Article
Forestry
Xinyue Zhang, Jinghua Huang, Jing Chen, Guoqing Li, Haoran He, Tianyuan Huang, Jianan Ding
Summary: The secondary succession of plant communities leads to significant changes in the communities of soil microbes and animals, with nematodes as the most abundant animals in soil playing a crucial role in soil biodiversity and functions. This study aimed to explore the changes in nematode diversity and community assembly during forest secondary succession and understand the contributions of different assembly processes. The results showed that plant-parasitic and bacterial-feeding nematodes were less abundant in pioneer and climax forest stages, while fungal-feeding nematodes dominated in these stages. Nematode diversity peaked in the shrub stage but decreased in the climax forest stage, and deterministic processes mainly influenced nematode community assembly in grassland and climax forest stages. Litter and root quality were found to be critical factors in regulating nematode diversity and community assembly.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Afroditi Grigoropoulou, Astrid Schmidt-Kloiber, Cesc Murria
Summary: This study assesses the contributions of local and regional processes and historical and contemporary factors in establishing macroecological patterns. The results reveal that regional environmental filtering plays a crucial role in limiting species range and shaping the regional species pool. The study also indicates that there are differences in diversity patterns between northern and southern regions, with northern species pools exhibiting phylogenetic clustering and southern ones showing overdispersion.
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND BIOGEOGRAPHY
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Dehui Meng, Yiming Zuo, Huayun Wang, Gang Feng
Summary: Forest bird communities in China captured by camera traps show significant taxonomic, phylogenetic, and functional diversity. Most of the bird species observed are ground-dwelling, representing approximately 21% of all Chinese bird species. The phylogenetic diversity and functional diversity of understory birds comprise 28% and 51% of all Chinese bird species, respectively.
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Karen De Pauw, Camille Meeussen, Sanne Govaert, Pieter Sanczuk, Thomas Vanneste, Markus Bernhardt-Romermann, Kurt Bollmann, Jorg Brunet, Kim Calders, Sara A. O. Cousins, Martin Diekmann, Per-Ola Hedwall, Giovanni Iacopetti, Jonathan Lenoir, Sigrid Lindmo, Anna Orczewska, Quentin Ponette, Jan Plue, Federico Selvi, Fabien Spicher, Hans Verbeeck, Pieter Vermeir, Florian Zellweger, Kris Verheyen, Pieter Vangansbeke, Pieter De Frenne
Summary: Forest edges harbor a significant amount of terrestrial biodiversity, especially in the understorey, but the functional and phylogenetic diversity of the edges have never been studied simultaneously at a continental scale. Research shows that taxonomic, phylogenetic, and functional diversity of understorey communities in forest edges respond differently to environmental conditions, providing insights into different community assembly mechanisms and interactions. Therefore, looking beyond species richness with phylogenetic and functional diversity approaches is crucial when focusing on forest understorey biodiversity.
JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Celina Ben Saadi, Luis Cayuela, Guillermo Banares de Dios, Julia G. de Aledo, Laura Matas-Granados, Norma Salinas, Maria de los Angeles La Torre Cuadros, Manuel J. Macia
Summary: This study investigates the diversity attributes, latitudinal variation, and environmental drivers of plant species in western Amazonian terra firme forests. The results reveal that taxonomic diversity, functional diversity, and phylogenetic diversity increase with latitude, and temperature seasonality and annual precipitation are the main drivers of diversity patterns.
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Yongfu Chai, Shen Qiu, Kaiyue Wang, Jinshi Xu, Yaoxin Guo, Mao Wang, Ming Yue, Mingjie Wang, Jiangang Zhu
Summary: Assessing plant diversity during community succession, both on the alpha and beta scales, by considering plant traits and phylogenetic features can enhance our understanding of community succession mechanism. In this study, 30 plots representing different successional stages were set up on the Loess Plateau of China, and 15 functional traits were measured for all coexisting species. The results showed that functional alpha diversity increased along successional stages and was structured by morphological traits, while beta diversity decreased during succession and was more structured by stoichiometry traits. Integrating relatively conserved traits (plant height and seed mass) with phylogenetic information improved the ability to detect diversity changes.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Hong Qian, Jian Zhang, Meichen Jiang
Summary: Species diversity of angiosperms varies greatly among regions, with high diversity in tropical regions and low diversity in temperate regions. Geographic patterns of taxonomic and phylogenetic diversity are similar, but differ from patterns of phylogenetic deviation. These metrics can be considered when selecting areas for biodiversity protection.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Marie Laure Rurangwa, Jesus Aguirre-Gutierrez, Thomas J. Matthews, Protais Niyigaba, Joseph P. Wayman, Joseph A. Tobias, Robert J. Whittaker
Summary: The study found that even low levels of land use change can alter species composition and reduce species diversity in bird communities. While overall functional diversity and phylogenetic diversity were similar across land use types, there were significant contractions in trophic and locomotory trait structures of bird communities in restored areas and cultivated areas. Soil moisture, elevation, and lower vegetation height were major factors influencing taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic dimensions of bird communities.
