Altitudinal gradients of species richness and range size of vascular plants in Taiwan: a test of Rapoport’s rule

doi:10.3724/SP.J.1003.2010.312

Abstract

Abstract:

Spatial patterns of species richness and range size along environmental gradients have long been central issues to biogeography and biodiversity. Because of their unique isolation effects on species distributions, much emphasis has been put on insular environments in developing and testing biogeography theories. Rapoport’s rule suggested an increasing trend of species range width along with increasing altitude. Taiwan, the largest island in China, is characterized by a significant altitudinal gradient, subtropical monsoon climate, as well as a rich and unique flora. Here, we offer the first report on the altitudinal patterns of species richness and species range size of Taiwan’s vascular plants, and analyze the relationship between altitudinal range size and range midpoint to test Rapoport’s rule. We established a database of 4,751 plant species (including subspecies levels), belonging to 241 families and 1,466 genera. Among these, 3,330 species have altitudinal range records and were analyzed. Taxonomic richness at the family, genus and species levels decreased with increasing elevation in terms of all plants and invasive species, and a hump-shaped altitudinal pattern of species richness was found for endemic plants. With regard to taxonomic groups, pteridophytes and gymnosperms richness exhibited hump-shaped patterns, while decreasing richness with increasing altitude was found for three subgroups in angiosperm (i.e. herbs, evergreen and deciduous woody plants). Relationships between species range size and midpoint elevation varied among assemblages as well as among methods applied to the same assemblage. The distribution of invasive plants supported Rapoport’s rule, while that of endemic species and overall species did not. The distribution of pteridophytes supported Rapoport’s rule, while gymnosperms did not. For angiosperms, no consistent patterns were found when different methods were applied. By comparing Taiwan and adjacent large insular and continental mountains, we suggest that the altitudinal patterns of precipitation might contribute to that of species richness. Our test of Rapoport’s rule suggested that, even on the same mountain, altitudinal variation of distributional patterns among different assemblages can result from different mechanisms.

Key words: Taiwan, vascular plant, species richness, range size, altitudinal gradient, Rapoport’s rule

Wanjun Zhang, Qiyan Lu, Jun Liang, Zehao Shen. Altitudinal gradients of species richness and range size of vascular plants in Taiwan: a test of Rapoport’s rule[J]. Biodiv Sci, 2010, 18(3): 312-322.

Add to citation manager EndNote|Ris|BibTeX

URL: https://www.biodiversity-science.net/EN/10.3724/SP.J.1003.2010.312

https://www.biodiversity-science.net/EN/Y2010/V18/I3/312

Figures/Tables 8

Fig. 1 The geographic location and topography of Taiwan

Table 1 The basic statistic characteristics of vascular plants in Taiwan

	全部维管束植物 Total	特有植物 Endemic	入侵植物 Invasive
科数 No. of families	241 (234)	108	61
属数 No. of genera	1,466 (1,411)	352	210
种数 No. of species	4,751 (4,398)	783	311

Table 2 The top ten dominant families of the native, endemic and invasive plants in Taiwan

排序 Rank	科名 Family	本地种数 No. of native species	科名 Family	特有种数 No. of endemic species	科名 Family	入侵种数 No. of invasive species
1	兰科 Orchidaceae	242	兰科 Orchidaceae	76	豆科 Leguminosae	41
2	禾本科 Gramineae	174	菊科 Compositae	60	菊科 Compositae	39
3	菊科 Compositae	154	蔷薇科 Rosaceae	38	禾本科 Gramineae	22
4	豆科 Leguminosae	134	禾本科 Gramineae	25	大戟科 Euphorbiaceae	10
5	莎草科 Cyperaceae	132	樟科 Lauraceae	23	苋科 Amaranthaceae	8
6	蔷薇科 Rosaceae	76	豆科 Leguminosae	23	茄科 Solanaceae	8
7	鳞毛蕨科 Dryopteridaceae	72	毛茛科 Ranunculaceae	20	旋花科 Convolvulaceae	6
8	茜草科 Rubiaceae	68	龙胆科 Gentianaceae	19	茜草科 Rubiaceae	6
9	大戟科 Euphorbiaceae	52	唇形科 Labiatae	19	锦葵科 Malvaceae	5
10	蹄盖蕨科 Athyriaceae	47	荨麻科 Urticaceae	19	柳叶菜科 Onagraceae	5

Fig. 2 Altitudinal pattern of family, genus and species richness of vascular plants in Taiwan. (a) All plant species; (b) Invasive species; (c) Endemic species.

