.</div><div>Using the specialised software NaturaSat, automated segmentations were performed based on the coordinates of phytosociological relevés and forest strands defined in database. Oak-dominated forest habitats were differentiated solely through multispectral data obtained from Sentinel-2 satellites. A dataset was selected for the training of a deep learning algorithm called the Natural Numerical Network on the basis of the analysis results. This algorithm aims to create a prediction map of habitats dominated by <em>Quercus cerris</em>, which is also known as the relevancy map.</div><div>Through the utilisation of the Natural Numerical Network, a training accuracy of 95.24% was achieved. Field validation, which was conducted at randomly generated locations within the relevancy map, yielded an accuracy of 98.33%. The most distinguishing differences in band characteristics between the two oak-dominated habitats were observed during the autumn months.</div><div>This study presents a framework that integrates terrestrial and remote sensing data. This method can serve as a basis for mapping forest habitats and observing changes related to climate change. Moreover, it contributes to the documentation of nature conservation and the mapping of landscapes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8708,"journal":{"name":"Basic and Applied Ecology","volume":"83 ","pages":"Pages 136-146"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143378769","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Adding non-floral resources increases wild insect abundance but not yield in Australian hybrid carrot crops","authors":"Blake M Dawson ,&nbsp;Nikolas P Johnston ,&nbsp;Stephanie Cerato ,&nbsp;Raylea Rowbottom ,&nbsp;Cameron Spurr ,&nbsp;Abby Davis ,&nbsp;Romina Rader","doi":"10.1016/j.baae.2025.01.007","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.baae.2025.01.007","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Many insect pollinator-dependent crops heavily rely on managed honey bees for pollination, yet flies and other wild taxa can be highly abundant and efficient, thus having potential as complementary pollinators. However, unlike bees, fly pollinator life history requirements and foraging behaviour are often unsupported in agroecosystems, or completely unknown. We aimed to determine the effectiveness of different non-floral resources in attracting fly pollinators and supporting their life history requirements, and whether higher fly abundance would result in improved seed yield in hybrid carrot crops. We introduced three decomposing organic resources (carrion, manure, and carrot plant material) to four commercial carrot farms in Northern Tasmania, Australia and sampled fly activity on carrot umbels around each treatment. In total, we recorded 46 adult insect species visiting carrot umbels across all treatments, consisting of 32 Diptera (flies), eight Coleoptera (beetles), four Hymenoptera (bees, wasps and ants), and two Hemiptera (true bugs). We collected 10 fly species and one beetle species as larvae from the resources. Both the carrion and carrot treatments supported five different larval species, while the manure supported two. Only <em>Lucilia sericata, Australophyra rostrata</em>, and <em>Oxysarcodexia varia</em> were more abundant on carrot umbels around treatments compared to the control, and seed yield around the treatments did not differ to the control. Our results suggest that the inclusion of non-floral resources can fulfil the life history requirements of flies in agroecosystems. However, determining whether the addition of non-floral resources also results in increased yield, requires further investigation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8708,"journal":{"name":"Basic and Applied Ecology","volume":"84 ","pages":"Pages 21-28"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143436504","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Extensive vegetation management and semi-natural habitats increase plant alpha and gamma diversity in European vineyards","authors":"Silvia Winter ,&nbsp;Ricarda Weitzl ,&nbsp;Stefan Möth ,&nbsp;Božana Petrović ,&nbsp;Violette Aurelle ,&nbsp;Pauline Tolle ,&nbsp;Thomas Costes ,&nbsp;Sylvie Richart-Cervera ,&nbsp;Adrien Rusch","doi":"10.1016/j.baae.2025.01.005","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.baae.2025.01.005","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Permanent crops like vineyards have the potential to contribute to halting the biodiversity loss due to their spatiotemporal stability and lower disturbance frequency in vineyard inter-rows. However, anthropogenic pressures can be quite high in such agroecosystems and little is known about the relative impacts of local management intensity and landscape context on plant communities in viticultural landscapes. In this study, we examined how plant communities were affected by management intensity and landscape context in two European wine-growing regions. We established four plots within one inter-row and three transects in two neighbouring inter-rows and one undervine row in each of 70 paired vineyards (organic versus conventional farming) along a gradient of proportion of