Patterns and drivers of plant functional group dominance across the Western Hemisphere: a macroecological re-assessment based on a massive botanical dataset

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  • Engemann, Kristine
    • Other Affiliation: Section for Ecoinformatics and Biodiversity; Department of Bioscience; Aarhus University
  • Sandel, Brody
    • Other Affiliation: Section for Ecoinformatics and Biodiversity; Department of Bioscience; Aarhus University
  • Enquist, Brian J.
    • Other Affiliation: Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; University of Arizona
  • Jørgensen, Peter Møller
    • Other Affiliation: Missouri Botanical Garden
  • Kraft, Nathan
    • Other Affiliation: Department of Biology; University of Maryland
  • Marcuse-Kubitza, Aaron
    • Other Affiliation: National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis
  • Mcgill, Brian
    • Other Affiliation: School of Biology and Ecology; University of Maine
  • Morueta-Holme, Naia
    • Other Affiliation: Integrative Biology; University of California - Berkeley; 3040 VLSB
  • Peet, Robert K.
    • Other Affiliation: Department of Biology CB#3280; University of North Carolina
  • Violle, Cyrille
    • Other Affiliation: CEFE UMR 5175; CNRS - Université de Montpellier; Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier - EPHE
  • Wiser, Susan
    • Other Affiliation: Landcare Research
  • Svenning, Jens-Christian
    • Other Affiliation: Section for Ecoinformatics and Biodiversity; Department of Bioscience; Aarhus University
Abstract
  • Plant functional group dominance has been linked to climate, topography and anthropogenic factors. Here, we assess existing theory linking functional group dominance patterns to their drivers by quantifying the spatial distribution of plant functional groups at a 100-km grid scale. We use a standardized plant species occurrence dataset of unprecedented size covering the entire New World. Functional group distributions were estimated from 3 648 533 standardized occurrence records for a total of 83 854 vascular plant species, extracted from the Botanical Information and Ecology Network (BIEN) database. Seven plant functional groups were considered, describing major differences in structure and function: epiphytes; climbers; ferns; herbs; shrubs; coniferous trees; and angiosperm trees. Two measures of dominance (relative number of occurrences and relative species richness) were analysed against a range of hypothesized predictors. The functional groups showed distinct geographical patterns of dominance across the New World. Temperature seasonality and annual precipitation were most frequently selected, supporting existing hypotheses for the geographical dominance of each functional group. Human influence and topography were secondarily important. Our results support the prediction that future climate change and anthropogenic pressures could shift geographical patterns in dominance of plant functional groups, with probable consequences for ecosystem functioning.
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  • Article
Rights statement
  • In Copyright
Journal title
  • Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society
Journal volume
  • 180
Journal issue
  • 2
Page start
  • 141
Page end
  • 160
Language
  • English
ISSN
  • 1095-8339
  • 0024-4074

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