The relative contributions of rare and common species to the patterns of species richness in plant communities

doi:10.17520/biods.2015239

Abstract

Abstract:

Understanding how overall patterns of spatial variation in species richness are affected by species distributional is one of the key questions in species diversity research. In the present study, we investigated the relative contributions of common and rare species to overall plant species richness in the Liaodong oak (Quercus wutaishanica) forest, which is located in the Ziwu Mountains of Loess Plateau, northwestern China. Based on species frequency distribution, we developed rank sequences of the most common to the most rare and the most rare to the most common species. We then correlated the rank sequences with cumulative species distributions. Our results showed that common species had a higher correlation with the cumulative species distribution in comparison with rare species. Moreover, common species had stronger effects on species α diversity and species β diversity as compared with rare species. Although the number of rare species was greater than that of common species, the overall species richness pattern was better predicted by common species than rare species. Therefore, common species were confirmed to be good indicators of species richness pattern and need to be protected priority.

Key words: α, diversity, β, diversity, species frequency distribution, Loess Plateau

Shixiong Wang, Liang Zhao, Na Li, Hua Guo, Xiaoan Wang, Renyan Duan. The relative contributions of rare and common species to the patterns of species richness in plant communities[J]. Biodiv Sci, 2016, 24(6): 658-664.

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URL: https://www.biodiversity-science.net/EN/10.17520/biods.2015239

https://www.biodiversity-science.net/EN/Y2016/V24/I6/658

Figures/Tables 4

Fig. 1 Species-frequency diagram for different layers of Quercus wutaishanica forests in the Ziwu Mountains of Loess Plateau

Fig. 2 Contribution of rare and common species to overall pattern in species richness. Subsets of species were assembled by ranking species by number of sampling plots occupied, starting with either the most common species or the rarest species. Successively rarer (or more common) species were added one by one to form nested subsets, until all species within a taxon were included in the last subset. Contribution of rare and common species to overall pattern in species richness measure as the sequential correlation between partial and full assemblage species richness patterns.

Fig. 3 Contribution of rare and common species to α diversity pattern in species richness. Subsets of species were assembled by ranking species by number of sampling plots occupied, starting with either the most common species or the rarest species. Successively rarer (or more common) species were added one by one to form nested subsets, until all species within a taxon were included in the last subset. Contributions of rare and common species to β diversity as measured by the change of variation in community composition between full and partial assemblage which was induced by the addition or removal of species.

Fig. 4 Contribution of rare and common species to β diversity pattern in species richness. Subsets of species were assembled by ranking species by number of sampling plots occupied, starting with either the most common species or the rarest species. Successively rarer (or more common) species were added one by one to form nested subsets, until all species within a taxon were included in the last subset. Contributions of rare and common species to β diversity as measured by the change of variation in community composition between full and partial assemblage which was induced by the addition or removal of species.

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