Processes of community assembly in an environmentally heterogeneous, high biodiversity region

Despite decades of study, the relative importance of niche-based versus neutral processes in community assembly remains largely ambiguous. Recent work suggests niche-based processes are more easily detectable at coarser spatial scales, while neutrality dominates at finer scales. Analyses of functional traits with multi-year multi-site biodiversity inventories may provide deeper insights into assembly processes and the effects of spatial scale. We examined associations between community composition, species functional traits, and environmental conditions for plant communities in the Kouga-Baviaanskloof region, an area within South Africa's Cape Floristic Region (CFR) containing high α and β diversity. This region contains strong climatic gradients and topographic heterogeneity, and is comprised of distinct vegetation classes with varying fire histories, making it an ideal location to assess the role of niche-based environmental filtering on community composition by examining how traits v...尽管已有数十年的研究，但基于生态位过程（niche-based processes）与中性过程（neutral processes）在群落构建（community assembly）中的相对重要性，目前仍大体模糊不清。近期研究表明，基于生态位的过程在较粗空间尺度下更易被检测，而中性过程则在更精细的尺度上占据主导。结合多年多站点生物多样性清查（multi-year multi-site biodiversity inventories）开展的功能性状（functional traits）分析，或可进一步阐明群落构建过程与空间尺度的影响效应。本研究针对南非开普植物区（Cape Floristic Region, CFR）内的库加-巴维亚斯克洛弗地区的植物群落，分析了群落组成、物种功能性状与环境条件之间的关联；该区域拥有极高的α多样性与β多样性。该区域存在显著的气候梯度与地形异质性，且涵盖具有不同火历史的独特植被类型，为通过解析性状如何……以评估基于生态位的环境过滤（environmental filtering）对群落组成的作用提供了理想的研究场所。