Abstract
The evergreen and deciduous broadleaved mixed forests (EDBMFs) belong to one of the ecosystems most sensitive to environmental change, however, little is known about the environmental determinants for their plant diversity and forest structure at different habitat types and spatial scales. Here, we used data from a 15‐ha (300 × 500 m) forest dynamic plot (FDP) of an old‐growth EDBMF to examine the patterns and determinants of the three community features (stem abundance, rarefied species richness and basal area [BA]) in three habitat types (ridge, hillside and foothill) and at three spatial scales (20 × 20 m, 50 × 50 m, and 100 × 100 m). We found that the three community features significantly changed with habitat type, but only one of them (rarefied richness) changed with scale. Among spatial scales, the principle environmental factors that widely affected community features were pH, soil organic matter, and total phosphorus, while these effects only taken place at certain habitat. Variations in the three community features explained by soil conditions were generally greater than those explained by topographical conditions. With changes in habitat type, the proportion of variations explained by environmental conditions was 31%–53%, 8%–25%, and 18%–26% for abundance, rarefied richness, and BA, respectively. With increasing spatial scale, the variations explained by environmental conditions were 44%–75% for abundance, 28%–95% for rarefied richness, and 18%–86% for BA. Our study demonstrated that environmental factors had great impacts on the plant diversity and forest structure in the EDBMFs, especially the soil factors such as pH. In addition, the importance of the environmental determinants on these community features was highly related to the spatial scale.
Highlights
Environmental conditions ubiquitously varying in terrestrial eco‐ systems involve various processes in affecting community pat‐ terns (Chisholm et al, 2014; García‐Palacios, Maestre, Bardgett, & Kroon, 2012; Laanisto et al, 2013; Shmida & Ellner, 1984)
It is imperative to synchronously consider soil and topographic variables and distinguish their effects to gain compre‐ hensive insights on the importance of environmental determinants on plant diversity and forest structure
The general objectives of this study were to examine (a) the variations in these community features among habitat types and spatial scales; (b) how many variations in these community features can be explained by environmental conditions at different habitat types and spatial scales; and (c) which environ‐ mental factor play the foremost role, as well as the relative impor‐ tance of soil and topographical conditions, in determining the three community features
Summary
Environmental conditions ubiquitously varying in terrestrial eco‐ systems involve various processes in affecting community pat‐ terns (Chisholm et al, 2014; García‐Palacios, Maestre, Bardgett, & Kroon, 2012; Laanisto et al, 2013; Shmida & Ellner, 1984). The impact of topographic heterogeneity has been partly attributed to high rates of shifts in habitat types over relatively short distances (Ruggiero & Hawkins, 2008; Stein et al, 2014) On this basis, several attempts to directly classify habi‐ tat types in large forest dynamic plots (FDPs) have resulted in great achievements in understanding the local habitat association of nat‐ ural communities. In Gutianshan, BCI, and Sinharaja plots, ecologists revealed an enhanced role of topographical filtering with increas‐ ing scale (Hu, Jin, Liu, & Yu, 2014; Kanagaraj, Wiegand, Comita, & Huth, 2011; Legendre et al, 2009; Punchi‐Manage et al, 2013) In this context, large stem‐mapped FDPs, which provide valuable data sources for understanding the mechanism behind variations in local plant diversity and forest structure (Condit et al, 2006), should be accepted as ideal settings for assessing scale effects. The general objectives of this study were to examine (a) the variations in these community features among habitat types and spatial scales; (b) how many variations in these community features can be explained by environmental conditions at different habitat types and spatial scales; and (c) which environ‐ mental factor play the foremost role, as well as the relative impor‐ tance of soil and topographical conditions, in determining the three community features
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