Species’ geographical range, environmental range and traits lead to specimen collection preference of dominant plant species of grasslands in Northern China

Many different factors,such as species traits,socio-economic factors,geographical and environmental factors,can lead to specimen collection preference.This study aims to determine whether grassland specimen collection in China is preferred by species traits(i.e.,plant height,flowering and fruiting period),environmental range(i.e.,the temperature and precipitation range)and geographical range(i.e.,distribution range and altitudinal range).Ordinary least squares models and phylogenetic generalized linear mixed models were used to analyze the relationships between specimen number and the explanatory variables.Random Forest models were then used to find the most parsimonious multivariate model.The results showed that interannual variation in specimen number between 1900 and 2020 was considerable.Specimen number of these species in southeast China was notably lower than that in northwest China.Environmental range and geographical range of species had significant positive correlations with specimen number.In addition,there were relatively weak but significant associations between specimen number and species trait(i.e.,plant height and flowering and fruiting period).Random Forest models indicated that distribution range was the most important variable,followed by flowering and fruiting period,and altitudinal range.These findings suggest that future floristic surveys should pay more attention to species with small geographical range,narrow environmental range,short plant height,and short flowering and fruiting period.The correction of specimen collection preference will also make the results of species distribution model,species evolution and other works based on specimen data more accurate.

Comparison of growth and nutrient uptake capacities of three dominant species of Qinhuangdao green tides

Since 2015, green tides have been blooming in offshore waters of Qinhuangdao, with serious impacts on the local ecological environment and tourism. Ulva australis, Bryopsis plumosa, and U. prolifera are the dominant species of Qinhuangdao green tides, following a sequential succession pattern. Ulva prolifera is the dominant species,with the highest biomass and the greatest influence on the local ecological environment. To study the reason of green tide dominant species succession and U. profilera became the dominant species with the largest biomass,we compared and analyzed the growth and nutrient uptake capacity of the three algae. The results showed that temperature significantly affects the growth of the three species. Within the temperature range of the experimental setup, the optimum temperature for the growth of U. australis, B. plumosa and U. profilera is10℃, 15℃, and 20–25℃, respectively. Combined with the temperature variation trend during green tide bloom development, we believe that temperature is the key environmental factor for the succession of the dominant species. Ulva prolifera has a higher growth rate than U. australis and B. plumosa under the same nitrate,ammonium, and phosphate levels. Significant differences in the maximum absorption rate(R_(max)) and R_(max)/Ks(the relationship between uptake rate and substrate concentration) values indicated that U. prolifera had an apparent competitive advantage over U. australis and B. plumosa regarding nutrient uptake. Therefore, the strong growth and nutrient uptake capacities of U. prolifera might be the main reason for becoming the dominant species with the largest biomass in Qinhuangdao green tides.

Aviary measurements of dominance and affiliation between members of mixed-species birds flocks in southern China

In mutualistic interactions,all parties are usually considered to benefit;yet there may be asymmetries in mutualisms where some partners/individuals benefit more than others.Such is thought to be the case in mixedspecies flocks of birds,where following species are thought to benefit more than leading species,and leading species may not be able to escape the association if they are subordinate to other species.We measured dominance and affiliation patterns of a mixed-species flock system of southern China in an aviary where these variables could be measured in a standardized way.In eight wild-caught flocks,the leading species,David’s Fulvetta(Alcippe davidi),was usually among the more subordinate flock members(ranking 9 of 13 species,with the the most dominant species ranked number one,and dominance measured by normalized David’s scores).Dominance was strongly influenced by body mass,and not by bill length or the number of individuals.Female fulvettas in particular tended to be among the most subordinate individuals in the flock.There was evidence of a negative relationship between a species pair’s affiliation,measured as the percentage of all observations in which these two species were found perching together,and their difference in ranking in the dominance hierarchy,particularly when some ground species,which are not likely to remain in flocks long term,were removed from the analysis.Species pairs that had more pronounced differences in their dominance rankings were less likely to be affiliated,which is consistent with the idea that subordinate species may avoid dominants.David’s Fulvetta is a strong information provider,so other species are likely benefitted in this relationship.Our data suggest one reason that fulvettas stay in flocks is that they may be subordinate and therefore have little control over who associates with them.

