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Facilitative plant interactions and climate simultaneously drive alpine plant diversity
- Source :
- ECOLOGY LETTERS, Artículos CONICYT, CONICYT Chile, instacron:CONICYT, Ecology Letters, Ecology Letters, Wiley, 2014, 17 (2), pp.193-202. ⟨10.1111/ele.12217⟩
- Publication Year :
- 2014
-
Abstract
- International audience; Interactions among species determine local-scale diversity, but local interactions are thought to have minor effects at larger scales. However, quantitative comparisons of the importance of biotic interactions relative to other drivers are rarely made at larger scales. Using a data set spanning 78 sites and five continents, we assessed the relative importance of biotic interactions and climate in determining plant diversity in alpine ecosystems dominated by nurse-plant cushion species. Climate variables related with water balance showed the highest correlation with richness at the global scale. Strikingly, although the effect of cushion species on diversity was lower than that of climate, its contribution was still substantial. In particular, cushion species enhanced species richness more in systems with inherently impoverished local diversity. Nurse species appear to act as a ‘safety net’ sustaining diversity under harsh conditions, demonstrating that climate and species interactions should be integrated when predicting future biodiversity effects of climate change.
- Subjects :
- 0106 biological sciences
Foundation species
Alpine plant
Acclimatization
Climate
Cushion plant
Biodiversity
[SDV.BID.SPT]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Biodiversity/Systematics, Phylogenetics and taxonomy
01 natural sciences
species richness
positive interactions
Ecology
Altitude
nurse plants
F70 - Taxonomie végétale et phytogéographie
Plants
[SDV.BV.BOT]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Vegetal Biology/Botanics
foundation species
Europe
Nurse plants
Asia
F40 - Écologie végétale
P40 - Météorologie et climatologie
Cushion species
Biology
010603 evolutionary biology
Models, Biological
[SDV.EE.ECO]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment/Ecosystems
Effects of global warming
Ecosystem
Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
Positive interactions
15. Life on land
South America
biology.organism_classification
Alpine
13. Climate action
North America
Linear Models
Species richness
[SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology
human activities
cushion species
010606 plant biology & botany
Diversity (business)
New Zealand
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 1461023X and 14610248
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- ECOLOGY LETTERS, Artículos CONICYT, CONICYT Chile, instacron:CONICYT, Ecology Letters, Ecology Letters, Wiley, 2014, 17 (2), pp.193-202. ⟨10.1111/ele.12217⟩
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....f6457e5e51b8d9c0c1c40ff5dde6c230