Species and phylogenetic diversity of woody plants along a subtropical
elevational gradient on Daming Mountain, South China
- Jing Li,
- Yinghua Luo,
- Feng Chen,
- Cong Hu,
- Chaohao Xu,
- Zhonghua Zhang,
- Gang Hu
Zhonghua Zhang
Nanning Normal University
Corresponding Author:gxtczzh@126.com
Author ProfileAbstract
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The distribution of biodiversity along elevational gradients, and the
drivers of these patterns, are research hotspots in community ecology;
nonetheless, these aspects remain insufficiently understood. To address
this, we established 24 plots along an elevational gradient from
300–1400 m on Daming Mountain, Guangxi, China, and examined the
patterns and drivers of species and phylogenetic diversity along this
gradient, via polynomial regression, correlation analysis, and
redundancy analyses. With increasing elevation, species and phylogenetic
diversity showed a hump-shaped trend, and the phylogenetic structure
shifted from clustering to dispersion (or reduced clustering). Elevation
was the primary environmental driver of variation in species diversity,
soil available phosphorus and soil pH were the primary factors
influencing both species and phylogenetic diversity, and nitrate
nitrogen content was the most significant factor affecting species
diversity. These findings, which reveal the patterns of diversity of
woody plant communities along an elevational gradient on Daming
Mountain, will contribute to the development of biodiversity
conservation strategies for the region14 Nov 2024Submitted to Ecology and Evolution 15 Nov 2024Submission Checks Completed
15 Nov 2024Assigned to Editor
20 Nov 2024Reviewer(s) Assigned