semi-natural habitats in the landscape. We analysed how alpha, beta and gamma diversity and plant species community composition at the vineyard scale responded to farming system, disturbance frequency, and semi-natural habitats. We found a positive impact of organic farming on alpha and gamma diversity and a significant influence of farming and transect type on species community composition. Besides farming system, disturbance frequency (tillage and mulching) reduced alpha diversity but increased beta diversity in the transects of both wine-growing regions. This difference could be attributed to the establishment of different plant communities of vineyards managed with higher or lower mulching and/or tillage intensity. At the landscape scale, higher proximity to and higher proportion of semi-natural habitats increased plant alpha and gamma diversity. Both landscape variables also explained significant variance of the plant community composition. Conservation of farmland biodiversity in vineyards should focus on supporting low-intensity diversified management operations and increasing shares of semi-natural habitats in the landscape.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8708,"journal":{"name":"Basic and Applied Ecology","volume":"83 ","pages":"Pages 98-108"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143259639","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Ecology for future cities","authors":"Joan Casanelles-Abella ,&nbsp;Monika Egerer","doi":"10.1016/j.baae.2025.01.002","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.baae.2025.01.002","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Cities can work towards addressing biodiversity conservation, climate adaptation, and social equity goals. Evidence indicates that cities can foster species conservation and human-nature interactions. Yet achieving multifunctional and equitable urban ecosystems requires addressing ecological gaps, enhancing monitoring methods, and engaging communities in sustainable urban planning. The Special Issue “<em>Ecology for future cities”</em> presented in this editorial, aims to contribute to solving existing gaps by investigating key themes shaping the field of urban ecology and emphasizing advancements to understand the social-ecological dynamics in cities. In this editorial paper, we present the seven papers of the special issue, and how they fall within six topics: (1) mapping urban ecosystems; (2) drivers and implications of human-nature interactions; (3) taxonomic coverage and biodiversity structure; (4) ecological transformations; (5) improving the temporal coverage; and (6) how ecology informs urban planning. We also provide future research directions based on these topics. We conclude the editorial with some personal thoughts regarding the two cities where we grew up, which have shaped our relationships to and understanding of urban ecosystems and contribute to motivating our research interests.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8708,"journal":{"name":"Basic and Applied Ecology","volume":"83 ","pages":"Pages 55-63"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143098330","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Plant and gastropod species richness across fragmented urban landscapes: Patterns and environmental drivers","authors":"Tomáš Čejka ,&nbsp;Tomáš Bacigál ,&nbsp;Ivan Jarolímek ,&nbsp;Michaela Michalková ,&nbsp;Mária Šibíková","doi":"10.1016/j.baae.2025.01.003","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.baae.2025.01.003","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Understanding biota distribution and species richness patterns in fragmented urban environments is crucial for conservation and management.</div><div>We surveyed 30 plots in a medium-sized European city to assess vascular plant and terrestrial gastropod species richness in isolated forest patches (IFP), connected forest patches (CFP), and continuous forest (CF), with 10 plots per category. Environmental drivers such as Ellenberg's indicator values, vegetation cover, coarse woody debris, litter, and directly measured microclimatic factors like temperature and humidity were examined.</div><div>Significant differences among forest types were found in stand structural characteristics and environmental conditions. IFPs had higher soil pH, more woody debris, and more substantial litter accumulation, with higher temperatures and lower humidity than CF and CFPs, especially in early summer. CF and CFPs mitigated extreme temperatures, leaving IFPs more vulnerable. IFPs had the highest plant species richness, especially neophyte and archaeophyte species, while CF plots had fewer species, mainly of the <em>Carpinion</em> association, indicating more natural conditions. Gastropod species richness and densities were also highest in IFPs. GLMs identified the landscape category as the most significant predictor of species richness for plants and gastropods. Plant species composition varied significantly among forest types, notably for <em>Carpinion</em> and neophytes, whereas gastropod species composition remained consistent.