Abstract
AimTo examine calcicole and calcifuge plant strategies, as well as nutrient‐acquisition strategies, as drivers of the distribution of species in response to edaphic factors, and the degree to which these strategies may act as filters to species establishment in ecological restoration on heavily altered or reconstructed substrates.LocationAn 82,000‐ha area within a major mining province in the Mid‐West region of Western Australia, harboring vegetation communities ranging from species‐poor halophytic scrub on saline flats to dense biodiverse shrubland on the skeletal soils of ancient Banded Ironstone Formations (BIF).MethodsUnivariate and multivariate analyses were employed to examine how variation in soil chemistry and landscape position (undulating plains, slopes, and BIF crests and ridges) influenced patterns of floristic diversity, calcifuge plant strategies, and nutrient‐acquisition strategies in 538 plant species from 830 relevés.ResultsLandscape position was the strongest driver of species richness and vegetation functional composition. Soils became increasingly acidic and P‐impoverished along an increasing elevational gradient. Vegetation from different landscape positions was not compositionally dissimilar, but vegetation of BIF crests and ridges was up to twice as biodiverse as vegetation from adjacent lower‐relief areas and harbored higher proportions of calcifuge species and species with mycorrhizal associations.Main conclusionsTopographic and edaphic complexity of BIF landforms in an otherwise relatively homogenous landscape has likely facilitated species accumulation over long time periods. They represent musea of regional floristic biodiversity, excluding only species that cannot establish or are inferior competitors in heavily weathered, acidic, skeletal, and nutrient‐impoverished soils. Plant strategies likely represent a major filter in establishing biodiverse, representative vegetation on postmining landforms in geologically ancient regions.
Highlights
| INTRODUCTIONCalcicole and calcifuge (=acidophilous) plant strategies, which refer to the capacity of species to colonize and persist on calcium-rich and acidic soils, respectively, influence the distribution patterns of plant species (e.g., Etherington, 1981; Gigon, 1987; Lee, 1999; Ström, 1997; Tyler, 2003; Zohlen & Tyler, 2004)
High levels of unexplained variation in species composition have been reported previously among relevés from several Banded Ironstone Formations (BIF) ridges on the Yilgarn Craton (Gibson et al, 2010), and we suggest that future research should attempt to elucidate the primary drivers of species turnover in arid, geologically ancient regions such as the Mid-West of Western Australian
BIF are topographically and edaphically complex landforms of great geological antiquity and high biodiversity value. Their topographic prominence and complexity in an otherwise relatively homogenous landscape has likely facilitated the accumulation of many species occupying diverse ecological niches over a long time, with increasing P limitation promoting greater plant diversity and functional diversity along an elevational gradient from lower slopes to crests and ridgelines
Summary
Calcicole and calcifuge (=acidophilous) plant strategies, which refer to the capacity of species to colonize and persist on calcium-rich and acidic soils, respectively, influence the distribution patterns of plant species (e.g., Etherington, 1981; Gigon, 1987; Lee, 1999; Ström, 1997; Tyler, 2003; Zohlen & Tyler, 2004). We examined to what extent soil chemistry and landscape position influenced plant distribution and calcifuge plant strategies in the region, aiming to determine: i) whether relevé plant species richness was predicted by landscape position, elevation, or soil chemistry factors including pH, salinity (electrical conductivity [EC] and sodium [Na]), macronutrients (total N, P, Ca, and K), and micronutrients important for plant growth and development (Fe and Ca); ii) whether relevés from classified vegetation communities exhibited different soil chemistry conditions to support edaphic factors as a driver of floristic turnover in the region; iii) the proportion of calcifuge, soil-indifferent, and calcicole species in the regional flora, as well as the proportion of species with different nutrient-acquisition strategies, and whether these proportions varied among different vegetation communities and landscape position; and iv) whether calcifuge plant strategy or nutrient-acquisition strategy was predicted by landscape position, elevation, or soil chemistry factors, to determine the degree to which these strategies might act as filters for ecological restoration in the region
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