Distribution of Dominant Zooplankton Species Along a Latitudinal Gradient in China Sea During Spring

Dominant species of zooplankton community vary with latitude. Though China possesses a vast coastal area in northwestern Pacific, studies on the latitudinal dominant species gradient are rare. We collected zooplankton samples from Haizhou Bay(34.56?–35.19?N, 119.51?–120.30?E), Yueqing Bay(28.14?–28.38?N, 121.10?–121.21?E) and Dongshan Bay(23.65?–23.90?N, 117.45?–117.60?E) in May 2012 and May 2013 to preliminarily characterize the latitudinal dominant species distribution. All the samples were collected vertically using a 0.505 mm mesh plankton net with 0.8 m in mouth diameter from bottom to surface. Calanus sinicus, Aidanosagitta crassa, Labidocera euchaeta, Zonosagitta nagae, Acartia pacifica and Paracalanus parvus were found to be dominant. C. sinicus was the most dominant species and the unique one occurred in all three bays. With latitude decreasing, both the abundance and proportion of C. sinicus declined sharply. Cluster analysis showed that the 6 dominant species could be divided into 3 groups, based on their occurrences in the three bays. Our results suggested that the distribution of dominant species along the coast of China has a significant latitudinal gradient. C. sinicus which widely distributes in the coastal water of the northwestern Pacific can well adapt to the temperature at different latitudes. The high abundance in Haizhou Bay indicated that C. sinicus was an exemplary warm-temperate species, and more commonly occurs in the north of China seas. The ecological characteristics of dominant species change from warm-temperate type in high-latitudinal bays to warm water type in low-latitudinal bays.

Seasonal Changes in Phytoplankton Biomass and Dominant Species in the Changjiang River Estuary and Adjacent Seas:General Trends Based on Field Survey Data 1959-2009

The characteristics of seasonal variation in phytoplankton biomass and dominant species in the Changjiang River Estuary and adjacent seas were discussed based on field investigation data from 1959 to 2009. The field data from 1981 to 2004 showed that the Chlorophyll-a concentration in surface seawater was between 0.4 and 8.5 μg dm-3. The seasonal changes generally presented a bimodal trend, with the biomass peaks occurring in May and August, and Chlorophyll-a concentration was the lowest in winter. Seasonal biomass changes were mainly controlled by temperature and nutrient levels. From the end of autumn to the next early spring, phytoplankton biomass was mainly influenced by temperature, and in other seasons, nutrient level(including the nutrient supply from the terrestrial runoffs) was the major influence factor. Field investigation data from 1959 to 2009 demonstrated that diatoms were the main phytoplankton in this area, and Skeletonema costatum, Pseudo-nitzschia pungens, Coscinodiscus oculus-iridis, Thalassinoema nitzschioides, Paralia sulcata, Chaetoceros lorenzianus, Chaetoceros curvisetus, and Prorocentrum donghaiense Lu were common dominant species. The seasonal variations in major dominant phytoplankton species presented the following trends: 1) Skeletonema(mainly S. costatum) was dominant throughout the year; and 2) seasonal succession trends were Coscinodiscus(spring) →Chaetoceros(summer and autumn) → Coscinodiscus(winter). The annual dominance of S. costatum was attributed to its environmental eurytopicity and long standing time in surface waters. The seasonal succession of Coscinodiscus and Chaetoceros was associated with the seasonal variation in water stability and nutrient level in this area. On the other hand, long-term field data also indicated obvious interannual variation of phytoplankton biomass and community structure in the Changjiang River Estuary and adjacent seas: average annual phytoplankton biomass and dinoflagellate proportion both presented increased trends during the 1950 s-2000 s.

Study on the dominant species of Pteropoda in East China Sea

Based on the data of four seasonal marine surveys in the East China Sea (23°30′–33°N, 118°30′–128°E)during 1997–2000, the author studied the ecological characters of dominant Pteropoda species in the area. Results showed that there were five dominant Pteropoda species, more in summer, less in autumn and even in other seasons. These species, though belonging warm water species, can be categorized into two dif- ferent groups in habitability. The first group was adapted in summer and autumn, including Creseis acicula, Desmopterus papilio and Creseis virgule, while the second group in winter and spring, represented by Limacina trochiformis and Agadina syimpsoni. The first group was more abundant than the second one. Besides, the first group contributed more to the Pteropoda abundance having higher occurrence frequency and aggregation intensity than the second. In horizontal distribution, the first group species reside in near- shore, and they could migrate to shallow place near estuary and aggregated in high density, while the second one was different: lower abundance, less occurred and aggregated because they were halophilic warm water species, and they were usually abundant in offshore area.

