Phylogenetic structure and turnover between lowland and montane subtropical forests indicate differential community assembly processes, affected by successional stage and spatial gradients
File version
Version of Record (VoR)
Author(s)
Abbas, S
Yung, E
Ashton, LA
Griffith University Author(s)
Primary Supervisor
Other Supervisors
Editor(s)
Date
Size
File type(s)
Location
Abstract
Secondary forests represent an increasing proportion of global forest cover and offer a range of ecosystem services that are integral to environmental policy targets. Highly disturbed landscapes with temporal records of forest plant community composition offer key insights into the processes that shape plant communities as forests undergo secondary succession. We investigated patterns of plant community phylogenetic structure and phylogenetic beta diversity. Mean pairwise distance (MPD) and Mean Nearest Taxon Distance (MNTD) metrics were determined between co-occurring species within plant communities, in addition to phylogenetic beta diversity metrics relative to null models of random phylogenetic assembly. MPD and MNTD were compared between elevational and successional classes and modelled as products of intercommunity distance (metres) and forest community age (years). Phylogenetic nonmetric multidimensional scaling explored phylogenetic community structure between lowland and montane forest type in Hong Kong. We found that plant communities in secondary forests in Hong Kong exhibited patterns of increased basal phylogenetic clustering with increasing community elevation, while phylogenetic turnover was influenced by spatial and successional factors in lowland and montane forest. Our findings indicate differential community assembly in lowland compared to montane forest type in Hong Kong, as well as evidence for barriers to plant dispersal in secondary forest communities due to patterns of spatial phylogenetic clustering. Plant communities in montane forests were found to be phylogenetically distinct from lowland forest plant communities. Patterns of spatial phylogenetic clustering may suggest significant dispersal or post-dispersal processes causing the clustering of related species at fine spatial scales, while phylogenetic turnover with increasing successional age may indicate compositional changes during the process of passive forest regeneration. Collectively, these results emphasize the need to investigate active pathways for rewilding dispersal limited late successional forest tree species in Hong Kong.
Journal Title
Global Ecology and Conservation
Conference Title
Book Title
Edition
Volume
55
Issue
Thesis Type
Degree Program
School
Publisher link
Patent number
Funder(s)
Grant identifier(s)
Rights Statement
Rights Statement
© 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Item Access Status
Note
Access the data
Related item(s)
Subject
Persistent link to this record
Citation
Güçlü, C; Abbas, S; Yung, E; Ashton, LA, Phylogenetic structure and turnover between lowland and montane subtropical forests indicate differential community assembly processes, affected by successional stage and spatial gradients, Global Ecology and Conservation, 2024, 55, pp. e03229