Partitioning beta diversity of dry and hot valley vegetation in the Nujiang River in Southwest China

Author:

Zhao Ziqing,He Liping,Li Guixiang,Ma Saiyu,Cui Ming,Liu Yuguo,Chai Yong

Abstract

The formation and continued maintenance of beta diversity are essential factors contributing to the effective conservation of plant community biodiversity and sustainable development of ecosystem functions. While it is widely acknowledged that two different patterns, including turnover and nestedness, strongly influence plant community beta diversity, their relative importance in the unique dry and hot valleys of Southwest China is yet to be fully understood. For this study, we established a 100 km belt transect in the Nujiang dry and hot valley of Southwest China and conducted community investigations. The calculations of species and phylogenetic beta diversity composition patterns allowed us to explore the relative importance of environmental and dispersal limitations in terms of their contributions to beta diversity. The findings indicated that in the Nujiang dry and hot valley of Northwest Yunnan, species and phylogenetic beta diversity in the plant communities were mainly composed of the turnover component. The values of phylogenetic beta diversity and its turnover components were lower than those of species beta diversity. Both environmental and dispersal limitations played a role in partitioning beta diversity in the region, with environmental limitations being more dominant than dispersal limitations. The analysis of specific environmental factors revealed that climate factors, such as mean annual precipitation and Hargreaves reference evaporation, and soil factors, such as pH, were the primary drivers of species and phylogenetic beta diversity in the region. In addition, we observed that various limiting environmental factors related to the growth and development of different life forms existed within the dry and hot valley communities. The study highlighted the potential benefits of establishing conservation reserves featuring multiple dominant shrub species in the Nujiang dry and hot valley of Southwest China for the protection of the vegetation. The findings demonstrated that environmental factors, particularly hydrothermal conditions, played a significant role in constraining the maintenance of beta diversity in plant communities in the dry and hot valley region at a regional scale, given the geological history and environmental changes that have occurred over time.

Funder

National Natural Science Foundation of China

Publisher

Frontiers Media SA

Subject

Ecology,Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics

同舟云学术

1.学者识别学者识别

2.学术分析学术分析

3.人才评估人才评估

"同舟云学术"是以全球学者为主线,采集、加工和组织学术论文而形成的新型学术文献查询和分析系统,可以对全球学者进行文献检索和人才价值评估。用户可以通过关注某些学科领域的顶尖人物而持续追踪该领域的学科进展和研究前沿。经过近期的数据扩容,当前同舟云学术共收录了国内外主流学术期刊6万余种,收集的期刊论文及会议论文总量共计约1.5亿篇,并以每天添加12000余篇中外论文的速度递增。我们也可以为用户提供个性化、定制化的学者数据。欢迎来电咨询!咨询电话:010-8811{复制后删除}0370

www.globalauthorid.com

TOP

Copyright © 2019-2024 北京同舟云网络信息技术有限公司
京公网安备11010802033243号  京ICP备18003416号-3