</div><div>These findings highlight the complex interplay between environmental factors, urbanisation, and species richness in urban forests. The study underscores the importance of landscape categories, ecological factors, and fragmentation in evaluating species richness patterns in urban and suburban forested areas using plants and gastropods as linked ecological indicators.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8708,"journal":{"name":"Basic and Applied Ecology","volume":"83 ","pages":"Pages 43-54"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143098325","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Resource availability and competition shape pollinator trophic specialization in longleaf pine savannas","authors":"Pablo Moreno-García ,&nbsp;Johanna E. Freeman ,&nbsp;Benjamin Baiser ,&nbsp;Joshua W. Campbell ,&nbsp;Daijiang Li","doi":"10.1016/j.baae.2025.01.004","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.baae.2025.01.004","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Realized trophic specialization, or the food resources with which a species interacts locally, is driven by a species fundamental niche, resource availability, and competition. However, the simultaneous effects of resource availability and competition on trophic specialization have yet to be investigated in plant-pollinator networks. Here, we disentangled the effects of resource availability (i.e., blooming plant diversity and abundance), and pollinator competitor pool (i.e., pollinator species richness, and abundance of conspecific and heterospecific pollinator individuals) on pollinator trophic specialization. We used samples collected over an entire flowering season in 24 xeric pine savannas in north-central Florida, USA and evaluated the effects of plant availability and pollinator competitor pool on three aspects of trophic specialization: taxonomic specialization (pollinator selection of plant species), phylogenetic specialization (pollinator selection of plant phylogenetic lineages), and functional specialization (pollinator selection of plant functional traits). Our results show that flowering resources and the pools of pollinator competitors both influence pollinator trophic specialization. Individual pollinators reacted to higher pollinator richness by interacting with more flowering plants (i.e.,taxonomically generalist), underscoring the vulnerability of pollination systems to pollinator extinctions (i.e., pollinators visit fewer plant species when there are fewer insect competitors present). Pollinators were more specialized in communities containing many conspecific pollinators, possibly reflecting pollinator preferences. Finally, in more diverse flowering plant assemblages, pollinators were taxonomic specialists in flower visitation but phylogenetic and functional generalists, providing pollination services across diverse plant assemblages.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8708,"journal":{"name":"Basic and Applied Ecology","volume":"83 ","pages":"Pages 118-127"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143373019","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Cliff ecosystems: A critical yet uncharted frontier for research and conservation","authors":"Martí March-Salas ,&nbsp;María Begoña García ,&nbsp;Isaac H. Lichter-Marck ,&nbsp;Juan Lorite ,&nbsp;Manuel J. Steinbauer","doi":"10.1016/j.baae.2025.01.001","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.baae.2025.01.001","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Cliffs, all over the world, are often exceptionally rich in endemic, rare and endangered plant species. Historically, cliffs have been among the least human-disturbed habitats, but they now face increasing direct and indirect pressures. Human activities, such as recreational rock climbing, can lead to habitat deterioration or species loss, while the ongoing climate warming can also alter the characteristics of cliff habitats and their inhabitants. Despite their outstanding conservation value and the growing pressures they face, there is relatively little research on cliff ecosystems. Here, we aim to contextualize previous research and showcase contributions from this Special Issue entitled “Ecology, Evolution and Conservation of Cliff Flora”. Articles in this issue address a great variety of perspectives in cliff research such as: evaluating the potential loss of unique genetic diversity in endangered and rare cliff plants; understanding past, present and future distribution patterns, population dynamics, and evolutionary processes in cliffs in the context of climate change; examining abiotic and biotic feedbacks and interactions occurring in these habitats; assessing the current conservation status of cliff flora at global scale, and exploring new pathways to study and monitor the diversity of cliff habitats. Our goal was to present a variety of examples of past and current research, highlight gaps, novel approaches, and future directions for basic and applied cliff ecology. In this context, we aim to help elucidate evolutionary and functional patterns and processes in this unique ecosystem, while also promoting the conservation of cliff habitats and their hosted organisms.