Diversity and dominant species of arthropods in different forests of Aershan,Inner Mongolia

Taking different forests in Aershan of Inner Mongolia as sample plots, diversity and dominant species of arthropods were studied. The results show that two classes, 17 orders, 68 families, 130 species and 3742 individuals were identified and 92.31% of total species appeared in natural forests, and 75.38% of total species appeared in plantations. The orders of Lepidoptera, Coleoptera, Diptera and Hymenoptera covered most of the collected arthropods. In different forest types, diversity indices is natural mixed forests （Betula platyphylla x Larix gmelinii）〉 natural pure B. platyphylla forests〉natural pure L. gmelinii forests〉plantations with pesticide treatment〉plantations without pesticide treatment. In natural forests, more than 70% of the arthropod families, species and individuals were distributed in shrub and herb layer, while in plantations 75% of the arthropod families, 78% of species and 80% of individuals were also distributed in shrub and herb layer. Lepidoptera, including Loxostege sticticalis （Linnaeus）, Chilo suppressalis （Walker） and Lymantria dispar （Linnaeus）, had the highest dominant degree.

Distribution of dominant species and abundance of nannofossils in surface sediments of the central and northern partsof the South China Sea──Comparison and discussion

The distributional trends and their controlling factors of dominant species and nannofossil abundance in sur face sediments of marginal and coastal seas in low to middle latitudes and high latitudes are discussed on the basis of theanalysis of 146 samples from the nothern and central parts of the South China Sea and of comparison between the resultsof current work and data from other seas.Despite significant variations in taxonomic composition between seas or between areas within one sea, there are somegeneral trends in nannofossil distribution of marginal and coastal seas. All those nannofossil assemblages in middle and lowlatitudes are dominated by two species: Gephyrocapsa oceanica and Emiliania huxleyi. Although the relative abundanceof these species may vary greatly from area to area, Gephyrocapsa oceanica in general prevails in nearshore or semiclosedenvironments, increasing in number towards the shoreline, while Emiliania huxleyi increases in relative abundance to wards continental slope and open ocean environments, decreasing in abundance again only in very deep-water, i. e., nearthe CCD. Similarly, the abundance of calcareous nannofossils, as a whole, is lower nearshore, increasing with water depthtowards the continental slope, and then decreasing again towards and near the CCD. In high latitudes, the dominantspecies are Emiliania huxleyi and Coccolithus pelagicus.There are two groups of factors controlling the nannofossil distribution in surface sediments: ecological factors, in cluding particularly water temperature, supply of nutrients; and sedimentological factors, including influx of terrigenousmaterials and deep-water carbonate dissolution.

Population differentiation in the dominant species(Ulva prolifera)of green tide in coastal waters of China

Since 2015,green tides with Ulva prolifera as the dominant species in the Qinhuangdao coastal waters have continued to occur.In this study,the relationship between green tides in Qinhuangdao and the Yellow Sea(setting sites in Rudong and Qingdao)was evaluated by genetic analyses of U.prolifera.Single nucleotide polymorphism(SNP)markers were used to analyze genetic diversity and genetic relationships among groups.Genetic differentiation was lower among floating U.prolifera populations in Rudong and Qingdao than in Qinhuangdao.The floating U.prolifera population had higher genetic diversity and polymorphism levels in Qingdao and Rudong than in Qinhuangdao.Physiological experiments showed that the growth rate and net buoyancy of floating U.prolifera were highest in Qinhuangdao and Qingdao,respectively,under the same environmental conditions(temperature and light).Overall,these findings showed that U.prolifera populations in the Qinhuangdao and Yellow Sea green tides(Rudong and Qingdao)differ significantly at the molecular and physiological levels.Therefore,the Qinhuangdao green tide is not correlated with the Yellow Sea green tide and has a different origin and development mode.This study provides insight into the mechanism underlying green tide blooms in coastal waters of China.