Fig. 3 Altitudinal patterns of species richness of different plants. (a) All plants; (b) Pteridophytes; (c) Gymnosperm; (d) Herbs; (e) Evergreen woody plants; (f) Deciduous woody plants.

Fig. 4 Altitudinal range size patterns of all species, endemic species and invasive species of plants. (a) All plant species; (b) Endemic species; (c) Invasive species. (1) Stevens method; (2) Pagel’s method; (3) Mid-point method; (4) Cross-species method.

Fig. 5 Test of Rapoport’s rule for different plant species groups alonge the elevational gradient. (a) All plants; (b) Pteridophytes; (c) Gymnosperm; (d) Herbs; (e) Evergreen woody plants; (f) Deciduous woody plants. (1) Stevens method; (2) Pagel’s method; (3) Mid-point method; (4) Cross-species method.

Fig. 6 A comparison of altitudinal patterns of species richness between Taiwan and other mountains with a similar latitude.

References 61

[1]	Bhattarai KR, Vetaas OR (2003) Variation in plant species richness of different life forms along a subtropical elevation gradient in the Himalayas, east Nepal. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 12, 327-340.
[2]	Brown JH, Kodric-Brown A (1977) Turnover rates in insular biogeography, effect of immigration on extinction. Ecology, 58, 445-449.
[3]	Cai F (蔡飞), Hsu KS (徐国士) (2002) Discussion of plant biodiversity and its characteristics in Taiwan. Journal of Zhejiang University (Science Edition) (浙江大学学报(理学版)), 29, 184-189. (in Chinese with English abstract)
[4]	Colwell RK (2008) RangeModel: tools for exploring and assessing geometric constraints on species richness (the mid-domain effect) along transects. Ecography, 31, 4-7.
[5]	Colwell RK, Hurtt GC (1994) Nonbiological gradients in species richness and a spurious Rapoport effect. The American Naturalist, 144, 570-595.
[6]	Colwell RK, Rahbek C, Gotelli NJ (2004) The mid-domain effect and species richness patterns: what have we learned so far? The American Naturalist, 163, E1-E23.
[7]	Currie DJ, Kerr JT (2008) Tests of the mid-domain hypothesis: a review of the evidence. Ecological Monographs, 78, 3-18.
[8]	Currie DJ (1991) Energy and large-scale patterns of animal- and plant-species richness. The American Naturalist, 137, 27-49.
[9]	Editorial Committee of the Flora of Taiwan (1993-2003). Flora of Taiwan, 2nd edn.Vols.1-6. Department of Botany, National Taiwan University, Taipei.
[10]	Fang BZ (方碧真), Zhuo ZD (卓正大) (1995) Basic features of seed plant flora in Taiwan area. Tropical Geography (热带地理), 15, 263-271. (in Chinese with English abstract)
[11]	Fang JY (方精云), Shen ZH (沈泽昊), Cui HT (崔海亭) (2004) Ecological characteristics of mountains and research issues of mountain ecology. Biodiversity Science (生物多样性), 12, 10-19. (in Chinese with English abstract)
[12]	Gaston KJ (2000) Global patterns in biodiversity. Nature, 405, 220-227.
[13]	Gaston KJ (2003) The structure and dynamics of geographic ranges, pp.66-123. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
[14]	Gaston KJ (2005) Biodiversity and extinction: species and people. Progress in Physical Geography, 29, 239-247.
[15]	Gaston KJ, Blackburn TM, Spicer JI (1998) Rapoport’s rule: time for an epitaph? Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 13, 70-74. URL PMID
[16]	Grytnes J-A, Beaman JH (2006) Elevational species richness patterns for vascular plants on Mount Kinabalu, Borneo. Journal of Biogeography, 33, 1838-1849.
[17]	Grytnes J-A, Beaman JH, Romdal TS, Rahbek C (2008) The mid-domain effect matters: simulation analyses of range-size distribution data from Mount Kinabalu, Borneo. Journal of Biogeography, 35, 2138-2147.
[18]	Grytnes JA, Vetaas OR (2002) Species richness and altitude: A domparison between null models and interpolated plant species richness along the Himalayan altitudinal gradient, Nepal. The American Naturalist, 159, 294-304.