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8708,"journal":{"name":"Basic and Applied Ecology","volume":"83 ","pages":"Pages 36-42"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143098332","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The extended role of carrion: Insect consumption and hair taking at fox carcasses","authors":"Daniel Redondo-Gómez ,&nbsp;José M. Gil-Sánchez ,&nbsp;Moisés Gonzálvez ,&nbsp;Carlos Martínez-Carrasco ,&nbsp;Esther Sebastián-González ,&nbsp;Lidia Rosell ,&nbsp;Pablo Jiménez-Nájar ,&nbsp;José A. Sánchez-Zapata ,&nbsp;Daniel Martín-Vega ,&nbsp;Marcos Moleón","doi":"10.1016/j.baae.2024.12.008","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.baae.2024.12.008","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Scavenging has been profusely studied in the last decades. However, carrion is more than a direct source of food for scavengers and decomposers, as it may provide many non-scavenging ecological functions. These include the provision of carrion insects to insectivores and hair to nest-building species. However, the patterns of use of these resources are greatly unknown. In this context, carnivore carcasses may represent an outstanding study model because they usually persist in the environment for longer than herbivore carcasses. Here, we used video-trapping to explore the consumption of carrion insects and hair taking at 99 red fox (V<em>ulpes vulpes</em>) carcasses in three areas of southeastern Spain. Carcasses were frequently used for consuming insects and taking hair (7.3 events in total on average per carcass). These non-scavenging behaviors were observed over eight weeks for most carcasses, peaking around the fifth week. Birds were the main users of carcasses, distantly followed by mammals; reptiles were only recorded feeding occasionally on carrion insects. These behaviors were more frequent during spring, when the demand for insects for offspring feeding and hair for nest building is maximized by many vertebrates. Moreover, the community of species exhibiting each of these behaviors was highly organized, as evidenced from their nested structure. We observed co-occurrence of insect consumption and hair taking in a quarter of carcasses, with co-occurrence being mostly due to chance and certain individuals and groups that used some carcasses for both purposes. Overall, non-scavenging uses of fox carcasses by vertebrates in our study area is more frequent than scavenging, which highlights the broad ecological relevance of carnivore carcasses and opens exciting future research avenues.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8708,"journal":{"name":"Basic and Applied Ecology","volume":"83 ","pages":"Pages 12-22"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143098331","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Floristic composition and plant functional type diversity of the basalt cliffs of Western Ghats, India","authors":"Vijayan Smrithy ,&nbsp;Aboli Kulkarni ,&nbsp;Bhushan K. Shigwan ,&nbsp;Rohan Shetti ,&nbsp;Mandar N. Datar","doi":"10.1016/j.baae.2024.12.007","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.baae.2024.12.007","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Cliffs in India, as understudied rock outcrops, provide valuable opportunities for studying plant communities. This study quantifies the plant communities on basalt cliff faces in the Northern Western Ghats (NWG) region of India, aiming to explore floristic composition and examine vegetation responses to environmental variations. We employed the Plant Functional Types (PFTs) classification system, which is particularly well-suited for the unique characteristics of the cliff ecosystem. We recorded 231 vascular plant species across 39 locations spanning altitudes from 100 m to 1300 m and latitudes from 15° to 21° N, using the transect-quadrat method. A total of 480 quadrats measuring 1-m² were sampled across 80 transects on the cliff faces. Nine PFTs were identified in NWG cliffs with dominance of carnivores and therophytes. We examined the impact of environmental filters on PFT distribution and their interactions through bivariate and multivariate analyses. Significant variations in PFTs were observed across altitudinal and latitudinal gradients. The principal component analysis identified temperature and precipitation as primary influencers, outweighing altitude and latitude. Redundancy analysis indicated that stress-tolerant PFTs predominated in hotter, drier conditions, whereas stress-avoidant PFTs thrived in areas with higher precipitation, typically found at lower to mid altitudes. Our study underscores a stronger correlation between plant communities on cliff faces and altitude rather than latitude in the NWG. In conclusion, our study elucidates the characteristics of cliff vegetation in the Northern Western Ghats, emphasising the pivotal roles of temperature, precipitation, and seasonality as significant environmental factors influencing plant community structures across our study sites.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8708,"journal":{"name":"Basic and Applied Ecology","volume":"83 ","pages":"Pages 1-11"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143098329","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}