Adaptive genetic diversity of dominant species contributes to species co-existence and community assembly

The synthesis of evolutionary biology and community ecology aims to understand how genetic variation within one species can shape community properties and how the ecological properties of a community can drive the evolution of a species.A rarely explored aspect is whether the interaction of genetic variation and community properties depends on the species'ecological role.Here we investigated the interactions among environmental factors,species diversity,and the within-species genetic diversity of species with different ecological roles.Using high-throughput DNA sequencing,we genotyped a canopydominant tree species,Parashorea chinensis,and an understory-abundant species,Pittosporopsis kerrii,from fifteen plots in Xishuangbanna tropical seasonal rainforest and estimated their adaptive,neutral and total genetic diversity;we also surveyed species diversity and assayed key soil nutrients.Structural equation modelling revealed that soil nitrogen availability created an opposing effect in species diversity and adaptive genetic diversity of the canopy-dominant Pa.chinensis.The increased adaptive genetic diversity of Pa.chinensis led to greater species diversity by promoting co-existence.Increased species diversity reduced the adaptive genetic diversity of the dominant understory species,Pi.kerrii,which was promoted by the adaptive genetic diversity of the canopy-dominant Pa.chinensis.However,such relationships were absent when neutral genetic diversity or total genetic diversity were used in the model.Our results demonstrated the important ecological interaction between adaptive genetic diversity and species diversity,but the pattern of the interaction depends on the identity of the species.Our results highlight the significant ecological role of dominant species in competitive interactions and regulation of community structure.

Species diversity, regeneration and dominance as influenced by canopy gaps and their characteristics in tropical evergreen forests of Western Ghats, India

Canopy gaps play a significant role in maintaining structure and composition of tropical forests. This study was carried out in tropical evergreen forests of central Western Ghats in India to understand the influence of canopy gap size and the relationship of gap regime attributes to diversity measures and regeneration. The average gap size in the study area was found to be 396 m2 and around half of gaps were 4–8 years old. Gaps created by natural single tree fall were smaller in size but significantly higher in number. Diversity and regeneration of woody species were compared with canopy gaps and intact vegetation. Species richness and diversity was higher in gaps than in intact vegetation. Macaranga peltata, a shade intolerant species dominated gaps while intact vegetation was dominated by shade tolerant Kingiodendron pinnatum.Gap size significantly influenced species diversity and regeneration. Gap area and age were significantly and negatively correlated with diversity measures but positively correlated with regeneration. Among all the attributes of gaps, regeneration was significantly positively correlated with light intensity. Gaps maintained species diversity and favored regeneration of woody species. In addition to gap size and age, other gap ecological attributes also affected species diversity and regeneration.

The particular species determining spatial heterogeneity in shady and terrace on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau,China

Spatial patterns of plant species and patchy community are important properties in grasslands.However,research regarding spatial patterns of formed patches with various species has not fully advanced until now.Our purpose is to clarify differences in spatial pattern formed by species and community constructed under shady and terrace habitats.The three common Kobresia-Carex patches(Size 1,0.6–0.9 m^(2);Size 2,3.0–3.8 m^(2) and Size 3,6.5–8.8 m^(2))were selected in shady and terrace on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau,and corresponding quadrats of 1m1m,2m2m and 3m3m were placed for S1,S2 and S3 patches,respectively.The surveyed quadrats were divided into 20cm20cm large cells(L-cells),and further divided into four 10cm10cm small cells(S-cells).We used the binary occurrence system(presence/absence data)to record occurrences of all species in S-cells.The analysis shows that the power law model was well able to determine the spatial distribution pattern of species or patchy community in shady and terrace.All species and patches show aggregated distribution in shady and terrace habitats.In the shady habitat,the relative spatial heterogeneity(ε)of individual plant species was lowest at presence frequency(P)of 0.1–0.3,whereas in the terrace habitatεwas lowest at P<0.1,andεincreased monotonically with increasing P.For most dominant species,P andεvalues were higher in terrace than those in shady.We concluded that the dominant species largely determine spatial heterogeneity of the Kobresia-Carex patches,while companion and rare species have weak influence on the community-level heterogeneity in shady and terrace habitats.

