Influence of divergent sampling intensity across plant growth forms on estimating elevational richness patterns and their drivers

doi:10.1016/j.pld.2025.12.006

Plant Diversity ›› 2026, Vol. 48 ›› Issue (02): 330-339.DOI: 10.1016/j.pld.2025.12.006

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Influence of divergent sampling intensity across plant growth forms on estimating elevational richness patterns and their drivers

Hongrui Ling^a,b, Jianqiang Yang^c, Yannan He^c, Pengwan Zhang^c, Jiangci nongbu^c, Sina laoding^c, Zhenyu Fan^d, Aoxiang Chang^d, Hang Sun^a, Shuang Zhang^e, Zihan Jiang^a

a. State Key Laboratory of Plant Diversity and Specialty Crops & Yunnan Key Laboratory of Plant Diversity and Biogeography, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650201, China;
b. Plant Cell Laboratory, College of Life Sciences, Yunnan Normal University, Kunming 650000, China;
c. Quzonggong Management Office of Deqin Branch of Yunnan Baima Snow Mountain National Nature Reserve Management and Protection Bureau, Deqin 674499, China;
d. School of Life Science and Aericulture Forestry, Oiqihar University, Oiaihar 161006, China;
e. State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China

Received:2025-07-19 Revised:2025-11-29 Online:2026-05-19 Published:2026-03-25
Contact: Zihan Jiang,E-mail:jiangzihan@mail.kib.ac.cn
Supported by:
This work was funded by Chinese Academy of Sciences Hundred Talents Program, Category B, National Postdoctoral Programs, Yunnan Provincial General Project Fund (202401CF070060), the Key R&D Program of Yunnan Province (202403AC100028) and National Natural Science Foundation Regional Project (32360395).

Influence of divergent sampling intensity across plant growth forms on estimating elevational richness patterns and their drivers

Hongrui Ling^a,b, Jianqiang Yang^c, Yannan He^c, Pengwan Zhang^c, Jiangci nongbu^c, Sina laoding^c, Zhenyu Fan^d, Aoxiang Chang^d, Hang Sun^a, Shuang Zhang^e, Zihan Jiang^a

a. State Key Laboratory of Plant Diversity and Specialty Crops & Yunnan Key Laboratory of Plant Diversity and Biogeography, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650201, China;
b. Plant Cell Laboratory, College of Life Sciences, Yunnan Normal University, Kunming 650000, China;
c. Quzonggong Management Office of Deqin Branch of Yunnan Baima Snow Mountain National Nature Reserve Management and Protection Bureau, Deqin 674499, China;
d. School of Life Science and Aericulture Forestry, Oiqihar University, Oiaihar 161006, China;
e. State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China

通讯作者: Zihan Jiang,E-mail:jiangzihan@mail.kib.ac.cn
基金资助:
This work was funded by Chinese Academy of Sciences Hundred Talents Program, Category B, National Postdoctoral Programs, Yunnan Provincial General Project Fund (202401CF070060), the Key R&D Program of Yunnan Province (202403AC100028) and National Natural Science Foundation Regional Project (32360395).

Abstract

Abstract: Numerous studies have demonstrated that sampling intensity can significantly influence the detection of richness patterns and the assessment of the importance of driving factors. However, existing research has primarily focused on comparing the influence of sampling intensity across different locations or community types, with less attention paid to its influence across growth forms. Through field surveys on Baima Snow Mountain and bootstrap resampling analyses, we quantified the influence of sampling intensity on plant elevational richness patterns across growth forms (trees, shrubs, and herbs). Our results revealed that with increasing sampling intensity, the error in assessing elevational richness patterns decreased rapidly then stabilized for all growth forms. A similar trend was observed in the estimation of climatic drivers. However, significant variations emerged across different growth forms. The suitable sampling intensity was higher for trees and shrubs than for herbaceous plants. Furthermore, estimation errors for tree richness patterns declined significantly faster with increasing sampling intensity than those for shrubs and herbs. Similarly, the relationship between sampling intensity and error in estimating richness-climate relationships showed significant differences across growth forms. However, these differences were subject to the climate drivers selected. These findings demonstrate that growth-form differences must be considered in elevation-richness surveys. However, our meta-analysis revealed that no current study accounted for this factor in their protocols. Our findings provide empirical evidence for developing growth form-specific sampling protocols, offering practical solutions to improve the accuracy of mountain richness studies and enhance cross-study comparability in elevational gradient research.

Key words: Sampling intensity, Multi-growth forms, Bootstrap sampling, Baima Snow Mountain, Richness-climate relationships

摘要： Numerous studies have demonstrated that sampling intensity can significantly influence the detection of richness patterns and the assessment of the importance of driving factors. However, existing research has primarily focused on comparing the influence of sampling intensity across different locations or community types, with less attention paid to its influence across growth forms. Through field surveys on Baima Snow Mountain and bootstrap resampling analyses, we quantified the influence of sampling intensity on plant elevational richness patterns across growth forms (trees, shrubs, and herbs). Our results revealed that with increasing sampling intensity, the error in assessing elevational richness patterns decreased rapidly then stabilized for all growth forms. A similar trend was observed in the estimation of climatic drivers. However, significant variations emerged across different growth forms. The suitable sampling intensity was higher for trees and shrubs than for herbaceous plants. Furthermore, estimation errors for tree richness patterns declined significantly faster with increasing sampling intensity than those for shrubs and herbs. Similarly, the relationship between sampling intensity and error in estimating richness-climate relationships showed significant differences across growth forms. However, these differences were subject to the climate drivers selected. These findings demonstrate that growth-form differences must be considered in elevation-richness surveys. However, our meta-analysis revealed that no current study accounted for this factor in their protocols. Our findings provide empirical evidence for developing growth form-specific sampling protocols, offering practical solutions to improve the accuracy of mountain richness studies and enhance cross-study comparability in elevational gradient research.

关键词: Sampling intensity, Multi-growth forms, Bootstrap sampling, Baima Snow Mountain, Richness-climate relationships

Hongrui Ling, Jianqiang Yang, Yannan He, Pengwan Zhang, Jiangci nongbu, Sina laoding, Zhenyu Fan, Aoxiang Chang, Hang Sun, Shuang Zhang, Zihan Jiang. Influence of divergent sampling intensity across plant growth forms on estimating elevational richness patterns and their drivers[J]. Plant Diversity, 2026, 48(02): 330-339.

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Influence of divergent sampling intensity across plant growth forms on estimating elevational richness patterns and their drivers

Influence of divergent sampling intensity across plant growth forms on estimating elevational richness patterns and their drivers

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