Phylogenetic plant community structure along elevation is lineage specific.

ABSTRACT: The trend of closely related taxa to retain similar environmental preferences mediated by inherited traits suggests that several patterns observed at the community scale originate from longer evolutionary processes. While the effects of phylogenetic relatedness have been previously studied within a single genus or family, lineage-specific effects on the ecological processes governing community assembly have rarely been studied for entire communities or flora. Here, we measured how community phylogenetic structure varies across a wide elevation gradient for plant lineages represented by 35 families, using a co-occurrence index and net relatedness index (NRI). We propose a framework that analyses each lineage separately and reveals the trend of ecological assembly at tree nodes. We found pre

SUBMITTER: Ndiribe C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3892358 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature