Species abundance distributions: investigation of adaptation mechanisms of plant communities

Natalya Ivanova,Irina Petrova,S Knyazev,M Tsoy,V Kukhar,O Panfilova,O Loretts

doi:10.1051/e3sconf/202125402003

Natalya Ivanova, Irina Petrova + Show 5 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/202125402003

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Abstract

The adaptive capacity of ecosystems is a key to maintaining ecosystem functions and preserving biodiversity at all levels. The research was carried out in the western Southern Ural low-hill terrains (Russia). We analyzed distributions of above-ground biomass of herb layer species in the primary spruce, long-term secondary birch 20-35-year forests, stable-term secondary 20-year aspen forests. Species abundance distributions (SAD) analysis allowed us to study the species diversity and the species structure of communities, to understand the mechanism of adaptation of the plant community to disturbance and the role of species biodiversity in this process. It became clear that only with sufficient species diversity can SAD be maintained stable, and the adaptive potential and resistance of plant communities to external influences can be preserved. In General, the SAD analysis can be considered useful and informative for studying the adaptation of plant communities. In addition, it is universal and can be applied to any terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. SAD can also help in designing artificial plant communities with increased resilience and high ecosystem functions.

Highlights

Global climate changes, repeatedly reinforced by human impact, become a trigger for local and global environmental crises that will inevitably affect the economic well-being and food security of the population in many countries [1, 2]
The purpose of our research is to identify the features of maintaining the stability of Species abundance distributions (SAD) plant communities in forests of the Ural Mountains and the patterns of their transformation under the influence of such a large-scale impact as wood harvesting
It has been found that species abundance distributions for the primary spruce forests is better approximated by the power function and corresponds to the Pareto theoretical law (Figure 1)

Summary

Introduction

Repeatedly reinforced by human impact, become a trigger for local and global environmental crises that will inevitably affect the economic well-being and food security of the population in many countries [1, 2]. The ability of natural ecosystems to adapt to changing conditions and maintain stability and ecosystem functions is becoming increasingly important [1, 3]. Species abundance distributions (SAD) analysis (which is a fundamental pattern in ecology [10, 11]) can be one of the methods for studying the adaptation of plant communities. SAD graphs are curves that are defined by many rare species and several dominants [10, 12, 13] It provides a theoretical basis for the study of other environmental models. The strength of SAD is the ability to compare communities that differ in species composition and species richness on their basis [10]

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