scholarly journals Differentiation of Environmental Conditions Promotes Variation of Two Quercus wutaishanica Community Assembly Patterns

Forests ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 43
Author(s):  
Mao Wang ◽  
Jinshi Xu ◽  
Yongfu Chai ◽  
Yaoxin Guo ◽  
Xiao Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Loess Plateau ◽  
Community Assembly ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Environmental Filtering ◽  
Local Environment ◽  
Qinling Mountains ◽  
Forest Communities ◽  
The Loess Plateau ◽  
Ecological Processes ◽  
Phylogenetic Structure

Two contradictory niche-based processes, environmental filtering and competitive exclusion, are important ecological processes in community assembly. Quercus wutaishanica forests are the climax communities in the Qinling Mountains and the Loess Plateau, China. Since these areas are characterized by different climate and evolutionary histories, these forests could be a suitable study system to test the phylogenetic niche conservatism hypothesis. We compared variation in community assembly of two distinct Q. wutaishanica forest communities and analyzed how the variations are formed. Quercus wutaishanica forest communities had significantly different species pool, phylogenetic structure and phylogenetic diversity between the two regions that were driven by inconsistency in environment conditions and evolutionary history at the local scale. Soil ammonium nitrogen, soil water content, and nitrate nitrogen play a major role in phylogenetic beta diversity patterns. The effect of environmental filtering on community assembly was more significant on the Loess Plateau than in the Qinling Mountains. Our study also found that local environment is important in mediating the patterns of phylogenetic structure. These findings provide insights into the mechanisms of local community assembly.

scholarly journals Phylogenetic overdispersion of plant species in southern Brazilian savannas

2009 ◽  
Vol 69 (3) ◽  
pp. 843-849 ◽  
Author(s):  
IA. Silva ◽  
MA. Batalha
Keyword(s):  
Phylogenetic Relationships ◽  
Plant Traits ◽  
Environmental Filtering ◽  
Southeastern Brazil ◽  
Ecological Communities ◽  
Ecological Interactions ◽  
Ecological Processes ◽  
Phylogenetic Structure ◽  
History Of ◽  
Phylogenetic Overdispersion

Ecological communities are the result of not only present ecological processes, such as competition among species and environmental filtering, but also past and continuing evolutionary processes. Based on these assumptions, we may infer mechanisms of contemporary coexistence from the phylogenetic relationships of the species in a community. We studied the phylogenetic structure of plant communities in four cerrado sites, in southeastern Brazil. We calculated two raw phylogenetic distances among the species sampled. We estimated the phylogenetic structure by comparing the observed phylogenetic distances to the distribution of phylogenetic distances in null communities. We obtained null communities by randomizing the phylogenetic relationships of the regional pool of species. We found a phylogenetic overdispersion of the cerrado species. Phylogenetic overdispersion has several explanations, depending on the phylogenetic history of traits and contemporary ecological interactions. However, based on coexistence models between grasses and trees, density-dependent ecological forces, and the evolutionary history of the cerrado flora, we argue that the phylogenetic overdispersion of cerrado species is predominantly due to competitive interactions, herbivores and pathogen attacks, and ecological speciation. Future studies will need to include information on the phylogenetic history of plant traits.

The local environment regulates biogeographic patterns of soil fungal communities on the Loess Plateau

CATENA ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 183 ◽  
pp. 104220 ◽  
Author(s):  
Quanchao Zeng ◽  
Peilong Jia ◽  
Ying Wang ◽  
Honglei Wang ◽  
Chengcheng Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Loess Plateau ◽  
Local Environment ◽  
Fungal Communities ◽  
The Loess Plateau ◽  
Biogeographic Patterns

scholarly journals Beta Diversity of Antarctic and Sub-Antarctic Benthic Communities Reveals a Major Role of Stochastic Assembly Processes