Weed Species Composition in Paddy Field of Usur Town,Bade Local Government,Yobe State,Nigeria

Farmers are eager to know the various types of weeds in paddy fields.This will help in choosing the best weed management practice for effective weed control as well as reducing rice yield losses.The objectives of the study are to identify the weeds species affecting the rice field,to assess the composition of weeds species,to classify the weed species into different families,genera,species,common names,Hausa names,lifecycles,life forms,native/exotic species,propagation and uses,and to determine the dominant weed species.Random vegetation surveys were conducted.Weeds observed were photographed,and prepared as herbarium specimens.Standard key manuals and checklists were utilized for weed identification and later organized using the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group(APG)classification system.A total number of 72 plants species distributed within 16 families and 50 genera were inventoried.The annuals(66.67%)were the dominant weed followed by perennials(33.33%)while biennials were the least.The broad leaves were the dominant weed(44.61%)identified followed by Poaceae(27.7%)and Sedges(11.11%).Results obtained from this study could be useful in choosing the best management practice and in making a decision on the choice of herbicides and directing research towards improved weed control measures.

Assessing Tree Species Dominance along an Agro Ecological Gradient in the Mau Forest Complex, Kenya

Species relative dominance by basal area was assessed along an agro ecological gradient in the Mau Forest Complex (MFC). Trees were recorded per species and diameter at breast height (D1.3) for size class D1.3 ≥ 10 cm in 60 quarter hectare plots distributed in 7 agro ecological zones (AEZ) namely LH1, LH2, LH3, LH4, UH0, UH1 and UH2. Basal area per species was used to calculate species relative dominance i.e. the proportion of basal area by a species to the total basal area of the AEZ. Species associations were analysed as the group of highly ranked species in each AEZ. Sorensons similarity index was used to calculate the proportion of similar species among AEZ. Analysis of variance compared basal area among AEZ and Tukey’s multiple comparison test used to identify specific AEZ with differences. Tabernaemontana stapfiana (Britten) was ranked first in LH1, UH1 and UH0 with relative dominance values of 22.66%, 22.89% and 30.73% respectively. It was however not recorded in any other AEZs. Dombeya goetzenii (K. Schum) occurred in 6 of the 7 AEZs but had moderate dominance values in each of the 6 AEZs. The sum of dominance values per species in all AEZs indicated no species mono-dominance and different species dominated at different AEZs. Co-dominance resulted in species associations like Tabernaemontana-Allophylus-Eke-bergia-Albizia in LH1, Juniperus-Dombeya-Casearia-Prunus in LH2, Acokanthera-Cussonia-Olea-Teclea in LH4 and Tabernaemontana-Syzygium-Podocarpus-Neoboutonia in UH1. Species richness was highest in UH1 and had the highest similarity indices with those of other AEZs. The UH1 had a species similarity of 67% with LH1, 63% with LH2 and 56% with LH4. However, species in the very humid zone UH0 differed with those of the drier lower highland zones (UH0 vs LH3 and vs LH4 = 31% and 37% respectively). Basal area differed significantly among AEZ ( = 3.76) showing that they differ in stocking levels. Tukeys test showed that high potential zones of LH1, LH2, UH0, UH1 did not differ and similarly the lower potential zones;LH3 and LH4. The results show that the variation of species and forest stocking in the MFC is strongly influenced by AEZ and proposes future biomass mapping to be done along AEZ.

Dominant woody plant species recognition with a hierarchical model based on multimodal geospatial data for subtropical forests

Since the launch of the Google Earth Engine(GEE)cloud platform in 2010,it has been widely used,leading to a wealth of valuable information.However,the potential of GEE for forest resource management has not been fully exploited.To extract dominant woody plant species,GEE combined Sen-tinel-1(S1)and Sentinel-2(S2)data with the addition of the National Forest Resources Inventory(NFRI)and topographic data,resulting in a 10 m resolution multimodal geospatial dataset for subtropical forests in southeast China.Spectral and texture features,red-edge bands,and vegetation indices of S1 and S2 data were computed.A hierarchical model obtained information on forest distribution and area and the dominant woody plant species.The results suggest that combining data sources from the S1 winter and S2 yearly ranges enhances accuracy in forest distribution and area extraction compared to using either data source independently.Similarly,for dominant woody species recognition,using S1 winter and S2 data across all four seasons was accurate.Including terrain factors and removing spatial correlation from NFRI sample points further improved the recognition accuracy.The optimal forest extraction achieved an overall accuracy(OA)of 97.4%and a maplevel image classification efficacy(MICE)of 96.7%.OA and MICE were 83.6%and 80.7%for dominant species extraction,respectively.The high accuracy and efficacy values indicate that the hierarchical recognition model based on multimodal remote sensing data performed extremely well for extracting information about dominant woody plant species.Visualizing the results using the GEE application allows for an intuitive display of forest and species distribution,offering significant convenience for forest resource monitoring.

