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Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
agricultural and biological sciences
Scale dependence of species–area relationships is widespread but generally weak in Palaearctic grasslands
Journal of Vegetation Science, Volume 32, No. 3, Article e13044, Year 2021
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Description
Questions: Species–area relationships (SARs) are fundamental for understanding biodiversity patterns and are generally well described by a power law with a constant exponent z. However, z-values sometimes vary across spatial scales. We asked whether there is a general scale dependence of z-values at fine spatial grains and which potential drivers influence it. Location: Palaearctic biogeographic realm. Methods: We used 6,696 nested-plot series of vascular plants, bryophytes and lichens from the GrassPlot database with two or more grain sizes, ranging from 0.0001 m² to 1,024 m² and covering diverse open habitats. The plots were recorded with two widespread sampling approaches (rooted presence = species “rooting” inside the plot; shoot presence = species with aerial parts inside). Using Generalized Additive Models, we tested for scale dependence of z-values by evaluating if the z-values differ with gran size and tested for differences between the sampling approaches. The response shapes of z-values to grain were classified by fitting Generalized Linear Models with logit link to each series. We tested whether the grain size where the maximum z-value occurred is driven by taxonomic group, biogeographic or ecological variables. Results: For rooted presence, we found a strong monotonous increase of z-values with grain sizes for all grain sizes below 1 m². For shoot presence, the scale dependence was much weaker, with hump-shaped curves prevailing. Among the environmental variables studied, latitude, vegetation type, naturalness and land use had strong effects, with z-values of secondary peaking at smaller grain sizes. Conclusions: The overall weak scale dependence of z-values underlines that the power function generally is appropriate to describe SARs within the studied grain sizes in continuous open vegetation, if recorded with the shoot presence method. When clear peaks of z-values occur, this can be seen as an expression of granularity of species composition, partly driven by abiotic environment. © 2021 International Association for Vegetation Science
Authors & Co-Authors
Gillet, François
France, Besancon
Laboratoire Chrono-environnement
Bartha, Sándor
Hungary, Vacratot
Institute of Ecology and Botany
Alatalo, Juha M.
Qatar, Doha
Qatar University
Biurrun, Idoia
Spain, Leioa
Universidad Del Pais Vasco
Dembicz, Iwona
Switzerland, Winterthur
Zhaw Zurich University of Applied Sciences
Poland, Warsaw
University of Warsaw
Germany, Bayreuth
Universität Bayreuth
Grytnes, John Arvid
Norway, Bergen
Universitetet I Bergen
Pielech, Remigiusz
Poland, Krakow
Uniwersytet Rolniczy Im. Hugona Kołłątaja w Krakowie
van Meerbeek, Koenraad
Belgium, Leuven
Ku Leuven
Vynokurov, Denys S.
Ukraine, Kyiv
National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine
Aleksanyan, Alla S.
Armenia, Yerevan
Armenian National Agrarian University
Armenia, Yerevan
National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia
Campos, Juan Antonio
Spain, Leioa
Universidad Del Pais Vasco
Doležal, Jiří
Czech Republic, Prague
Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic
Essl, Franz
Austria, Vienna
Universität Wien
García-Mijangos, Itziar
Spain, Leioa
Universidad Del Pais Vasco
Guarino, Riccardo
Italy, Palermo
Università Degli Studi Di Palermo
Hájek, Michal
Czech Republic, Brno
Masaryk University
Kuzemko, Anna A.
Ukraine, Kyiv
National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine
Silva, Vasco
Portugal, Lisbon
Centro de Ecología Aplicada
Török, Péter
Hungary, Debrecen
Mta-de Lendület Functional and Restoration Ecology Research Group
White, Hannah J.
Ireland, Dublin
University College Dublin
Ireland, Dublin
Trinity College Dublin
Wu, Jianshuang
China, Beijing
Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences
Dengler, Jürgen
Switzerland, Winterthur
Zhaw Zurich University of Applied Sciences
Germany, Bayreuth
Universität Bayreuth
Germany, Leipzig
German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research Idiv Halle-jena-leipzig
Statistics
Citations: 6
Authors: 22
Affiliations: 32
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1111/jvs.13044
ISSN:
11009233