Change of functional diversity and community assembly of mycorrhizal plant along an altitudinal gradient in primary forests of Fanjing Mountain, Guizhou, China

doi:10.17521/cjpe.2024.0467

Abstract

Abstract:

Aims Community assembly processes based on the ecological niche theory and neutral theory is crucial to the biodiversity maintenance mechanism, which is one of the hotspots in forest ecology research. Mountainous areas are rich in biodiversity, yet relatively few studies have explored the patterns of functional diversity and community assembly of mycorrhizal plants along altitudinal gradients.
Methods In this study, based on eight 1 hm² dynamic monitoring plots established at an altitude of 600-2 100 m in Fanjing Mountain National Nature Reserve, we divided 261 woody plants with diameter at breast height (DBH) of ≥1 cm into three functional groups: arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) plants, ectomycorrhizal (EcM) plants, and ericoid mycorrhizal (ErM) plants. The change patterns of their community assembly process and functional diversity along the altitude gradients were analyzed, and the potential role of the assembly process in maintaining functional diversity was revealed.
Important findings The study showed that the functional diversity of the different mycorrhizal plants varied significantly with altitude, among which, the functional richness and functional dispersion of AM and EcM plants showed a significant decreasing trend with altitude, the community weighted means of leaf area and specific leaf area of AM and EcM plants showed a decreasing trend with altitude. The leaf dry matter content, leaf nitrogen and phosphorus content of EcM plants showed an increasing trend with altitude, while the leaf area, leaf dry matter and phosphorus content of ErM plants showed an increasing trend with altitude. The community assembly of three mycorrhizal plants were dominated by stochastic processes, in which the drift of ErM plants contributed more to community assembly than AM and EcM. The βNTI (beta nearest taxon index) of AM plants had no significant effect on the functional diversity, whereas it had a significant effect on the community weighted mean of functional traits of EcM and ErM plants. The βNTI had a significant positive effect on functional diversity of EcM and ErM plants, which maintained their functional diversity. In addition, soil nutrients (soil organic carbon, total nitrogen and hydrolysable nitrogen) content had a significant positive effect on the functional diversity of AM and EcM plants, but had a significant negative effect on the functional diversity of ErM plants. Altitude had a significant negative effect on AM and ErM plants, and a significant positive effect on EcM plants. The results of the study provide scientific basis for revealing the mechanism of biodiversity maintenance in the southwestern mountain ecosystems, which is of great significance for the protection and restoration of natural forests in the central subtropics.

Key words: ericoid mycorrhizal plants, arbuscular mycorrhizal plants, ectomycorrhizal plants, stochastic process, deterministic process, community weighted mean

GUO Zhi-Hong, YANG Ni, ZHANG Tao, LI Hai-Bo, TIAN Tai-An, HUANG Xiao-Bo, LI Cong, MA Si-Ju, SU Jian-Rong, LI Shuai-Feng. Change of functional diversity and community assembly of mycorrhizal plant along an altitudinal gradient in primary forests of Fanjing Mountain, Guizhou, China[J]. Chin J Plant Ecol, 2025, 49(9): 1410-1423.

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URL: https://www.plant-ecology.com/EN/10.17521/cjpe.2024.0467

https://www.plant-ecology.com/EN/Y2025/V49/I9/1410

Figures/Tables 7

Table 1 Plant diversity and community characteristics of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM), ectomycorrhizal (EcM) and ericoid mycorrhizal (ErM) plant species (mean ± SD)

