Circumboreal Gradients in Plant Species and Functional Types

Abstract

A b s t r A c tQuestions: 1) Do patterns of richness and composition of vascular plant species and plant functional types (PFTs) vary consistently along environmental gradients in high northern latitudes? 2) What factors influence their distribution? 3) Are there implications for mapping and managing vegetation? Location: Circumglobal 40º to 70º N. Methods: A standard sampling protocol was used to record vegetation in 111 (40×5m) transects focusing on the circumboreal zone but within a broader environmental con text including Arctic Fjaeldmark and tundra, upland continental and maritime mea dows, coastal dunes, desert steppe, boreal shrubland and notthern temperate broad leafconifer forest. Variables included vascular plant species and PFTs (functional mo di), vegetation structure, plant functional complexity (PFC) Shannon and Simpson's (func tional) diversity indices and site physical features including key climate elements. Mul tidimensional scaling (MDS) and standard regression analysis were used to explore re gional vegetation gradients. Results: Highest counts of species, PFTs, PFC, and functional diversity indices were re corded in the Russian Far East. Most intensive clustering was revealed through MDS of species composition whereas analyses of speciesweighted PFTs revealed broader over lapping gradients linking Fennoscandia and western Europe with north America. Cen t ral Mongolian sites were clearly separate from those in the Russian Far East that over lapped with central Europe and the high Caucasus. PFTbased data showed more sig nificant linkages with vegetation structure and climate variables than species or in di vidual traits. Conclusions: Species and PFTbased data provide complementary support for the exis tence of identifiable vegetation gradients within the circumboreal zone. Apart from floristic evolutionary factors, vegetation response to disturbance and substrate ap pears to be secondary to climate as the primary environmental determinant. Uni fied systematic sampling and readily transferable technology are needed to better un der stand the complex factors influencing vegetation patterns in these high latitudes. Гиллисон Э.Н. Циркумбореальные градиенты видов растений и функциональных типов Вопросы: 1) Закономерны ли изменения спектров видового состава и функциональных типов сосудистых растений вдоль экологических градиентов в высоких северных широтах? 2) Какие факторы влияют на их распределение? 3) Возможно ли применение данных закономерностей для отображения растительного покрова? Географическая привязка: В пределах широт от 40º до 70º N. Методы: стандартные геоботанические описания растительности на 111 (40×5 м) трансектах в циркумбореаль ной зоне. В ка чест ве переменных использованы виды сосудистых растений и функциональные типы растений (ФТР), структура расти тель ности, индексы сложности структуры растительного покрова, индексы разнообразия Шеннона и Симпсона, физи чес кие характеристики местообитаний, включая ключевые параметры климата. Многомерное шкалирование (MDS) и стан дарт ный ре...

2018 IAVS Symposium: Bozeman, Montana, USA

“…The regression slope for Sicily (Annex I, Fig. 5) for example, is similar to that observed in other Laurasian floras but differs from those in the Gondwanan neotropics, Oceania and tropical Indomalesia (Gillison 2012(Gillison , 2013Gillison et al 2013). Of general interest is the capacity of unique (non-species-weighted) PFTs to predict species richness with a high degree of accuracy (Annex I, Fig.…”

When rare species are not important: linking plot-based vegetation classifications and landscape-scale mapping in Australian savanna vegetation

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