Plant functional and phylogenetic turnover correlate with climate and land use in the Western Swiss Alps
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Date
2013-11-09
Authors
Ndiribe, C.
Pellissier, L.
Dubuis, A.
Vittoz, P.
Salamin, N.
Guisan, A.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Oxford University Press
Abstract
Aims
Understanding the relative importance of historical and environmental
processes in the structure and composition of communities
is one of the longest quests in ecological research. Increasingly,
researchers are relying on the functional and phylogenetic
β-diversity of natural communities to provide concise explanations
on the mechanistic basis of community assembly and the drivers of
trait variation among species. The present study investigated how
plant functional and phylogenetic β-diversity change along key
environmental and spatial gradients in the Western Swiss Alps.
Methods
Using the quadratic diversity measure based on six functional
traits—specific leaf area, leaf dry matter content, plant height, leaf
carbon content, leaf nitrogen content and leaf carbon to nitrogen
content alongside a species-resolved phylogenetic tree—we relate
variations in climate, spatial geographic, land use and soil gradients
to plant functional and phylogenetic turnover in mountain communities
of the Western Swiss Alps.
Important Findings
Our study highlights two main points. First, climate and landuse
factors play an important role in mountain plant community
turnover. Second, the overlap between plant functional and phylogenetic
turnover along these gradients correlates with the low
phylogenetic signal in traits, suggesting that in mountain landscapes,
trait lability is likely an important factor in driving plant
community assembly. Overall, we demonstrate the importance
of climate and land-use factors in plant functional and phylogenetic
community turnover and provide valuable complementary
insights into understanding patterns of β-diversity along several
ecological gradients.
Description
Keywords
ecological gradients, functional and phylogenetic β-diversity, plant community turnover, Rao’s quadratic entropy index (Q), Western Swiss Alps
Citation
Ndiribe, C., Pellissier, L., Dubuis, A., Vittoz, P., Salamin, N. and Guisan, A., 2013. Plant functional and phylogenetic turnover correlate with climate and land use in the Western Swiss Alps. Journal of Plant Ecology, 7(5), pp.439-450.