Latitudinal patterns of tree β-diversity and relevant ecological processes vary across spatial extents in forests of southeastern China  

作　　者：Maochou Liu Wenxiang Wu Ke Wang Xinshuai Ren Xueqin Zhang Lei Wang Jing Geng Bo Yang 

机构地区：[1]Key Laboratory of Land Surface Pattern and Simulation,Institute of Geographic and Natural Resources Research,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Beijing 100101,China [2]Department of Environment and Resources,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences,Beijing 100049,China [3]Zhai Mingguo Academician Work Station,Sanya University,Sanya 572022,China

出　　处：《Plant Diversity》2025年第1期89-97,共9页植物多样性(英文版)

基　　金：supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(42271317);the Innovation Research Team Project of the Natural Science Foundation of Hainan Province(422CXTD515)。

摘　　要：Latitudinal patterns of treeβ-diversity reveal important insights into the biogeographical processes that influence forest ecosystems.Although previous studies have extensively documentedβ-diversity within relatively small spatial extents,the potential drivers ofβ-diversity along latitudinal gradients are still not well understood at larger spatial extents.In this study,we determined whether treeβ-diversity is correlated with latitude in forests of southeastern China,and if so,what ecological processes contribute to these patterns of treeβ-diversity.We specifically aimed to disentangle the relative contributions from interspecific aggregation and environmental filtering across various spatial extents.We delineated regional communities comprising multiple nearby national forest inventory(NFI)plots around random focal plots.The number of NFI plots in a regional community served as a surrogate for spatial extent.We also used a null model to simulate randomly assembled communities and quantify the deviation(β-deviation)between observed and expectedβ-diversity.We found thatβ-diversity decreased along a latitudinal gradient and that this pattern was clearer at larger spatial extents.In addition,latitudinal patterns ofβ-deviation were explained by the degree of species spatial aggregation.We also identified environmental factors that driveβ-deviation in these forests,including precipitation,seasonality,and temperature variation.At larger spatial extents,these environmental variables explained up to 84%of theβ-deviation.Our results reinforce that ecological processes are scale-dependent and collectively contribute to theβ-gradient in subtropical forests.We recommend that conservation efforts maintain diverse forests and heterogeneous environments at multiple spatial extents to mitigate the adverse effects of climate change.

关 键 词：Environmental filtering Latitudinal pattern Forest beta diversity Spatial extent Species spatial aggregation Regional community 

分 类 号：S718.55[农业科学—林学]