Assessing the contributions of site and species to plant beta diversity in alpine grassland ecosystems

doi:10.1016/j.pld.2025.05.003

Plant Diversity ›› 2025, Vol. 47 ›› Issue (04): 633-642.DOI: 10.1016/j.pld.2025.05.003

Assessing the contributions of site and species to plant beta diversity in alpine grassland ecosystems

Jie Li (李捷), Xiao Pan Pang (庞晓攀), Zheng Gang Guo (郭正刚)

State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-ecosystems, College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730020, China

收稿日期:2024-11-30 修回日期:2025-05-09 出版日期:2025-08-13 发布日期:2025-08-13
通讯作者: Zheng Gang Guo (郭正刚),E-mail:guozhg@lzu.edu.cn
基金资助:
This work was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2023YFF1304302), and the Qaidam basin and Qilian Mountains germplasm resources collection project (Grant No. SJCZFY2022-1-6).

Assessing the contributions of site and species to plant beta diversity in alpine grassland ecosystems

Jie Li (李捷), Xiao Pan Pang (庞晓攀), Zheng Gang Guo (郭正刚)

State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-ecosystems, College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730020, China

Received:2024-11-30 Revised:2025-05-09 Online:2025-08-13 Published:2025-08-13
Contact: Zheng Gang Guo (郭正刚),E-mail:guozhg@lzu.edu.cn
Supported by:
This work was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2023YFF1304302), and the Qaidam basin and Qilian Mountains germplasm resources collection project (Grant No. SJCZFY2022-1-6).

摘要/Abstract

摘要： Understanding plant diversity within geographical ranges and identifying key species that drive community variation can provide crucial insights for the management of grasslands. However, the contribution of both local sites and plant species to beta diversity in grassland ecosystems has yet to be accurately assessed. This study applied the ecological uniqueness approach to examine both local contributions to beta diversity (LCBD) and species contributions to beta diversity (SCBD) across six major geographical ranges in alpine grasslands. We found that LCBD was driven by species turnover, with climate, plant communities, and their interactions influencing LCBD across spatial scales. LCBD values were high in areas with low evapotranspiration, high rainfall variability, and low species and functional richness. Precipitation seasonality predicted large-scale LCBD dynamics, while plant community abundance explained local LCBD variation. In addition, we found that SCBD were confined to species with moderate occupancy, although these species contributed less to plant biological traits. Our findings are crucial for understanding how ecological characteristics influence plant beta diversity in grasslands and how it responds to environmental and community factors. In addition, these findings have successfully identified key sites and priority plants for conservation, indicating that using standardized quadrats can support the assessment of the ecological uniqueness in grassland ecosystems. We hope these insights will inform the development of conservation strategies, thereby supporting regional plant diversity and resisting vegetation homogenization.

关键词: Ecological uniqueness, Beta diversity, Turnover, Functional diversity, Grassland management

Abstract: Understanding plant diversity within geographical ranges and identifying key species that drive community variation can provide crucial insights for the management of grasslands. However, the contribution of both local sites and plant species to beta diversity in grassland ecosystems has yet to be accurately assessed. This study applied the ecological uniqueness approach to examine both local contributions to beta diversity (LCBD) and species contributions to beta diversity (SCBD) across six major geographical ranges in alpine grasslands. We found that LCBD was driven by species turnover, with climate, plant communities, and their interactions influencing LCBD across spatial scales. LCBD values were high in areas with low evapotranspiration, high rainfall variability, and low species and functional richness. Precipitation seasonality predicted large-scale LCBD dynamics, while plant community abundance explained local LCBD variation. In addition, we found that SCBD were confined to species with moderate occupancy, although these species contributed less to plant biological traits. Our findings are crucial for understanding how ecological characteristics influence plant beta diversity in grasslands and how it responds to environmental and community factors. In addition, these findings have successfully identified key sites and priority plants for conservation, indicating that using standardized quadrats can support the assessment of the ecological uniqueness in grassland ecosystems. We hope these insights will inform the development of conservation strategies, thereby supporting regional plant diversity and resisting vegetation homogenization.

Key words: Ecological uniqueness, Beta diversity, Turnover, Functional diversity, Grassland management

Jie Li (李捷), Xiao Pan Pang (庞晓攀), Zheng Gang Guo (郭正刚). Assessing the contributions of site and species to plant beta diversity in alpine grassland ecosystems[J]. Plant Diversity, 2025, 47(04): 633-642.

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Assessing the contributions of site and species to plant beta diversity in alpine grassland ecosystems

Assessing the contributions of site and species to plant beta diversity in alpine grassland ecosystems

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