Spatial Scale Dependence of Ecological Factors That Regulate Functional and Phylogenetic Assembly in a Mediterranean High Mountain Grassland

Understanding how functional and phylogenetic patterns vary among scales and along ecological gradients within a given species pool is critical for inferring community assembly processes. However, we lack a clear understanding of these patterns in stressful habitats such as Mediterranean high mounta...

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Autores: Pescador, David S., de Bello, Francesco, López-Angulo, Jesús, Valladares Ros, Fernando, Escudero, Adrián
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2021
País:España
Institución:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Repositorio:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
OAI Identifier:oai:digital.csic.es:10261/249332
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/249332
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Clustering
Community assembly
Elevation gradient
Functional traits
Overdispersion
Phylogenetic distance
Species diversity
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spelling Spatial Scale Dependence of Ecological Factors That Regulate Functional and Phylogenetic Assembly in a Mediterranean High Mountain GrasslandPescador, David S.de Bello, FrancescoLópez-Angulo, JesúsValladares Ros, FernandoEscudero, AdriánClusteringCommunity assemblyElevation gradientFunctional traitsOverdispersionPhylogenetic distanceSpecies diversityUnderstanding how functional and phylogenetic patterns vary among scales and along ecological gradients within a given species pool is critical for inferring community assembly processes. However, we lack a clear understanding of these patterns in stressful habitats such as Mediterranean high mountains where ongoing global warming is expected to affect species fitness and species interactions, and subsequently species turnover. In this study, we investigated 39 grasslands with the same type of plant community and very little species turnover across an elevation gradient above the treeline at Sierra de Guadarrama National Park in central Spain. In particular, we assessed functional and phylogenetic patterns, including functional heterogeneity, using a multi-scale approach (cells, subplots, and plots) and determined the relevance of key ecological factors (i.e., elevation, potential solar radiation, pH, soil organic carbon, species richness, and functional heterogeneity) that affect functional and phylogenetic patterns at each spatial scale. Overall, at the plot scale, coexisting species tended to be more functionally and phylogenetically similar. By contrast, at the subplot and cell scales, species tended to be more functionally different but phylogenetically similar. Functional heterogeneity at the cell scale was comparable to the variation across plots along the gradient. The relevance of ecological factors that regulate diversity patterns varied among spatial scales. An increase in elevation resulted in functional clustering at larger scales and phylogenetic overdispersion at a smaller scale. The soil pH and organic carbon levels exhibited complex functional patterns, especially at small spatial scales, where an increase in pH led to clustering patterns for the traits related to the leaf economic spectrum (i.e., foliar thickness, specific leaf area, and leaf dry matter content). Our findings confirm the presence of primary environmental filters (coldness and summer drought at our study sites) that constrain the regional species pool, suggesting the presence of additional assembly mechanisms that act at the smallest scale (e.g., micro-environmental gradients and/or species interactions). Functional and phylogenetic relatedness should be determined using a multi-scale approach to help interpret community assembly processes and understand the initial community responses to environmental changes, including ongoing global warming.This research was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (PHENOTYPES project, PGC2018-099115-B-100), Community of Madrid (REMEDINAL TE-CM project, S2018/EMT-4338), and Grant Agency of the Czech Republic (P505/12/1296).Peer reviewedFrontiers MediaMinisterio de Ciencia e Innovación (España)Comunidad de MadridGovernment of Czech RepublicConsejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas [https://ror.org/02gfc7t72]202120212021info:eu-repo/semantics/articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501Publisher's versioninfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionhttp://hdl.handle.net/10261/249332reponame:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSICinstname:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)Inglés#PLACEHOLDER_PARENT_METADATA_VALUE##PLACEHOLDER_PARENT_METADATA_VALUE#info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/AEI/Plan Estatal de Investigación Científica y Técnica y de Innovación 2017-2020/PGC2018-099115-B-100TE-CM project, S2018/EMT-4338https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2021.622148/fullSíinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessoai:digital.csic.es:10261/2493322026-05-22T06:33:51Z
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Spatial Scale Dependence of Ecological Factors That Regulate Functional and Phylogenetic Assembly in a Mediterranean High Mountain Grassland
title Spatial Scale Dependence of Ecological Factors That Regulate Functional and Phylogenetic Assembly in a Mediterranean High Mountain Grassland
spellingShingle Spatial Scale Dependence of Ecological Factors That Regulate Functional and Phylogenetic Assembly in a Mediterranean High Mountain Grassland
Pescador, David S.
