Exploring patterns of beta-diversity to test the consistency of biogeographical boundaries: A case study across forest plant communities of Italy.

ABSTRACT:

Aim

To date, despite their great potential biogeographical regionalization models have been mostly developed on descriptive and empirical bases. This paper aims at applying the beta-diversity framework on a statistically representative data set to analytically test the consistency of the biogeographical regionalization of Italian forests.

Location

Italy.

Taxon

Vascular plants.

Methods

Forest plant communities were surveyed in 804 plots made in a statistically representative sample of forest communities made by 201 sites of Italian forests across the three biogeographical regions of the country: Alpine, Continental, and Mediterranean. We conducted an ordination analysis and an analysis of beta-diversity, decomposing it into its turnover and nestedness components

SUBMITTER: Chiarucci A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6822039 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature