Data from: Deconstructing species richness–environment relationships in Neotropical lianas

Abstract Aim: Studying species richness patterns by considering all
species as equivalent units may prevent a deeper understanding of the
origin and maintenance of biodiversity. Here, we deconstructed the species
richness of Neotropical lianas by specific attributes of species to study
richness–environment relationships. Location: Neotropics Taxon: Tribe
Bignonieae (Bignoniaceae), the largest clade of Neotropical lianas
Methods: We used five morphological, one geographical and two evolutionary
attributes of species, each with 2–7 attribute states. We compared the
environmental response of species richness of each attribute state to the
response of overall Bignonieae species richness. For those groups of
species that differed in their environmental response to three-dimensional
habitat structure, climate, and soil we assessed: (i) the magnitude and
direction of the environmental response; and (ii) the variation in species
richness explained by environmental variables and spatial filters using
variation partitioning analysis. Results: We identified eight attribute
states whose richness–environment relationship differed from the overall
richness pattern: three morphological (species with shrubby habit, lacking
tendrils, and with seeds bearing ellipsoid wings), three geographical
(species with small, small to medium, and medium to large range sizes),
and two evolutionary (species of the genera Amphilophium and Cuspidaria)
attribute states. Areas with high species richness of these eight
attribute states did not overlap with the centers of Neotropical diversity
in the tribe Bignonieae. A high fraction of the variation in species
richness of these eight attribute states was accounted for by spatial
filters or remained unexplained. Main conclusions: The
richness-deconstruction approach revealed that richness–environment
relationships of species with specific attribute states differ from the
overall species richness pattern. These morphological, geographical and
evolutionary attribute states are mostly related to the survival and
persistence in savanna habitats, and show that ecological strategies and
evolutionary histories need to be taken into account to fully understand
richness–environment relationships.