Global Ecology and Conservation (Apr 2023)
Latitudinal gradients of angiosperm plant diversity and phylogenetic structure in China’s nature reserves
Abstract
The mechanisms underlying latitudinal and longitudinal patterns in species diversity remain a central issue in ecology and are vital for effective biodiversity conservation. Few studies have been conducted to synthesize the latitudinal patterns and the underlying mechanisms of multi-dimensional biodiversity in Chinese Nature Reserves, and we will provide comprehensive patterns of species and phylogenetic diversity for plant species along the latitudinal patterns. In this study, we selected 10,458 angiosperm species from 157 China’s nature reserves along the latitudinal gradients to explore the geographical distribution patterns of species richness (SR), phylogenetic diversity (PD), phylogenetic endemism (PE), net relatedness index (NRI) and phylogenetic structure. The results indicated that the angiosperm’s SR, PD, PE and NRI increased along the latitudinal gradients in China. Species diversity was significantly correlated with phylogenetic diversity and phylogenetic endemism. Our findings suggested that the species in the higher latitude regions were significantly phylogenetically clustered, whereas the species in the lower latitude regions indicated phylogenetic overdispersion. Temperature strongly correlated with species diversity, phylogenetic diversity, phylogenetic endemism, and phylogenetic structure for all plants. Our results showed that the determinants of diversity patterns and phylogenetic structure were different among herbs and woody plants. For herbs, the reserve area had the highest explanatory power for phylogenetic endemism. For woody plants, temperatures determine their diversity patterns and phylogenetic structure. This study improves our understanding of the latitudinal and longitudinal gradients of species diversity, and phylogenetic structure and provides support for the improvement of biodiversity conservation in China.