菌根类型 Mycorrhizal type	海拔 Altitude (m)	平均胸径 Average diameter (cm)	平均高度 Average height (m)	多度 Abundance	香农-威纳指数 Shannon-Wiener index
丛枝菌根植物 Arbuscular mycorrhizal plant	600	4.47 ± 5.46^d	6.16 ± 6.09^d	3 424	0.24
	700	5.17 ± 6.87^c	7.23 ± 6.19^b	3 767	0.25
	850	5.65 ± 5.79^b	7.54 ± 6.36^a	4 195	0.28
	1 000	3.93 ± 4.09^e	6.13 ± 3.85^d	5 746	0.32
	1 050	5.25 ± 5.57^c	7.17 ± 6.07^b	3 455	0.24
	1 300	4.67 ± 5.85^d	6.27 ± 6.5c^d	4 002	0.27
	1 600	5.62 ± 7.39^b	5.24 ± 3.51^e	2 376	0.2
	2 100	8.91 ± 3.70^a	6.43 ± 3.00^c	3 249	0.24
	合计 Total	5.46 ± 5.59	6.52 ± 5.19	30 214	-
外生菌根植物 Ectomycorrhizal plant	600	12.68 ± 20.72^c	9.43 ± 9.40^d	404	0.22
	700	8.20 ± 12.34^e	8.19 ± 7.40^e	664	0.28
	850	8.44 ± 8.89^e	9.08 ± 7.27^de	422	0.22
	1 000	11.17 ± 11.01^d	11.56 ± 7.15^c	937	0.32
	1 050	22.90 ± 11.95^a	21.46 ± 10.42^a	481	0.23
	1 300	14.32 ± 10.95^b	13.48 ± 10.36^b	778	0.3
	1 600	13.65 ± 12.91^bc	9.04 ± 7.97^de	564	0.25
	2 100	13.25 ± 8.21^bc	8.04 ± 4.71^e	395	0.22
	合计 Total	13.08 ± 12.12	11.28 ± 8.09	4 645	-
杜鹃花类菌根植物 Ericoid mycorrhizal plant	600	4.61 ± 4.81^c	4.59 ± 2.49^cd	62	0.05
	700	7.07 ± 5.68^b	6.85 ± 3.59^b	26	0.05
	850	4.92 ± 2.68^c	5.05 ± 2.19^c	153	0.11
	1 000	2.35 ± 0.86^e	4.09 ± 1.36^e	641	0.28
	1 050	2.64 ± 1.00^d	4.47 ± 1.19^d	2 972	0.29
	1 300	2.54 ± 1.13^d	3.80 ± 1.58^f	735	0.29
	1 600	4.17 ± 7.41^c	4.60 ±1.71^d	41	0.05
	2 100	19.75 ± 1.51^a	9.80 ± 1.25^a	83	0.08
	合计 Total	6.00 ± 3.14	5.40 ± 1.92	4 713	-

Fig. 1 Functional diversity of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM), ectomycorrhizal (EcM), and ericoid mycorrhizal (ErM) plant species in relation to the altitudinal gradient. CWM, community weighted mean; FRic, functional richness index; FDis, functional dispersion index; LA, leaf area; LDMC, leaf dry matter content; LN, leaf nitrogen content; LP, leaf phosphorus content; Rao’Q, Rao’s quadratic entropy index; SLA, specific leaf area. p < 0.05 indicates significant difference; p > 0.05 indicates no significant difference.

Fig. 2 Community assembly processes (Beta Nearest Taxon Index (βNTI) and Beta Net Relatedness Index (βNRI)) and relationships with altitudinal gradients for arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) (A, D), ectomycorrhizal (EcM) (B, E), and ericoid mycorrhizas (ErM) (C, F) plant species. p < 0.001 indicates significant difference.

Fig. 3 Linear relationships between functional richness index (FRic), functional dispersion index (FDis), Rao’s quadratic entropy index (Rao’Q) and community assembly processes (Beta Nearest Taxon Index, βNTI) for arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM), ectomycorrhizal (EcM), and ericoid mycorrhizal (ErM) plant species. p < 0.05 indicates significant differences; p > 0.05 indicates no significant differences. Different colored dots represent different altitudes; the darker color, the higher altitude.

Fig. 4 Linear relationships between community-weighted means (CWMLA, CWMSLA, CWMLDMC, CWMLN, CWMLP) and Beta Nearest Taxon Index, βNTI) for arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM), ectomycorrhizal (EcM), and ericoid mycorrhizal (ErM) plant species. p < 0.05 indicates significant differences; p > 0.05 indicates no significant difference. CWM, community weighted mean; LA, leaf area; LDMC, leaf dry matter content; LN, leaf nitrogen content; LP, leaf phosphorus content; SLA, specific leaf area. Different colored dots represent different altitudes; the darker color, the higher altitude.

Fig. 5 Principal component (PC) analysis of the functional diversity of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM), ectomycorrhizal (EcM), and ericoid mycorrhizal (ErM) plant species, along with soil nutrient variables, across the altitudinal gradient. AK, available potassium content; AP, available phosphoru content; CWM, community weighted mean; HN, hydrolysable nitrogen content; LA, leaf area; LDMC, leaf dry matter content; LN, leaf nitrogen content; LP, leaf phosphorus content; SLA, specific leaf area; SOC, soil organic carbon content; TK, total potassium content; TN, total nitrogen content; TP, total phosphorus content.

Fig. 6 Structural equation model showing the combined effects and standardized path coefficients of altitude, PC1 of soil nutrients contents, aboveground biomass (AGB), and community assembly (Beta Nearest Taxon Index, βNTI) on the functional diversity of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM), ectomycorrhizal (EcM), and ericoid mycorrhizal (ErM) plant species. Green lines represent positive effects and red lines represent negative effects. Dashed lines indicate no significant effect (p > 0.05), and solid lines indicate significant effect (p < 0.05). *, p < 0.05; **, p < 0.01; ***, p < 0.001. Soil nutrients including: HN, hydrolysable nitrogen content; SOC, soil organic carbon content; TN, total nitrogen content. GFI, model goodness of fit, GFI > 0.95 represents a better model fit; p > 0.05 in chi-square test, represents a better model fit.

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