Environmental drivers of herbaceous plant diversity in the understory community of a warm-temperate forest.

ABSTRACT: Herbaceous plants are an essential component of forest diversity and driver of ecosystem processes. However, because the growth forms and life-history strategies of herbaceous plants differ from those of woody plants, it is unclear whether the mechanisms that drive patterns plant diversity and community structure in these two plant groups are the same. In this study, we determined whether herb and woody plant communities have similar patterns and drivers of alpha- and beta-diversity. We compared species richness, distribution, and abundance of herbs to woody seedlings in a 20-ha Donglingshan warm-temperate forest (Donglingshan FDP), China. We also determined whether variation in patterns of species richness and composition are better explained by environmental or spatial variables. Herbace

SUBMITTER: Deng T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11963103 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature