Species-area relationship in biological communities

doi:10.3724/SP.J.1003.2009.09144

Abstract

Abstract:

The manner in which species richness increases with increasing sampling area is among the important laws of ecology. However, forms and parameters of the species-area relationships vary depending on sampling methods, climate, and spatial scales. Because the species-area relationships connect biodiversity at different scales, they are used for estimating species richness at local or regional scales, and for assessing regional biodiversity losses. Here, we review recent developments in the forms, spatial variation in parameters, applications, and scale-dependence of species-area relationships. As a case study, we used species-area relationships to estimate number of plant species in different regions of the Qinling Mountains, and found that the well-consistent estimated and recorded numbers of species were achieved for different nature reserves in the Qinling Mountains.

Key words: scale, richness estimate, species-area relationship

Zhiyao Tang, Xiujuan Qiao, Jingyun Fang. Species-area relationship in biological communities[J]. Biodiv Sci, 2009, 17(6): 549-559.

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URL: https://www.biodiversity-science.net/EN/10.3724/SP.J.1003.2009.09144

https://www.biodiversity-science.net/EN/Y2009/V17/I6/549

Figures/Tables 4

Fig. 1 Three types of species-area relationships. A, B, C, represent nested plots, quadrates combination, and isolated patches, respectively; and a, b, c, represent the corresponding species-area curves (revised from Scheiner, 2003).

Fig. 2 The frequency distribution of slopes of species-area relationship for 1,472 nested plots in southwest North America. The dashed line represents the mean slope (0.372), the solid lines (0.217, 0.538) are the threshold with 95% confidence (Fridley et al., 2005).

Fig. 3 Species-area relationship and main factors influencing the slopes at different scales. The power-law species area relationship showed three phases: large z-values at micro-scale (with plot area, AP, much smaller than the mean range size, AR); small z-values at the meso-scale (AP smaller than AR), and large z-values at the macro-scale (AP larger than AR) (revised from Allen & White, 2003).

Fig. 4 Species-area relationships of different mountains in the Qinling Mountains. The x axis shows area indicated as no. of plots (each with an area of 600 m2).

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