Code for: Landform and lithospheric development contribute the assembly of mountain floras in China

Although it is well documented that mountains tend to exhibit high
biodiversity, how geological processes affect the assemblage of
montane floras is a matter of ongoing
research. Here, we explore landform-specific differences among
montane floras based on a dataset comprising
17,576 angiosperm species representing 140 Chinese
mountain floras, which we define as the collection of all angiosperm
species growing on a specific mountain. Our results show that
igneous bedrock (granitic and karst-granitic landforms) is
correlated with higher species richness and phylogenetic
overdispersion, while the opposite is true for sedimentary
bedrock (karst, Danxia, and desert landforms), which is
correlated with phylogenetic clustering. Furthermore, we
show that landform type was the primary determinant
of the assembly of evolutionarily older
species within floras, while climate was a greater
determinant for younger species. Our study indicates
that landform type not only affects montane species richness, but
also contributes to the composition of montane floras.
To explain the assembly and differentiation of mountain floras,
we propose the ‘floristic geo-lithology hypothesis’,
which highlights the role of bedrock and
landform processes in montane floristic assembly and
provides insights for future research on speciation, migration, and
biodiversity in montane regions.