Distribution of vascular epiphytes along a tropical elevational gradient: disentangling abiotic and biotic determinants

doi:10.1038/srep19706

	Distribution of vascular epiphytes along a tropical elevational gradient: disentangling abiotic and biotic determinants
	Lu, Xinghui 1; Ding, Yi 1; Liu, Guangfu 2; Zang, Runguo 1; Zhang, Jian 3,4; Huang, Jihong 1
刊名	SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
	2016-01-22
卷号	6
ISSN号	2045-2322
DOI	10.1038/srep19706
英文摘要	Epiphytic vascular plants are common species in humid tropical forests. Epiphytes are influenced by abiotic and biotic variables, but little is known about the relative importance of direct and indirect effects on epiphyte distribution. We surveyed 70 transects (10 m x 50 m) along an elevation gradient (180 m-1521 m) and sampled all vascular epiphytes and trees in a typical tropical forest on Hainan Island, south China. The direct and indirect effects of abiotic factors (climatic and edaphic) and tree community characteristics on epiphytes species diversity were examined. The abundance and richness of vascular epiphytes generally showed a unimodal curve with elevation and reached maximum value at ca. 1300 m. The species composition in transects from high elevation (above 1200 m) showed a more similar assemblage. Climate explained the most variation in epiphytes species diversity followed by tree community characteristics and soil features. Overall, climate (relative humidity) and tree community characteristics (tree size represented by basal area) had the strongest direct effects on epiphyte diversity while soil variables (soil water content and available phosphorus) mainly had indirect effects. Our study suggests that air humidity is the most important abiotic while stand basal area is the most important biotic determinants of epiphyte diversity along the tropical elevational gradient.
WOS研究方向	Science & Technology - Other Topics
语种	英语
出版者	NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP
WOS记录号	WOS:000368667300002
内容类型	期刊论文
源URL	[http://210.72.129.5/handle/321005/122417]
专题	中国科学院沈阳应用生态研究所
通讯作者	Zang, Runguo
作者单位	1.Chinese Acad Forestry, Inst Forest Ecol Environm & Protect, Beijing 100091, Peoples R China 2.Chinese Acad Forestry, Inst Resource Insects, Kunming 650224, Peoples R China 3.Chinese Acad Sci, Inst Appl Ecol, State Key Lab Forest & Soil Ecol, Shenyang 110164, Peoples R China 4.Aarhus Univ, Dept Biosci, Sect Ecoinformat & Biodivers, DK-8000 Aarhus, Denmark
推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714	Lu, Xinghui,Ding, Yi,Liu, Guangfu,et al. Distribution of vascular epiphytes along a tropical elevational gradient: disentangling abiotic and biotic determinants[J]. SCIENTIFIC REPORTS,2016,6.
APA	Lu, Xinghui,Ding, Yi,Liu, Guangfu,Zang, Runguo,Zhang, Jian,&Huang, Jihong.(2016).Distribution of vascular epiphytes along a tropical elevational gradient: disentangling abiotic and biotic determinants.SCIENTIFIC REPORTS,6.
MLA	Lu, Xinghui,et al."Distribution of vascular epiphytes along a tropical elevational gradient: disentangling abiotic and biotic determinants".SCIENTIFIC REPORTS 6(2016).