Elevation gradient effects on grassland species diversity and phylogenetic in the two-river source forest region of the Altai Mountains, Xinjiang, China
Altitude, as a key environmental factor, shapes the spatial patterns of species diversity, phylogenetic diversity, and community phylogenetic structure. Studying grassland diversity and phylogenetic structure along altitudinal gradients helps clarify how altitude-driven environmental changes influen...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-02-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Plant Science |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2025.1487582/full |
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| author | Jing Che Jing Che Mao Ye Mao Ye Qingzhi He Qingzhi He Guoyan Zeng Guoyan Zeng Miaomiao Li Miaomiao Li Weilong Chen Weilong Chen Xiaoting Pan Xiaoting Pan Jiaorong Qian Jiaorong Qian Yexin Lv Yexin Lv |
| author_facet | Jing Che Jing Che Mao Ye Mao Ye Qingzhi He Qingzhi He Guoyan Zeng Guoyan Zeng Miaomiao Li Miaomiao Li Weilong Chen Weilong Chen Xiaoting Pan Xiaoting Pan Jiaorong Qian Jiaorong Qian Yexin Lv Yexin Lv |
| author_sort | Jing Che |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Altitude, as a key environmental factor, shapes the spatial patterns of species diversity, phylogenetic diversity, and community phylogenetic structure. Studying grassland diversity and phylogenetic structure along altitudinal gradients helps clarify how altitude-driven environmental changes influence community assembly, and reveal vertical patterns in community formation. This study examines grasslands at 1300–2500 m elevation in the Two-River Source Forest Area, Altai Mountains, Xinjiang. Six elevation gradients (200 m intervals) were surveyed with 90 grassland quadrats, documenting community characteristics and environmental data. The study analyzes the patterns of species composition, diversity, and phylogeny across different elevation gradients and explores their relationships with key environmental factors. The results indicate that the grassland species composition is dominated by species from the Poaceae, Rosaceae, and Asteraceae families, with Poa annua (annual bluegrass) being the dominant species within Poaceae. The species diversity along the elevation gradient exhibits a bimodal trend, with an initial increase, followed by a decrease, another increase, and finally a decline as the elevation rises. In contrast, phylogenetic diversity shows a unimodal pattern, characterized by an initial increase followed by a decline with increasing elevation. Although the phylogenetic structure did not exhibit a significant trend of transitioning from divergence to clustering along the altitudinal gradient, the overall phylogenetic pattern of grassland communities tended toward clustering. Further analysis reveals significant correlations between species diversity and environmental factors such as temperature, precipitation, forest cover, and soil moisture. However, no environmental factors were found to have a significant correlation with the phylogenetic indices. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e8dc32d0d6b24bb8afe0d7163a373b23 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1664-462X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Plant Science |
| spelling | doaj-art-e8dc32d0d6b24bb8afe0d7163a373b232025-02-04T06:32:08ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Plant Science1664-462X2025-02-011610.3389/fpls.2025.14875821487582Elevation gradient effects on grassland species diversity and phylogenetic in the two-river source forest region of the Altai Mountains, Xinjiang, ChinaJing Che0Jing Che1Mao Ye2Mao Ye3Qingzhi He4Qingzhi He5Guoyan Zeng6Guoyan Zeng7Miaomiao Li8Miaomiao Li9Weilong Chen10Weilong Chen11Xiaoting Pan12Xiaoting Pan13Jiaorong Qian14Jiaorong Qian15Yexin Lv16Yexin Lv17College of Geographical and Tourism, Xinjiang Normal University, Urumqi, ChinaXinjiang Laboratory of Lake Environment and Resources in Arid Zone, College of Geographical and Tourism, Xinjiang Normal University, Urumqi, ChinaCollege of Geographical and Tourism, Xinjiang Normal University, Urumqi, ChinaXinjiang Laboratory of Lake Environment and Resources in Arid Zone, College of Geographical and Tourism, Xinjiang Normal University, Urumqi, ChinaCollege of Geographical and Tourism, Xinjiang Normal University, Urumqi, ChinaXinjiang Laboratory of Lake Environment and Resources in Arid Zone, College of Geographical and Tourism, Xinjiang Normal University, Urumqi, ChinaCollege of Geographical and Tourism, Xinjiang Normal University, Urumqi, ChinaXinjiang Laboratory of Lake Environment and Resources in Arid Zone, College of Geographical and Tourism, Xinjiang Normal University, Urumqi, ChinaCollege of Geographical and Tourism, Xinjiang Normal University, Urumqi, ChinaXinjiang Laboratory of Lake Environment