Climatic effects on plant species distribution within the forest–steppe ecotone in northern C hina

作者：Hongyan Liu, Yi Yin, Qiuyi Wang, Siyuan He · 发表于：Applied Vegetation Science · 年份：2014 · DOI：10.1111/avsc.12139 · 被引用次数：25 · 研究领域：Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies、Botany and Plant Ecology Studies、Species Distribution and Climate Change

Abstract Questions As a narrow belt extending from the northern to the southern edges of the temperate forest zone, there is not only a strong temperature gradient and a long geographic distance but also a very sharp precipitation gradient in the temperate forest–steppe in northern China at a regional scale. Patches of forest are scattered in the steppe matrix. At the local scale, each forest patch shows a climatic gradient from patch centre to its edge and to the open steppe. How do these climatic gradients determine plant species distribution for the forest and steppe within this ecotone? Location The temperate forest–steppe ecotone in northern China. Methods Species were recorded in paired plots of forest and steppe at 68 sites. t ‐tests were conducted to show differences in floristic composition among forest types. Mantel tests were applied to correlate site‐level floristic distances with geographic and climatic distances for forest and steppe separately as well as for their combination. Floristic differences between paired plots of forest and steppe at each site were correlated to MAT , MAP and geographic factors at that site. Results There was no significant floristic difference in the understorey of forests dominated by Betula platyphylla, B. dahurica or Populus davidiana. Quercus mongolica forests, however, were floristically dissimilar to the other forest types. Floristic distance of both forests and steppes were significantly correlated with Δ MAT and geographic dis...