Diversity, Population Structure and Regeneration Status of Woody Species in Dry Woodlands Adjacent to <i>Molapo</i>Farms in Northern Botswana

The diversity, population structure and regeneration status of woody species were studied at Xobe and Shorobe Villages in northern Botswana. A total of 130 and 111 quadrats of 20 × 20 m size were laid down at 50 m intervals along parallel line transects at Xobe and Shorobe, respectively. A total of 46 woody species, 27 from Xobe and 41 from Shorobe were recorded. Of the 46 woody species, only 22 were recorded at both sites. Ten genera and six families were found only in Shorobe while one genus and one family were found only in Xobe. The diversity and evenness of woody species were 1.5 and 0.5 in Xobe, respectively, and 2.18 and 0.6 in Shorobe, respectively. The similarities of woody species in terms of richness of species, genera and families at the two sites were about 50%, 54% and 56%, respectively. The mean densities of woody species were 2745.7 ± 1.35 and 4269.7 ± 36 individuals ha-1 at Xobe and Shorobe, respectively. Despite differences in absolute numbers, the total mean densities of woody species at both sites did not exhibit significant (P = 0.35) differences. At both sites, woody species were dominated by individuals of only a few species, which also exhibited the highest values of important value index. The population structure patterns of the woody species were categorized into five groups. The species in the first group exhibited reverse J-shaped distribution, which indicates stable population structures. The species in the second group showed relatively good recruitment but the regeneration is negatively affected. The species in the other three groups exhibited hampered regeneration as a result of disturbances caused by humans, domestic animals and annual fires. The parameters assessed indicate the need for attention and appropriate management interventions by the relevant national authorities at various levels.

Age-Structure and Dynamic of Dominant Population of Castanopsis carlesii Community in Dujiangyan City, Sichuan, China

It analyses the Castanopsis carlesii, Camellia oleifera and Symplocos launnapopulations' status and role in the Castanopsis carlesii community basing on the study on thedominant population size structure, survival curve and dynamic. It reveals the Castanopsis carlesipopulation acts as a main role in the community which maintains the stabilization and renovation ofthe community. The populations of Camellia oleifera and Symplocos laurina act as a secondaryposition. The development and succession dynamics of dominant populations is also discussed. Themanagement method is preliminary drawn out which offers a theoretical basis for the evergreenbroad-leaved forest restoration and reconstruction in the lower hilly of the west edge of theSichuan basin.

Classifying forest inventory data into species-based forest community types at broad extents： exploring tradeoffs among supervised and unsupervised approaches

Background： Knowledge of the different kinds of tree communities that currently exist can provide a baseline for assessing the ecological attributes of forests and monitoring future changes. Forest inventory data can facilitate the development of this baseline knowledge across broad extents, but they first must be classified into forest community types. Here, we compared three alternative classifications across the United States using data from over 117,000 U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis （FIA） plots. Methods： Each plot had three forest community type labels： （1） ＂FIA＂ types were assigned by the FIA program using a supervised method; （2） ＂USNVC＂ types were assigned via a key based on the U.S. National Vegetation Classification; （3） ＂empirical＂ types resulted from unsupervised clustering of tree species information. We assessed the degree to which analog classes occurred among classifications, compared indicator species values, and used random forest models to determine how well the classifications could be predicted using environmental variables. Results： The classifications generated groups of classes that had broadly similar distributions, but often there was no one-to-one analog across the classifications. The Iongleaf pine forest community type stood out as the exception： it was the only class with strong analogs across all classifications. Analogs were most lacking for forest community types with species that occurred across a range of geographic and environmental conditions, such as Ioblolly pine types, indicator species metrics were generally high for the USNVC, suggesting that LJSNVC classes are floristically well-defined. The empirical classification was best predicted by environmental variables. The most important predictors differed slightly but were broadly similar across all classifications, and included slope, amount of forest in the surrounding landscape, average minimum temperature, and other climate variables. Conclusions： The classifications have similarities and differences that reflect their differing approaches and Dbjectives. They are most consistent for forest community types that occur in a relatively narrow range of Invironmental conditions, and differ most for types with wide-ranging tree species. Environmental variables at variety of scales were important for predicting all classifications, though strongest for the empirical and FIA, guggesting that each is useful for studying how forest communities respond to of multi-scale environmental processes, including global change drivers.