J Plant Ecol ›› 2023, Vol. 16 ›› Issue (4): rtac104.DOI: 10.1093/jpe/rtac104

• Research Articles •    

Maximum canopy height is associated with community phylogenetic structure in boreal forests

Ling-Feng Mao1,2,*, Yu-Ran Dong1, Bing-Bing Xing1, You-Hua Chen3, Jacqueline Dennett2, Christopher Bater4, John J. Stadt4, Scott E. Nielsen2   

  1. 1Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, College of Biology and the Environment, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China;
    2Department of Renewable Resources, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2H1, Canada;
    3Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041, China;
    4Forest Management Branch, Forestry Division, Alberta Agriculture and Forestry, Edmonton, AB T5K 2M4, Canada
  • Received:2022-01-11 Revised:2022-02-20 Accepted:2022-12-04 Online:2022-12-13 Published:2023-08-01
  • Contact: E-mail: maolingfeng2008@163.com

寒带森林中最大冠层高度与群落系统发育结构相关

Abstract: Understanding how maximum canopy height is related to forest community assembly is essential yet largely unexplored. Maximum canopy height is affected by competition and abiotic environmental factors through different ecological processes (e.g. niche differentiation and environmental filtering), as well as historical or stochastic factors. However, little has been done to empirically examine the ecological processes that influence maximum canopy height. We set out to examine the relationship between maximum canopy height and community phylogenic structure. We surveyed maximum canopy heights from a regional dataset of forest plots (466 sites of 50 m × 50 m) from the boreal forest of northeastern Alberta, Canada. We then explored the relationships between maximum canopy height as measured by airborne LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) and the phylogenetic structure of seed plants, represented by net relatedness index and nearest taxa index. We found stronger phylogenetic clustering among major evolutionary clades for communities with higher maximum canopy height, which implied that environmental filtering by abiotic factors is a driving factor for boreal forests. However, we also found stronger phylogenetic overdispersion within each clade for communities with higher maximum height, indicating more intense niche differentiation. Our results suggest that communities with higher maximum canopy height may have experienced more intense historical abiotic environmental filtering and recent niche differentiation in boreal forests. These findings will contribute to the monitoring and management of forest biodiversity.

Key words: forest phylogenetic structure, niche differentiation, competitive hierarchy, environmental filtering, stochastic process, community assembly

摘要:
了解最大冠层高度和森林群落构建的关系至关重要,但相关研究较少。最大冠层高度受到不同生态过程(如生态位分化和环境过滤),以及历史和随机因素的影响。然而,对影响冠层最大高度的生态过程的实证研究仍较少。本研究旨在揭示最大冠层高度与群落系统发育结构之间的关系。首先,我们从一项加拿大阿尔伯塔省东北部北方森林样方调查数据集(466个50 m × 50 m的采样点)中调查了最大树冠高度。在此基础上,以净谱系亲缘关系指数(NRI)和净最近种间亲缘关系指数(NTI)表征样方中种子植物的系统发育结构,探讨了机载激光雷达测量的最大冠层高度与群落系统发育结构的关系。研究结果表明,最大冠层高度越高,主要进化分枝间的系统发育越聚集,这说明北方森林中存在非生物因子驱动的环境过滤。然而我们也发现,在每个主要演化分支内部,最大冠层高度更高的群落中系统发育结构更发散,这意味着其生态位分化更强烈。总之,最大冠层高度越高的群落可能经历了更强烈的历史非生物环境过滤和近期的生态位分化。这些发现将有助于森林生物多样性的监测和管理。

关键词: 森林群落系统发育结构, 生态位分化, 竞争层次结构, 环境过滤, 随机过程, 群落构建