[19]	Hsieh C-F (2002) Composition, endemism and phytogeographical affinities of the Taiwan flora. Taiwania, 47, 298-310.
[20]	Huang WL (黄威廉) (1993) Vegetation of Taiwan (台湾植被). China Environmental Science Press, Beijing. ( in Chinese).
[21]	Jetz W, Rahbek C (2002) Geographic range size and determinants of avian species richness. Science, 297, 1548-1551. URL PMID
[22]	Kalmar A, Currie DJ (2006) A global model of island biogeography. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 15, 72-81.
[23]	Kitayama K, Aiba S-I (2002) Ecosystem structure and productivity of tropical rain forests along altitudinal gradients with contrasting soil phosphorus pools on Mount Kinabalu, Borneo. Journal of Ecology, 90, 37-51.
[24]	Körner C (2000) Why are there global gradients in species richness? Mountains might hold the answer. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 15, 513-514.
[25]	Körner C (2007) The use of ‘altitude’ in ecological research. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 22, 569-74. DOI URL PMID
[26]	Lai MZ (赖明洲) (2003) Plant in Taiwan (台湾植物). Chen- xing Press, Beijing. (in Chinese)
[27]	Lee PF, Ding TS, Hsu FH, Geng S (2004) Breeding bird species richness in Taiwan: distribution on gradients of elevation, primary productivity and urbanization. Journal of Biogeography, 31, 307-314.
[28]	Letcher AJ, Harvey PH (1994) Variation in geographical range size among mammals of the Palearctic. The American Naturalist, 144, 30-42.
[29]	Li ZY (李振宇), Wang YZ (王印政) (2004) Plants of Gesneriaceae in China (中国苦苣苔科植物). Henan Science and Technology Publishing House, Zhengzhou. (in Chinese)
[30]	Liang J (梁军), Shen ZH (沈泽昊) (2010) On the test of Rapoport effect, algorithm comparison, and weakening of mid-domain effect―with a case study on the seed plants in Mt. Wuliang, Yunnan Province. Journal of Mountain Research (山地学报), 28, in press. (in Chinese with English abstract)
[31]	Lin ZG (林之光) (1995) Climatology of Orographic Precipitation (地形降水气候学). Science Press, Beijing. (in Chinese)
[32]	Lomolino MV (2000) A call for a new paradigm of island biogeography. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 9, 1-6.
[33]	Lomolino MV (2001) Elevation gradients of species-density: historical and prospective views. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 10, 3-13.
[34]	Lu AM (路安民) (2001) Origin, diversification and relationships of primitive angiosperm on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, China. Acta Botanica Yunnanica (云南植物研究), 23, 269-277. (in Chinese with English abstract)
[35]	MacArthur RH, Wilson EO (1967) The Theory of Island Biogeography, pp.203. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey.
[36]	Nogués-Bravo D, Araújo MB, Romdal T, Rahbek C (2008) Scale effects and human impact on the elevational speciesrichness gradients. Nature, 453, 216-219. DOI URL PMID
[37]	Pagel MD, May RM, Collie AR (1991) Ecological aspects of the geographical distribution and diversity of mammalian species. The American Naturalist, 137, 791-815.
[38]	Qiu QA (邱清安), Lin BX (林博雄) (2004) The spatial pattern of temperature and precipitation estimated from monitoring station records. Atmospheric Science (大氣科學), 32, 329-350. (in Chinese)
[39]	Rahbek C (1995) The elevational gradient of species richness: a uniform pattern? Ecography, 18, 200-205.
[40]	Ribas CR, Schoereder JH (2006) Is the Rapoport effect widespread? Null models revisited. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 15, 614-624.
[41]	Rohde K, Heap M, Heap D (1993) Rapoport’s rule does not apply to marine teleosts and cannot explain latitudinal gradients in species richness. The American Naturalist, 142, 1-16.
