A Globally Consistent Richness‐Climate Relationship for Angiosperms

Francis, Anthony P.; Currie, David J.

doi:10.1086/368223

Cited by 484 publications

(596 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…At the macro-scale (large plots, typically comprising hundreds of km 2 , spread throughout an entire geographical region) monotonically increasing species-energy relationships become more frequent and most authors conclude that they predominate (e.g. Currie, 1991 ;Wright, Currie & Maurer, 1993 ;Guegan, Lek & Oberdorff, 1998 ;Kerr, Vincent & Currie, 1998 ;Kerr & Packer, 1999 ;Waide et al, 1999;Gaston, 2000;Chase & Leibold, 2002;Astorga et al, 2003 ;Francis & Currie, 2003 ;Kaspari, Yuan & Alonso, 2003 ;Whittaker et al, 2003; but see Balmford et al, 2001;Mittelbach et al, 2001;Hawkins et al 2003).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Species–energy relationships at the macroecological scale: a review of the mechanisms

2005

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Correlations between the amount of energy received by an assemblage and the number of species that it contains are very general, and at the macro-scale such species-energy relationships typically follow a monotonically increasing curve. Whilst the ecological literature contains frequent reports of such relationships, debate on their causal mechanisms is limited and typically focuses on the role of energy availability in controlling the number of individuals in an assemblage. Assemblages from high-energy areas may contain more individuals enabling species to maintain larger, more viable populations, whose lower extinction risk elevates species richness. Other mechanisms have, however, also been suggested. Here we identify and clarify nine principal mechanisms that may generate positive species-energy relationships at the macro-scale. We critically assess their assumptions and applicability over a range of spatial scales, derive predictions for each and assess the evidence that supports or refutes them. Our synthesis demonstrates that all mechanisms share at least one of their predictions with an alternative mechanism. Some previous studies of species-energy relationships appear not to have recognised the extent of shared predictions, and this may detract from their contribution to the debate on causal mechanisms. The combination of predictions and assumptions made by each mechanism is, however, unique, suggesting that, in principle, conclusive tests are possible. Sufficient testing of all mechanisms has yet to be conducted, and no single mechanism currently has unequivocal support. Each may contribute to species-energy relationships in some circumstances, but some mechanisms are unlikely to act simultaneously. Moreover, a limited number appear particularly likely to contribute frequently to species-energy relationships at the macro-scale. The increased population size, niche position and diversification rate mechanisms are particularly noteworthy in this context.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Species–energy relationships at the macroecological scale: a review of the mechanisms

2005

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“…A number of studies have shown a remarkably strong association between contemporary climate and species richness (4,5,7,11,16,(26)(27)(28). According to the ''water-energy dynamics hypothesis,'' species richness at higher latitudes is controlled by the availability of ambient heat, whereas, in the thermally suitable tropics, water-and humidity-related variables are the main driving factors (4,5,28).…”

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confidence: 99%

“…These historic factors may cause divergent rates of diversification (32)(33)(34)(35). Recently, water-and energyrelated variables have been found to be dominant predictors of global angiosperm family richness (27). Whether this would question a major role for historical factors has been debated (35).…”

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confidence: 99%

Global patterns and determinants of vascular plant diversity

Kreft

Jetz²

2007

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

1,128

1,200

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Plants, with an estimated 300,000 species, provide crucial primary production and ecosystem structure. To date, our quantitative understanding of diversity gradients of megadiverse clades such as plants has been hampered by the paucity of distribution data. Here, we investigate the global-scale species-richness pattern of vascular plants and examine its environmental and potential historical determinants. Across 1,032 geographic regions worldwide, potential evapotranspiration, the number of wet days per year, and measurements of topographical and habitat heterogeneity emerge as core predictors of species richness. After accounting for environmental effects, the residual differences across the major floristic kingdoms are minor, with the exception of the uniquely diverse Cape Region, highlighting the important role of historical contingencies. Notably, the South African Cape region contains more than twice as many species as expected by the global environmental model, confirming its uniquely evolved flora. A combined multipredictor model explains Ϸ70% of the global variation in species richness and fully accounts for the enigmatic latitudinal gradient in species richness. The models illustrate the geographic interplay of different environmental predictors of species richness. Our findings highlight that different hypotheses about the causes of diversity gradients are not mutually exclusive, but likely act synergistically with water-energy dynamics playing a dominant role. The presented geostatistical approach is likely to prove instrumental for identifying richness patterns of the many other taxa without single-species distribution data that still escape our understanding.biodiversity ͉ historical contingency ͉ latitudinal gradient ͉ macroecology ͉ species richness

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“…2013) and soil nutrient supply (Huston 1993; Cornwell and Grubb 2003) may directly control plant species diversity patterns. Previous studies have shown that climate exerts a potent influence on DDRs, particularly at regional and global levels (Francis and Currie 2003; Mayor et al. 2012); however, we observed that through TSF, SDC indirectly influenced tree species richness and evenness.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…2009; Chen and Taylor 2012). Lastly, diversity is strongly influenced by climatic factors (Francis and Currie 2003) and local site conditions (Huston 1993; Zhang et al. 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tree species richness decreases while species evenness increases with disturbance frequency in a natural boreal forest landscape

Yeboah

Chen

Kingston

2016

Ecology and Evolution

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Understanding species diversity and disturbance relationships is important for biodiversity conservation in disturbance‐driven boreal forests. Species richness and evenness may respond differently with stand development following fire. Furthermore, few studies have simultaneously accounted for the influences of climate and local site conditions on species diversity. Using forest inventory data, we examined the relationships between species richness, Shannon's index, evenness, and time since last stand‐replacing fire (TSF) in a large landscape of disturbance‐driven boreal forest. TSF has negative effect on species richness and Shannon's index, and a positive effect on species evenness. Path analysis revealed that the environmental variables affect richness and Shannon's index only through their effects on TSF while affecting evenness directly as well as through their effects on TSF. Synthesis and applications. Our results demonstrate that species richness and Shannon's index decrease while species evenness increases with TSF in a boreal forest landscape. Furthermore, we show that disturbance frequency, local site conditions, and climate simultaneously influence tree species diversity through complex direct and indirect effects in the studied boreal forest.

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A Globally Consistent Richness‐Climate Relationship for Angiosperms

Cited by 484 publications

References 41 publications

Species–energy relationships at the macroecological scale: a review of the mechanisms

Species–energy relationships at the macroecological scale: a review of the mechanisms

Global patterns and determinants of vascular plant diversity

Tree species richness decreases while species evenness increases with disturbance frequency in a natural boreal forest landscape

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