DIVERSITY AND DISTRIBUTIONS
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Yong-wang Zhang, Kai-bo Wang, Jun Wang, Changhai Liu, Zhou-ping Shangguan
Summary: Changes in land use type result in variations in soil water characteristics, with woodland sites showing higher soil water holding capacity than grassland and shrubland. Soil physical properties in the 0-50 cm soil layer improved from grassland to woodland, with soil texture, porosity, and bulk density identified as key factors affecting soil water characteristics. This study provides insights into the impact of vegetation restoration on local hydrological resources and can guide soil water management and land use planning on the Chinese Loess Plateau.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2021)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Yulin Liu, Kaibo Wang, Lingbo Dong, Jiwei Li, Xiaozhen Wang, Zhouping Shangguan, Bodong Qu, Lei Deng
Summary: This study conducted a decomposition experiment across four successional stages to investigate the dynamics and mechanisms of litter decomposition and soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration following vegetation succession. The results showed that litter decomposition rates decreased gradually with vegetation succession, and litter quality was the major factor controlling the decomposition rate. The early successional stage had higher rates of litter decomposition and SOC turnover, while the late successional stage showed lower rates. Litter inputs significantly increased SOC content in the early stage, but soil carbon sequestration reached saturation in the late stage.
Article
Ecology
Sebastian Seibold, Wolfgang W. Weisser, Didem Ambarli, Martin M. Gossner, Akira S. Mori, Marc W. Cadotte, Jonas Hagge, Claus Baessler, Simon Thorn
Summary: This study evaluates the changes in beta-diversity of saproxylic beetle communities during deadwood succession and identifies the major drivers of these changes. The results show that beta-diversity of saproxylic beetle communities increases over time and is positively correlated with phylogenetic distance between tree species and spatial distance among regions. The effects of spatial distance, climate, and forest structure remain constant throughout the succession process. The diversity of saproxylic beetles can be enhanced by promoting forests with diverse tree communities and structures.
JOURNAL OF ANIMAL ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Ya-Dong Zhou, Hong Qian, Yi Jin, Ke-Yan Xiao, Xue Yan, Qing-Feng Wang
Summary: This study analyzes the geographic patterns and climatic correlates of taxonomic and phylogenetic diversity of aquatic angiosperms in China. The results show that geographic and climatic distances jointly affect the patterns of diversity in aquatic angiosperms.
Article
Forestry
Sergio Henrique Borges, Tarcisio do R. S. Tavares, Nicholas M. A. Crouch, Fabricio Baccaro
Summary: The study found that total species richness and evenness were similar between secondary and old growth forests, but there were more bird species and disturbance-vulnerable species in the controls of old growth forests. Additionally, bird abundance with distinct functional traits differed between secondary forest age categories, and phylogenetic diversity was higher compared to old growth forests, suggesting a positive conservation value of secondary forests for bird diversity.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Hong Qian, Tao Deng
Summary: Research shows that while taxonomic diversity (TD) within a region is often correlated with phylogenetic diversity (PD), relative PD (PDdev) can deviate significantly from TD. Areas with higher PDdev often do not overlap with those of high TD and PD, suggesting that protection strategies should consider areas with unusually high PDdev.
BIOLOGICAL CONSERVATION
(2021)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Kai Hou, Hui Qian, Yuting Zhang, Qiying Zhang, Wengang Qu
Summary: The Loess Plateau is crucial for studying global climate change and regional responses, with findings revealing ancient climatic information through microstructure analysis of loess and paleosols. The formation of loess layers is influenced by various transport and pedogenic forces, with a conceptual model established for the Weihe Basin. This research sheds light on regional climatic environmental evolution and the atmospheric circulation system in East Asia.