[42]	Rohde K (1992) Latitudinal gradients in species diversity: the search for the primary cause. Oikos, 65, 514-527.
[43]	Ruggiero A, Werenkraut V (2007) One-dimensional analyses of Rapoport’s rule reviewed through meta-analysis. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 16, 401-414.
[44]	Sanders NJ, Moss J, Wagner D (2003) Patterns of ant species richness along elevational gradients in an arid ecosystem. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 12, 93-102.
[45]	Shen ZH (沈泽昊), Lu QY (卢绮妍) (2009) The Rapoport’s rule for the geographic patterns of species range size. Biodiversity Science (生物多样性), 17, 560-567. (in Chinese with English abstract)
[46]	Simerbloff DS, Wilson EO (1969) Experimental zoogeography of island: the colonization of empty island. Ecology, 50, 278-296.
[47]	Song YC, Xu GS (2003) A scheme of vegetation classification of Taiwan, China. Acta Botanica Sinica, 45, 883-895.
[48]	Song ZC (宋之琛), Huang F (黄翡) (2004) Cretaceous and Tertiary palynofloras in Taiwan area and its correlation with those in neighbouring coastal regions of mainland China. Journal of Tropical Oceanography (热带海洋学报), 23, 1-9. (in Chinese with English abstract)
[49]	Stevens GC (1989) The latitudinal gradients in geographical range: how so many species co-exist in the tropics. The American Naturalist, 133, 240-256.
[50]	Stevens GC (1992) The elevational gradient in altitudinal range: an extension of Rapoport’s latitudinal rule to altitude. The American Naturalist, 140, 893-911. DOI URL PMID
[51]	Tang ZY (唐志尧), Fang JY (方精云) (2004) A review on the elevational patterns of plant species diversity. Biodiversity Science (生物多样性), 12, 20-28. (in Chinese with English abstract)
[52]	Tang ZY (唐志尧), Fang JY (方精云), Zhang L (张玲) (2004) Patterns of woody plant species diversity along environmental gradients on Mt. Taibai, Qinling Mountains. Biodiversity Science (生物多样性), 12, 115-122. (in Chinese with English abstract)
[53]	Wang GH (王国宏) (2002) Species diversity of plant communities along an altitudinal gradient in the middle section of northern slopes of Qilian Mountains, Zhangye, Gansu, China. Biodiversity Science (生物多样性), 10, 7-14. (in Chinese with English abstract)
[54]	Wang Z, Tang Z, Fang J (2007) Altitudinal patterns of seed plant richness in the Gaoligong Mountains, south-east Tibet, China. Diversity and Distributions, 13, 845-854.
[55]	Whittaker RJ, Willis KJ, Field R (2001) Scale and species richness: towards a general, hierarchical theory of species diversity. Journal of Biogeography, 28, 453-470.
[56]	Willig MR, Kaufman DM, Stevens RD (2003) Latitudinal gradients of biodiversity: pattern, process, scale, and synthesis. Annual Review in Ecology, Evolution and Systematics, 34, 273-309.
[57]	Ying S-S (应绍舜) (1990) Alpine Plants in Taiwan. National Taiwan University, Internal data.
[58]	Ying TS (应俊生), Hsu KS (徐国士) (2002) An analysis of the flora of seed plants of Taiwan, China: its nature, characteristics, and relations with the flora of the mainland. Acta Phytotaxonomica Sinica (植物分类学报), 40, 1-51. (in Chinese with English abstract)
[59]	Zeng WB (曾文彬) (1993) The passage way of the flora migration on both sides of the Taiwan Strait in Pleistocene epoch. Acta Botanica Yunnanica (云南植物研究), 16, 107-110. (in Chinese with English abstract)
[60]	Zheng CY (郑成洋), Liu ZL (刘增力), Fang JY (方精云) (2004) Tree species diversity along altitudinal gradient on southeastern and northwestern slopes of Mt. Huanggang, Wuyi Mountains, Fujian, China. Biodiversity Science (生物多样性), 121, 63-74. (in Chinese with English abstract)
[61]	Zhu Y (朱源), Kang MY (康慕谊), Jiang Y (江源), Liu QR (刘全儒) (2008) Altitudinal pattern of species diversity in woody plant communities of Mountain Helan, northwestern China. Acta Phytoecologica Sinica (植物生态学报), 32, 574-581. (in Chinese with English abstract)