Diversity and distribution of Raunkiær's life forms in European vegetation

作者：Gabriele Midolo, Irena Axmanová, Jan Divíšek, Pavel Dřevojan, Zdeňka Lososová, Martin Večeřa, Dirk Nikolaus Karger, Wilfried Thuiller, Helge Bruelheide, Svetlana Aćić, Fabio Attorre, Idoia Biurrun, Steffen Boch, Gianmaria Bonari, Andraž Čarni, Alessandro Chiarucci, Renata Ćušterevska, Jürgen Dengler, Tetiana Dziuba, Emmanuel Garbolino, Ute Jandt, Jonathan Lenoir, Corrado Marcenò, Solvita Rūsiņa, Jozef Šibík, Željko Škvorc, Zvjezdana Stančić, Milica Stanišić‐Vujačić, Jens‐Christian Svenning, Grzegorz Swacha, Kiril Vassilev, Milan Chytrý · 发表于：Journal of Vegetation Science · 年份：2024 · DOI：10.1111/jvs.13229 · 被引用次数：44 · 研究领域：Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies、Botany and Plant Ecology Studies、Plant and animal studies

Abstract Aims The Raunkiær's system classifies vascular plants into life forms based on the position of renewal buds during periods unfavourable for plant growth. Despite the importance of Raunkiær's system for ecological research, a study exploring the diversity and distribution of life forms on a continental scale is missing. We aim to (i) map the diversity and distribution of life forms in European vegetation and (ii) test for effects of bioclimatic variables while controlling for habitat‐specific responses. Location Europe. Methods We used data on life forms of 8883 species recorded in 546,501 vegetation plots of different habitats (forest, grassland, scrub and wetland). For each plot, we calculated: (i) the proportion of species of each life form and (ii) the richness and evenness of life forms. We mapped these plot‐level metrics averaged across 50 km × 50 km grid cells and modelled their response to bioclimatic variables. Results Hemicryptophytes were the most widespread life form, especially in the temperate zone of Central Europe. Conversely, therophyte and chamaephyte species were more common in the Mediterranean as well as in the dry temperate regions. Moreover, chamaephytes were also more common in the boreal and arctic zones. Higher proportions of phanerophytes were found in the Mediterranean. Overall, a higher richness of life forms was found at lower latitudes while evenness showed more spatially heterogeneous patterns. Habitat type was the main discriminator fo...