Plant–mycorrhizal associations may explain the latitudinal gradient of plant community assembly

Abstract

Biogeographical variation in community assembly processes forms the basis of the latitudinal gradient of biodiversity by driving β‐diversity. Classical studies on community assembly predict environmental filtering affecting β‐diversity more strongly at higher latitudes, where productivity is lower and abiotic stress is stronger. Contrary to this prediction, recent evidence indicates that plant community composition at higher latitudes exhibits more spatially clustered distributions independently of background environments, suggesting the importance of spatial processes, such as priority effects. In this study, we propose a hypothesis that resolves this paradox by considering plant–soil feedback and biogeographic variations in the dominant mycorrhizal type: we predict that the increasing prevalence of ectomycorrhizal (EcM) trees with latitude contributes to the spatially clustered distribution of plants, as EcM trees tend to exhibit positive plant–soil feedback. We analyzed a large‐scale standardized dataset of Japanese forests covering a latitudinal gradient of >10° and found that 1) the proportion of EcM trees was higher at higher latitudes, and 2) EcM tree‐rich communities exhibited more spatially clustered distributions likely due to positive plant–soil feedback. Consequently, 3) tree species composition at higher latitudes was better explained by spatial variables suggesting the importance of priority effects. Consistent with the predictions of the plant–soil feedback theory, these patterns were more pronounced in understory than in canopy communities. Taken together, our results lend support to our hypothesis that biogeographic variation in tree community assembly patterns is defined by mycorrhizal types and plant–soil feedback, thereby resolving a paradox in the latitudinal gradient of plant community assembly. Our work highlights that plant mycorrhizal type underlies the determinants of β‐diversity which is a critical component of the latitudinal gradient of diversity.