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Research Articles

Latitudinal gradient patterns and driving factors of woody plant fruit types based on multiple forest dynamic monitoring plots

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  • College of Life Science, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450000, China

    *Corresponding authors. E-mail: cyecology@163.com(Y.C.); yzlsci@163.com (Z.Y.)
    These authors contributed equally to this work.

Received date: 2024-08-28

  Accepted date: 2025-01-26

  Online published: 2025-02-18

Supported by

This work was supported by the Henan Province University Young Backbone Teachers Training Program (Grant No. 2024GGJS026); the Key Scientifc Research Project Plan of Colleges and Universities in Henan Province (24A180013); the Key Project of Science and Technology Research of Henan Province, China (242102110233) and the Graduate Education Reform Project of Henan Province (No. 2023SJGLX203Y).

Abstract

Fruit type influences seed dispersal mode and its effectiveness, reflecting plant adaptability to their environments. However, the large-scale patterns of fruit type distribution in forest communities and differences in the drivers of various fruit types remain unclear. We present a large-scale biogeographic model of woody plant fruit types along a latitudinal gradient through the data analysis of 30 forest dynamic plots. Results showed the following: (1) Fleshy and dry fruits exhibited distinct distribution patterns in large-scale space. The distribution of fleshy fruits was greater in tropical and subtropical zones, while dry fruits were more common in temperate zones. (2) Climatic factors primarily drove the geographical distribution of the fruit types of woody plants. Climatic and spatial factors exerted greater effects on the species richness of dry fruits compared with that of fleshy fruits. These results demonstrated the difference in the latitudinal gradient patterns of fleshy and dry fruits and identified the major abiotic environmental factors that drove their large-scale distribution, demonstrating the biogeography of the fruit types of woody plants.

Cite this article

Wenjun Liu, Yizhen Shao, Shengqian Guo, Fengqin Liu, Xiangyu Tian, Yun Chen, Zhiliang Yuan . Latitudinal gradient patterns and driving factors of woody plant fruit types based on multiple forest dynamic monitoring plots[J]. Journal of Plant Ecology, 2025 , 18(2) : 1 -10 . DOI: 10.1093/jpe/rtaf018

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