Distinct taxonomic and phylogenetic patterns of plant communities on acid and limestone soils in subtropical and tropical China

Question: Understanding the mechanisms determining species composition is one of the central goals in ecology. The limestone landscape of southwestern China is one of the most widely-known landscapes developed on carbonate bedrock in the world. We explored the following question: What are the patterns of species composition and phylogenetic structures of the communities developed on the acid and limestone soils?

Location: Southwestern China

Methods: Using 536 plots on acid and limestone soils, we identified distinct vegetation types on both soil types based on hierarchical clustering and ordination. Variation partitioning partitioned the effect of climate, geographic distance and soil on species composition. Generalized linear models determined the effects of climate and soil on phylogenetic diversities.

Results: The typical vegetation on acid soils is evergreen broad leaved forests indicated by Castanopsis species, while typical vegetation on limestone soils is mixed evergreen...

研究问题：阐明调控物种组成的机制，是生态学领域的核心研究目标之一。中国西南的石灰岩地貌，是全球范围内以碳酸盐基岩为基底发育的最具知名度的地貌类型之一。本研究旨在探讨以下科学问题：发育于酸性土壤与石灰岩土壤中的植物群落，其物种组成与系统发育结构呈现何种分布格局？
研究区域：中国西南地区
研究方法：本研究在酸性土壤与石灰岩土壤中布设共536个样方，基于层级聚类与排序分析，识别出两类土壤上各自特有的植被类型；通过变异分区分析量化气候、地理距离与土壤因子对物种组成的相对贡献；采用广义线性模型解析气候与土壤因子对系统发育多样性的调控作用。
研究结果：酸性土壤上的典型植被为以锥属（Castanopsis）物种为优势种的常绿阔叶林，而石灰岩土壤上的典型植被为常绿混交林……