Taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic beta diversity in the Inner Mongolia grassland

Abstract

Beta diversity, which measures the variation in community composition along environmental gradients, has great significance for biodiversity conservation and nature reserve construction. Biodiversity usually includes taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic dimensions. However, few studies have considered these three dimensions of beta diversity simultaneously in the grassland. Thus, based on 194 sites in the Inner Mongolia grassland, we calculated taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic beta diversity and further explored the relative importance of environmental filtering and dispersal limitation on beta diversity patterns. The results showed that the taxonomic and phylogenetic beta diversity mainly consisted of the turnover component, but functional beta diversity mainly consisted of the nestedness component. Dispersal limitation dominantly influenced taxonomic and functional beta diversity, while environmental filtering dominantly influenced phylogenetic beta diversity. According to the inequivalence of three dimensions of diversity, we highlight that it is necessary to conduct comprehensive research based on taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic diversity for better biodiversity conservation.