Determinants of high mountain plant diversity in the Chilean Andes: From regional to local spatial scales.

ABSTRACT: Mountains are considered excellent natural laboratories for studying the determinants of plant diversity at contrasting spatial scales. To gain insights into how plant diversity is structured at different spatial scales, we surveyed high mountain plant communities in the Chilean Andes where man-driven perturbations are rare. This was done along elevational gradients located at different latitudes taking into account factors that act at fine scales, including abiotic (potential solar radiation and soil quality) and biotic (species interactions) factors, and considering multiple spatial scales. Species richness, inverse of Simpson's concentration (Dequiv), beta-diversity and plant cover were estimated using the percentage of cover per species recorded in 34 sites in the different regions wit

SUBMITTER: Lopez-Angulo J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6034847 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature