Climatic and non-climatic effects on species occurrence and abundance shift in different trends along elevational gradients

doi:10.1093/jpe/rtaf122

J Plant Ecol ›› Advance articles DOI:10.1093/jpe/rtaf122

Climatic and non-climatic effects on species occurrence and abundance shift in different trends along elevational gradients

Erhan Huang¹, Chengjun Ji¹, Minxia Liang², Jiangling Zhu¹, Zhiyao Tang^1*, Jingyun Fang^1*

¹Institute of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China
²State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, School of Ecology, Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen 518107, China

^*Correspondences:
Zhiyao Tang, Ph.D., Professor of Ecology, Institute of Ecology, Peking University Beijing 100871, China. Tel: +86-62754039. E-mail: zytang@urban.pku.edu.cn
Jingyun Fang, Ph.D., Professor of Ecology, Institute of Ecology, Peking University Beijing 100871, China. Tel: +86-10-6276 5578. Fax: +86-10-6275 6560. E-mail: jyfang@urban.pku.edu.cn

Online:2025-07-24 Published:2025-07-24
Supported by:
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31988102, 32101331).

气候与非气候因素沿海拔梯度对物种出现和丰度变化的差异性影响

Abstract

Abstract: The distribution and assembly of plant species is a fundamental ecological question. Understanding how various drivers of community assembly vary along elevational gradients and differentially affect species occurrence versus abundance is critically important. Using an advanced tool, the joint species distribution model (JSDM), we aim to investigate shifts in the relative importance of climatic and non-climatic effects on forest community assembly along large elevational gradients, and to compare the elevational trends of these effects on species occurrence and abundance. We documented 243 forest plots, each with a size of 20×30 m, along elevational gradients (700-3,650 m) of Qinling Mountains, the highest mountain in Central China. We performed JSDMs to quantify the relative importance of climatic and non-climatic effects on species occurrence and abundance along elevational gradients. Climatic and non-climatic effects exhibited distinct elevational trends and differed in their respective influences on species occurrence and abundance. The influence of climate on species abundance increased with elevation, whereas its effect on species occurrence showed a weak decline. At lower elevations, species occurrence was mainly determined by climate, while abundance was affected by both climatic and non-climatic drivers. At higher elevations, climate emerged as the dominant factor affecting both occurrence and abundance. Our study reveals different trends of climate and non-climate effects on species occurrence versus abundance. These findings underscore the importance of jointly considering both types of environmental drivers and both occurrence and abundance, which is critical for predicting community dynamics under climate change and guiding conservation strategies.

Key words: Climatic and non-climatic effects, community assembly, elevational gradient, joint species distribution model (JSDM), species occurrence and abundance

摘要：
植物物种的分布与聚集是生态学中的一个基础问题。理解群落构建的驱动因素如何随海拔梯度变化，以及这些因素对物种的出现与丰度的不同影响，具有重要的科学意义。本研究采用联合物种分布模型(JSDM)，旨在研究气候和非气候作用对森林群落构建的相对重要性在海拔梯度上的变化，并比较其对物种出现和多度的影响。研究区域位于秦岭——中国中部最高峰，沿海拔梯度(700–3650 m)设置了243个森林样方，每个样方面积为20 m × 30 m。通过JSDM来量化气候和非气候因素对海拔梯度上物种出现和丰度的相对重要性。研究结果表明，气候和非气候因素在海拔梯度上表现出不同的趋势，对物种出现和丰度的影响也各不相同。气候对物种丰度的影响随着海拔的升高而增加，而对物种出现的影响则呈微弱下降趋势。在低海拔地区，物种出现主要由气候决定，而物种丰度则同时受到气候和非气候因素的影响；在高海拔地区，气候是影响物种出现和丰度的主要因素。上述研究揭示了气候和非气候因素对物种出现和丰度不同的影响趋势，强调了同时考虑两类环境驱动因素的重要性，这对于预测气候变化下的群落动态和制定保护策略具有重要指导意义。

关键词: 气候与非气候因素, 群落构建, 海拔梯度, 联合物种分布模型(JSDM), 物种出现与丰度

Erhan Huang, Chengjun Ji, Minxia Liang, Jiangling Zhu, Zhiyao Tang, Jingyun Fang. Climatic and non-climatic effects on species occurrence and abundance shift in different trends along elevational gradients[J]. J Plant Ecol, DOI: 10.1093/jpe/rtaf122.