and Resources in Arid Zone, College of Geographical and Tourism, Xinjiang Normal University, Urumqi, ChinaCollege of Geographical and Tourism, Xinjiang Normal University, Urumqi, ChinaXinjiang Laboratory of Lake Environment and Resources in Arid Zone, College of Geographical and Tourism, Xinjiang Normal University, Urumqi, ChinaCollege of Geographical and Tourism, Xinjiang Normal University, Urumqi, ChinaXinjiang Laboratory of Lake Environment and Resources in Arid Zone, College of Geographical and Tourism, Xinjiang Normal University, Urumqi, ChinaCollege of Geographical and Tourism, Xinjiang Normal University, Urumqi, ChinaXinjiang Laboratory of Lake Environment and Resources in Arid Zone, College of Geographical and Tourism, Xinjiang Normal University, Urumqi, ChinaCollege of Geographical and Tourism, Xinjiang Normal University, Urumqi, ChinaXinjiang Laboratory of Lake Environment and Resources in Arid Zone, College of Geographical and Tourism, Xinjiang Normal University, Urumqi, ChinaAltitude, as a key environmental factor, shapes the spatial patterns of species diversity, phylogenetic diversity, and community phylogenetic structure. Studying grassland diversity and phylogenetic structure along altitudinal gradients helps clarify how altitude-driven environmental changes influence community assembly, and reveal vertical patterns in community formation. This study examines grasslands at 1300–2500 m elevation in the Two-River Source Forest Area, Altai Mountains, Xinjiang. Six elevation gradients (200 m intervals) were surveyed with 90 grassland quadrats, documenting community characteristics and environmental data. The study analyzes the patterns of species composition, diversity, and phylogeny across different elevation gradients and explores their relationships with key environmental factors. The results indicate that the grassland species composition is dominated by species from the Poaceae, Rosaceae, and Asteraceae families, with Poa annua (annual bluegrass) being the dominant species within Poaceae. The species diversity along the elevation gradient exhibits a bimodal trend, with an initial increase, followed by a decrease, another increase, and finally a decline as the elevation rises. In contrast, phylogenetic diversity shows a unimodal pattern, characterized by an initial increase followed by a decline with increasing elevation. Although the phylogenetic structure did not exhibit a significant trend of transitioning from divergence to clustering along the altitudinal gradient, the overall phylogenetic pattern of grassland communities tended toward clustering. Further analysis reveals significant correlations between species diversity and environmental factors such as temperature, precipitation, forest cover, and soil moisture. However, no environmental factors were found to have a significant correlation with the phylogenetic indices.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2025.1487582/fullbiodiversityspecies compositioncommunity phylogenetic diversitycommunity phylogenetic structureenvironmental factors |
| spellingShingle | Jing Che Jing Che Mao Ye Mao Ye Qingzhi He Qingzhi He Guoyan Zeng Guoyan Zeng Miaomiao Li Miaomiao Li Weilong Chen Weilong Chen Xiaoting Pan Xiaoting Pan Jiaorong Qian Jiaorong Qian Yexin Lv Yexin Lv Elevation gradient effects on grassland species diversity and phylogenetic in the two-river source forest region of the Altai Mountains, Xinjiang, China Frontiers in Plant Science biodiversity species composition community phylogenetic diversity community phylogenetic structure environmental factors |
| title | Elevation gradient effects on grassland species diversity and phylogenetic in the two-river source forest region of the Altai Mountains, Xinjiang, China |
| title_full | Elevation gradient effects on grassland species diversity and phylogenetic in the two-river source forest region of the Altai Mountains, Xinjiang, China |
| title_fullStr | Elevation gradient effects on grassland species diversity and phylogenetic in the two-river source forest region of the Altai Mountains, Xinjiang, China |
| title_full_unstemmed | Elevation gradient effects on grassland species diversity and phylogenetic in the two-river source forest region of the Altai Mountains, Xinjiang, China |
| title_short | Elevation gradient effects on grassland species diversity and phylogenetic in the two-river source forest region of the Altai Mountains, Xinjiang, China |
| title_sort | elevation gradient effects on grassland species diversity and phylogenetic in the two river source forest region of the altai mountains xinjiang china |
| topic | biodiversity species composition community phylogenetic diversity community phylogenetic structure environmental factors |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2025.1487582/full |
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