Abstract
Plant sexual systems play an important role in the evolution of angiosperm diversity. However, large-scale patterns in the frequencies of sexual systems (i.e. dioecy, monoecy, and hermaphroditism) and their drivers for species with different growth forms remain poorly known. Here, using a newly compiled database on the sexual systems and distributions of 19780 angiosperm species in China, we map the large-scale geographical patterns in frequencies of the sexual systems of woody and herbaceous species separately. We use these data to test the following two hypotheses: (1) the prevalence of sexual systems differs between woody and herbaceous assemblies because woody plants have taller canopies and are found in warm and humid climates; (2) the relative contributions of different drivers (specifically climate, evolutionary age, and mature plant height) to these patterns differ between woody and herbaceous species. We show that geographical patterns in proportions of different sexual systems (especially dioecy) differ between woody and herbaceous species. Geographical variations in sexual systems of woody species were influenced by climate, evolutionary age and plant height. In contrast, these have only weakly significant effects on the patterns of sexual systems of herbaceous species. We suggest that differences between species with woody and herbaceous growth forms in terms of biogeographic patterns of sexual systems, and their drivers, may reflect their differences in physiological and ecological adaptions, as well as the coevolution of sexual system with vegetative traits in response to environmental changes.
Highlights
The sexual systems of plant species play a significant role in the evolution of angiosperm diversity (Charlesworth and Wright, 2001; Nazareno et al, 2013; Käfer et al, 2014; Sabath et al, 2016; Rosche et al, 2018), variations in reproductive strategies (Bawa, 1980), and population and community dynamics in response to climate changes (Queenborough et al, 2009; Wang et al, 2018)
We mapped the geographical distributions of the frequencies of sexual systems and compared the effects of abiotic and biotic factors on sexual system frequencies for both woody and herbaceous flowering plant species in China
The results suggest that woody and herbaceous species differed significantly in their patterns in the frequencies of sexual systems, and in the determinants underlying these patterns
Summary
The sexual systems of plant species play a significant role in the evolution of angiosperm diversity (Charlesworth and Wright, 2001; Nazareno et al, 2013; Käfer et al, 2014; Sabath et al, 2016; Rosche et al, 2018), variations in reproductive strategies (Bawa, 1980), and population and community dynamics in response to climate changes (Queenborough et al, 2009; Wang et al, 2018). Hermaphroditism is more common in herbaceous species with short lifespan (Senarath, 2008; Moeller et al, 2017). This is likely because obligately outcrossing dioecious species need a long lifespan to find mates, reproduce and complete their life cycle (Morgan et al, 1997; Aarssen, 2000). The biogeographical distributions of sexual systems of different growth forms across large-scale environmental gradients remain poorly understood
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary 
Published Version (
Free)
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call