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nelson Valdivia ◽  
José Garcés-Vargas ◽  
Ignacio Garrido ◽  
Iván Gómez ◽  
Pirjo Huovinen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stochastic Processes ◽  
Spatial Variation ◽  
Community Assembly ◽  
Beta Diversity ◽  
Seawater Temperature ◽  
Environmental Filtering ◽  
Ecological Processes ◽  
Mean Values ◽  
Sampling Protocols ◽  
Strait Of Magellan

Community assembly is the result of both, deterministic and stochastic processes. The former encompasses niche-based local-scale mechanisms such as environmental filtering and biotic interactions; the latter includes ecological drift, probabilistic colonisation, and random extinctions. Using standardised sampling protocols, we show that the spatial variation in species composition (beta diversity) of shallow subtidal macrobenthic communities of sub-Antarctic (Strait of Magellan and Yendegaia Fjord [Beagle Channel]) and Antarctic (Fildes Bay [King George Island, West Antarctic Peninsula]) localities reflects a high contribution of stochastic processes to community assembly. Null model analyses indicated that random sampling from species pools of different sizes drove the observed among-locality differences in incidence- and abundance-based beta diversity. We analysed a normalised stochasticity ratio (NST), which delimits between more deterministic (<50%) and more stochastic (>50%) assembly. NST was notably larger than 50%, with mean values of 69.5% (95% CI = 69.2–69.8%), 62.5% (62.1–62.9%), and 72.8% (72.5–73.2%) in Strait of Magellan, Yendegaia Fjord, and Fildes Bay, respectively. Accordingly, environmental factors, such as depth, seawater temperature, salinity, and underwater light penetration, accounted for a small fraction of the spatial variation in community composition across the three localities. In this region, therefore, stochastic processes could have stronger effects on community assembly than deterministic niche-based factors. As anthropogenic biotic homogenisation continues apace, our study can give useful insights into the major ecological processes in Southern Ocean’ coastal marine communities.

scholarly journals Adaptive Development of Soil Bacterial Communities to Ecological Processes Caused by Mining Activities in the Loess Plateau, China

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 477 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhanbin Luo ◽  
Jing Ma ◽  
Fu Chen ◽  
Xiaoxiao Li ◽  
Qi Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Loess Plateau ◽  
Bacterial Communities ◽  
Mining Subsidence ◽  
Mining Activities ◽  
The Loess Plateau ◽  
Ecological Processes ◽  
Soil Bacterial Communities ◽  
Subsidence Area ◽  
Adaptive Development ◽  
Soil Bacterial

Microorganisms are the driving force behind the circulation and transformation of the soil substance. The development of soil bacterial communities is critical for ecosystem restoration and evolution. In the Loess Plateau, coal mining activities have aggravated the deterioration of the fragile local ecological environment. The adaptive development of soil bacterial communities in response to different ecological processes caused by coal mining activities was explored through high-throughput sequencing technology and an ecological network analysis of the mining subsidence area of the Daliuta Coal Mine and vegetation rehabilitation area of the Heidaigou Coal Mine in the Loess Plateau. The results showed that while mining subsidence was inhibited, vegetation rehabilitation promoted the soil physicochemical properties. Soil organic matter, available phosphorus and available potassium in the subsidence area decreased significantly (P < 0.05), while soil organic matter, soil water, pH and EC in the vegetation rehabilitation area increased significantly (P < 0.05). The diversity index in the subsidence area decreased by about 20%, while that in the vegetation rehabilitation area increased by 63%. Mining subsidence and vegetation rehabilitation had a distinct influence on the molecular ecological networks of the soil bacteria, which tended to be more complex after the mining subsidence, and the number of connections in the network increased otherwise significantly enhanced interactive relationships. After the vegetation rehabilitation, the number of modules in the ecological network increased, but the contents of modules tended to be simpler. Soil bacterial communities adapted to the changes by changing the relationships between bacteria in response to different ecological processes. This study provides new insights into the monitoring and abatement of the damaged ecological environment in mines.

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