Spatial distribution patterns and driving factors of understory vegetation species diversity on northeastern Tibetan Plateau
Understory vegetation diversity plays a crucial role in stabilizing forest communities and shaping ecosystem structure and function. Understanding its geographic patterns and underlying mechanisms is essential. This study examined species richness and Shannon entropy of shrubs and herbs in understor...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2025-01-01
|
| Series: | Ecological Indicators |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X24014560 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1832576579858857984 |
|---|---|
| author | Yanwen Hu Jingyuan He Beibei Chen Senxuan Lin Wennong Kuang Xiuhai Zhao Chunyu Zhang |
| author_facet | Yanwen Hu Jingyuan He Beibei Chen Senxuan Lin Wennong Kuang Xiuhai Zhao Chunyu Zhang |
| author_sort | Yanwen Hu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Understory vegetation diversity plays a crucial role in stabilizing forest communities and shaping ecosystem structure and function. Understanding its geographic patterns and underlying mechanisms is essential. This study examined species richness and Shannon entropy of shrubs and herbs in understory layers of the northeastern Tibetan Plateau. Diversity indices in the shrub layer were positively correlated with latitude, displayed a U-shaped relationship with aspect, and negatively correlated with elevation. Topographical factor, particularly elevation, along with dissolved organic nitrogen (DON), significantly reduced shrub species richness (SD0) and Shannon entropy (SD1), while coefficient of variation of tree height (CVH) had a significantly positive impact. In contrast, herb layer diversity indices showed the opposite trends, with negative correlations to latitude and positive correlations with elevation. Herb species richness (HD0) and Shannon entropy (HD1) were primarily negatively influenced by latitude, number of stand stems (N) and CVH, while available potassium (AK) had a positive influence. These findings highlight the diverse impacts of environmental and biotic factors on understory diversity on the Tibetan Plateau, providing insights for more effective conservation strategies in alpine ecosystems. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-d5a8857ad1c34bab89ce6664c7815c51 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1470-160X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ecological Indicators |
| spelling | doaj-art-d5a8857ad1c34bab89ce6664c7815c512025-01-31T05:10:25ZengElsevierEcological Indicators1470-160X2025-01-01170112999Spatial distribution patterns and driving factors of understory vegetation species diversity on northeastern Tibetan PlateauYanwen Hu0Jingyuan He1Beibei Chen2Senxuan Lin3Wennong Kuang4Xiuhai Zhao5Chunyu Zhang6Research Centre of Forest Management Engineering of State Forestry and Grassland Administration, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China; Sichuan Provincial Institute of Forestry and Grassland Inventory and Planning, 610081 Chengdu, Sichuan, ChinaResearch Centre of Forest Management Engineering of State Forestry and Grassland Administration, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, ChinaResearch Centre of Forest Management Engineering of State Forestry and Grassland Administration, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, ChinaGuangdong Academy of Forestry, Guangzhou 510520, China; Research Centre of Forest Management Engineering of State Forestry and Grassland Administration, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, ChinaResearch Centre of Forest Management Engineering of State Forestry and Grassland Administration, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China; Corresponding author.Research Centre of Forest Management Engineering of State Forestry and Grassland Administration, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, ChinaResearch Centre of Forest Management Engineering of State Forestry and Grassland Administration, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, ChinaUnderstory vegetation diversity plays a crucial role in stabilizing forest communities and shaping ecosystem structure and function. Understanding its geographic patterns and underlying mechanisms is essential. This study examined species richness and Shannon entropy of shrubs and herbs in understory layers of the northeastern Tibetan Plateau. Diversity indices in the shrub layer were positively correlated with latitude, displayed a U-shaped relationship with aspect, and negatively correlated with elevation. Topographical factor, particularly elevation, along with dissolved organic nitrogen (DON), significantly reduced shrub species richness (SD0) and Shannon entropy (SD1), while coefficient of variation of tree height (CVH) had a significantly positive impact. In contrast, herb layer diversity indices showed the opposite trends, with negative correlations to latitude and positive correlations with elevation. Herb species richness (HD0) and Shannon entropy (HD1) were primarily negatively influenced by latitude, number of stand stems (N) and CVH, while available potassium (AK) had a positive influence. These findings highlight the diverse impacts of environmental and biotic factors on understory diversity on the Tibetan Plateau, providing insights for more effective conservation strategies in alpine ecosystems.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X24014560Biotic factorTopographic factorEdaphic factorSpecies richnessShannon entropyUnderstory |
| spellingShingle | Yanwen Hu Jingyuan He Beibei Chen Senxuan Lin Wennong Kuang Xiuhai Zhao Chunyu Zhang Spatial distribution patterns and driving factors of understory vegetation species diversity on northeastern Tibetan Plateau Ecological Indicators Biotic factor Topographic factor Edaphic factor Species richness Shannon entropy Understory |
| title | Spatial distribution patterns and driving factors of understory vegetation species diversity on northeastern Tibetan Plateau |
| title_full | Spatial distribution patterns and driving factors of understory vegetation species diversity on northeastern Tibetan Plateau |
| title_fullStr | Spatial distribution patterns and driving factors of understory vegetation species diversity on northeastern Tibetan Plateau |
| title_full_unstemmed | Spatial distribution patterns and driving factors of understory vegetation species diversity on northeastern Tibetan Plateau |
| title_short | Spatial distribution patterns and driving factors of understory vegetation species diversity on northeastern Tibetan Plateau |
| title_sort | spatial distribution patterns and driving factors of understory vegetation species diversity on northeastern tibetan plateau |
| topic | Biotic factor Topographic factor Edaphic factor Species richness Shannon entropy Understory |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X24014560 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT yanwenhu spatialdistributionpatternsanddrivingfactorsofunderstoryvegetationspeciesdiversityonnortheasterntibetanplateau AT jingyuanhe spatialdistributionpatternsanddrivingfactorsofunderstoryvegetationspeciesdiversityonnortheasterntibetanplateau AT beibeichen spatialdistributionpatternsanddrivingfactorsofunderstoryvegetationspeciesdiversityonnortheasterntibetanplateau AT senxuanlin spatialdistributionpatternsanddrivingfactorsofunderstoryvegetationspeciesdiversityonnortheasterntibetanplateau AT wennongkuang spatialdistributionpatternsanddrivingfactorsofunderstoryvegetationspeciesdiversityonnortheasterntibetanplateau AT xiuhaizhao spatialdistributionpatternsanddrivingfactorsofunderstoryvegetationspeciesdiversityonnortheasterntibetanplateau AT chunyuzhang spatialdistributionpatternsanddrivingfactorsofunderstoryvegetationspeciesdiversityonnortheasterntibetanplateau |