Clustering
Community assembly
Elevation gradient
Functional traits
Overdispersion
Phylogenetic distance
Species diversity
title_short Spatial Scale Dependence of Ecological Factors That Regulate Functional and Phylogenetic Assembly in a Mediterranean High Mountain Grassland
title_full Spatial Scale Dependence of Ecological Factors That Regulate Functional and Phylogenetic Assembly in a Mediterranean High Mountain Grassland
title_fullStr Spatial Scale Dependence of Ecological Factors That Regulate Functional and Phylogenetic Assembly in a Mediterranean High Mountain Grassland
title_full_unstemmed Spatial Scale Dependence of Ecological Factors That Regulate Functional and Phylogenetic Assembly in a Mediterranean High Mountain Grassland
title_sort Spatial Scale Dependence of Ecological Factors That Regulate Functional and Phylogenetic Assembly in a Mediterranean High Mountain Grassland
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Pescador, David S.
de Bello, Francesco
López-Angulo, Jesús
Valladares Ros, Fernando
Escudero, Adrián
author Pescador, David S.
author_facet Pescador, David S.
de Bello, Francesco
López-Angulo, Jesús
Valladares Ros, Fernando
Escudero, Adrián
author_role author
author2 de Bello, Francesco
López-Angulo, Jesús
Valladares Ros, Fernando
Escudero, Adrián
author2_role author
author
author
author
dc.contributor.none.fl_str_mv Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (España)
Comunidad de Madrid
Government of Czech Republic
Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas [https://ror.org/02gfc7t72]
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Clustering
Community assembly
Elevation gradient
Functional traits
Overdispersion
Phylogenetic distance
Species diversity
topic Clustering
Community assembly
Elevation gradient
Functional traits
Overdispersion
Phylogenetic distance
Species diversity
description Understanding how functional and phylogenetic patterns vary among scales and along ecological gradients within a given species pool is critical for inferring community assembly processes. However, we lack a clear understanding of these patterns in stressful habitats such as Mediterranean high mountains where ongoing global warming is expected to affect species fitness and species interactions, and subsequently species turnover. In this study, we investigated 39 grasslands with the same type of plant community and very little species turnover across an elevation gradient above the treeline at Sierra de Guadarrama National Park in central Spain. In particular, we assessed functional and phylogenetic patterns, including functional heterogeneity, using a multi-scale approach (cells, subplots, and plots) and determined the relevance of key ecological factors (i.e., elevation, potential solar radiation, pH, soil organic carbon, species richness, and functional heterogeneity) that affect functional and phylogenetic patterns at each spatial scale. Overall, at the plot scale, coexisting species tended to be more functionally and phylogenetically similar. By contrast, at the subplot and cell scales, species tended to be more functionally different but phylogenetically similar. Functional heterogeneity at the cell scale was comparable to the variation across plots along the gradient. The relevance of ecological factors that regulate diversity patterns varied among spatial scales. An increase in elevation resulted in functional clustering at larger scales and phylogenetic overdispersion at a smaller scale. The soil pH and organic carbon levels exhibited complex functional patterns, especially at small spatial scales, where an increase in pH led to clustering patterns for the traits related to the leaf economic spectrum (i.e., foliar thickness, specific leaf area, and leaf dry matter content). Our findings confirm the presence of primary environmental filters (coldness and summer drought at our study sites) that constrain the regional species pool, suggesting the presence of additional assembly mechanisms that act at the smallest scale (e.g., micro-environmental gradients and/or species interactions). Functional and phylogenetic relatedness should be determined using a multi-scale approach to help interpret community assembly processes and understand the initial community responses to environmental changes, including ongoing global warming.
publishDate 2021
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2021
2021
2021
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501
Publisher's version
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
format article
status_str publishedVersion
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv http://hdl.handle.net/10261/249332
url http://hdl.handle.net/10261/249332
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv Inglés
language_invalid_str_mv Inglés
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv #PLACEHOLDER_PARENT_METADATA_VALUE#
#PLACEHOLDER_PARENT_METADATA_VALUE#
info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/AEI/Plan Estatal de Investigación Científica y Técnica y de Innovación 2017-2020/PGC2018-099115-B-100
TE-CM project, S2018/EMT-4338
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2021.622148/full
Sí
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv Frontiers Media
publisher.none.fl_str_mv Frontiers Media
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv reponame:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
instname:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
instname_str Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
reponame_str DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
collection DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
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