Succession and topography jointly influence the diversity of plant sexual systems in the Baishanzu forest community

doi:10.17520/biods.2024338

Abstract

Abstract:

Aim: This study aims to investigate community patterns in the 25-ha dynamics plot of subtropical forest in Baishanzu, Zhejiang Province, and their relationship with environmental factors affecting woody plant sexual systems. The broader theoretical goal is to explore the impact of plant sexual system diversity on forest community assembly.

Method: This study conducted a comprehensive survey of all woody plants with a stem diameter at breast height (DBH) ≥ 1 cm in the 25-ha dynamics plot of the Baishanzu (BSZ) forest in Qingyuan County, Zhejiang Province. We analyzed the abundance of different plant sexual systems, the DBH of species within each sexual system, the importance of each sexual system within the community, and the diversity of sexual systems within the plot. Additionally, redundancy analysis (RDA) was employed to quantitatively examine the influence of topography, soil physicochemical properties, and succession on the characteristics of different plant sexual systems.

Results: (1) Among the 163 species of woody plants in the 25-ha plot, 95 were hermaphrodite, 43 were dioecy, and 25 were monoecy. Hermaphrodite exhibited dominance in quantitative characteristics at the family, genus, species, and individual levels. The average DBH of monoecy was significantly greater than that of hermaphrodite and dioecy. (2) At the quadrat level, hermaphrodite remained dominant, followed by dioecy and monoecy. The north-facing slope at higher elevation exhibited lower sexual system diversity, while the south-facing slope at lower elevation exhibited higher sexual system diversity. (3) The impact of topography on plant sexual systems surpassed that of soil physicochemical properties. Additionally, the succession stage significantly influenced the quantitative characteristics of plant sexual systems, with early successional areas exhibiting higher occurrences of dioecy and consequently greater sexual system diversity.

Conclusion: The sexual systems of plants play an important role in forest community assembly in the BSZ 25-ha plot. Topography, soil physicochemical properties, and succession jointly shape the diversity of plant sexual systems in the forest community.

Key words: plant sexual systems, community assembly, succession, subtropical forest, forest dynamics plot

Kailun Xu, Xiaorong Chen, Minhua Zhang, Wanwan Yu, Sumei Wu, Zhicheng Zhu, Dingyun Chen, Rongguang Lan, Shu Dong, Yu Liu. Succession and topography jointly influence the diversity of plant sexual systems in the Baishanzu forest community[J]. Biodiv Sci, 2024, 32(12): 24338.

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URL: https://www.biodiversity-science.net/EN/10.17520/biods.2024338

https://www.biodiversity-science.net/EN/Y2024/V32/I12/24338

Figures/Tables 4

Fig. 1 Topographic map of Baishanzu 25 ha forest dynamics monitoring plot

Fig. 2 Raincloud plots of species abundance (a), diameter at breast height of species (b), and species importance values (c) of different sexual systems in the 25 ha plot. ns represents no significant difference between the vertical sample plots and the horizontal sample plots; *** P < 0.001.

Fig. 3 Numerical characteristics of different plant sexual systems at the 20 m × 20 m quadrat scale in the plot. (a) Raincloud plot of species abundance in different sexual systems; (b) Raincloud plots of relative abundance of species in different sexual systems. (c) Heatmap of the 1D index. (d) Heatmap of the 2D index. *** P < 0.001.

Fig. 4 Effects of environment and succession on numerical characteristics of plant sexual systems. (a) Redundancy analysis of numerical characteristics of sexual systems and environmental factors and succession. The blue lines in the graph represent the environmental factors and the red lines represent the quantitative characteristics of different systems. CUNLAN, The relative abundance of Cunninghamia lanceolata in each quadrat; PINTAI, The relative abundance of Pinus taiwanensis in each quadrat; E, Elevation; pH, Degree of acidity or alkalinity; OC, Organic carbon; NO3--N, Nitrate nitrogen; NH4+-N, Ammonium nitrogen; Al, Aluminium; Cu, Copper; Mn, Manganese; TP, Total phosphorus; HN, Number of the individual with hermaphrodite; HP, Proportion of hermaphrodite species; HR, Relative abundance of hermaphrodite; MN, Number of individual with monoecy; MP, Proportion of monoecy species; MR, Relative abundance of monoecy; DN, Number of individual with dioecy; DP, Proportion of dioecy species; DR, Relative abundance of dioecy. (b) The Venn diagram of variation partitioning explained by topographic, soil physicochemical properties and succession.

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