Evaluating soil acidification risk and its effects on biodiversity–ecosystem multifunctionality relationships in the drylands of China

Background:Soil acidifcationn caused by anthropogenic activities may aft soil biochemical cydling,bidiversity,productivity,and multiple eosystem-related functions in drylands.However,to date,such information is lacking to support this hypothesis.Methods Based on a transect survey of 78 naturally assembled shrub communities,we caloulated acid deposition flux in Northwest China and evaluated its likely ecological ffets by testing three altemnative hypotheses,namely:.nidche complementarity,mass ratio,and vegetation quantity hypotheses Rao's quadratic entopy and community-weighted mean traits were employed to represent the complementary aspect of niche complementarity and mass ratio effects,respectively.Resulbs:We observed that in the past four decades,the concentrations of exchangeable base cations in soil in Northwest China have decreased significantly to the extent of having faced the risk of depletion,whereas changes in the calium carbonate content and pH of soil were not significant.Adid deposition primani ly increased the aboweground biomass and shrub density in shrublands but had no sigmificant effect on shrub richness and ecasystem multifunctionality(EMF),indicating that acid deposition had positive but weak ecological effects on dryland ecosystems.Community wd ghted mean of functional traits(representing the mass ratio hypothesis)correlated negatively with EMF,whereas both Rao's quadratic entropy(representing the niche complementarity hypothesis)and aboveground biomass(representing the vegetation quantity hypothesis)correlated positively but insignifcantly with EMF.These biodiversity-EMF relationships highlight the fragility and instability of drylands relative to forest ecasystems.Concuions:The findings from this study serve as important reference points to understand the ris of soil acidification in arid regions and its impacts on biodiversity-EMF relationships.

Prey availability, prey selection, and trophic niche width in the lizard Psammodromus algirus along an elevational gradient

Mountains imply enormous environmental variation, with alpine habitats entailing harsh environ- ments, especially for ectotherms such as lizards. This environmental variability also may imply variation in prey availability. However, little is known about how lizard trophic ecology varies with elevation. In this study, we analyze diet, prey availability, prey selection, and trophic niche width in the lacertid lizard Psammodromus algirus along a 2,200-m elevational gradient in the Sierra Nevada （SE Spain）. The analysis of fecal samples has shown that Orthoptera, Formicidae, Hemiptera, Coleoptera, and Araneae are the main prey, although, according to their abundance in pitfall traps, Formicidae and Coleoptera are rejected by the lizard whereas Orthoptera, Hemiptera, and Araneae are preferred. Prey abundance and diversity increase with elevation and diet subtly varies along with the elevational gradient. The consumption of Coleoptera increases with elevation probably as a consequence of the lizard foraging more in open areas while basking. The electivity for Araneae increases with elevation. Araneae are rejected in the lowlands--where they are rela- tively abundant--whereas, at high elevation, this lizard positively selects them, despite they being less abundant. The lizard trophic niche width expands with elevation due to concomitant greater prey diversity and hence this lizard feeds on more prey types in highlands. Although no sex difference in diet has been found, the trophic niche is broader in females than males. As a whole, alpine lizards show a trophic niche simitar to that found at lower elevat（ons, suggesting that P. algirus is well adapted to the harsh environment found in alpine areas.

Sharp differentiation on the performance of plant functional groups across natural edges

Aims Gallery forests within grasslands have natural edges with open envi-ronments and offer a unique opportunity to examine how species performances vary across environmental gradients.Here,we asked if demographic rates of tree functional groups varied along the edge,if we could explain differences in plant strategies and performance through functional traits and which traits increase growth and sur-vival in natural edges.Methods We examine mortality and recruitment within the first 10 m of nat-ural edges of eight gallery forests using demographic data from five annual inventories.We defined a priori plant strategies using tree functional groups:light demanding,pioneer and shade tolerant.Important Findings The shade-tolerant group had the lowest mortality rates and basal area(BA)loss,while pioneer and light-demanding species had similar behavior for these rates.The survival and growth of functional groups were affected differently by the distance from the edge.The pioneer group survived more near the edge,while light-demanding and shade-tolerant groups toward the forest interior.All groups had higher growth in the grassland.Those differences could be explained by functional traits since most species have an acquisition strategy:higher specific leaf area and growth,lower leaf dry matter con-tent,lighter stem density,deeper crowns and less slender stems.Acquisitive traits enhanced growth.However,mortality selected both strategies,but in distinct edge’s zones.Our study showed that the high diversity found in natural edges can be explained by a niche and functional perspective,where differences in functional traits lead to differential performance along the environmental gradient.

Spatial patterns and determinants of Moraceae richness in China

Understanding large-scale patterns of biodiversity and their drivers remains central in ecology.Many hypotheses have been proposed,including hydrothermal dynamic hypothesis,tropical niche conservatism hypothesis,Janzen’s hypothesis and a combination model containing energy,water,seasonality and habitat heterogeneity.Yet,their relative contributions to groups with different lifeforms and range sizes remain controversial,which have limited our ability to understand the general mechanisms underlying species richness patterns.Here we evaluated how lifeforms and species range sizes influenced the relative contributions of these three hypotheses to species richness patterns of a tropical family Moraceae.The distribution data of Moraceae species at a spatial resolution of 50 km×50 km and their lifeforms(i.e.shrubs,small trees and large trees)were compiled.The species richness patterns were estimated for the entire family,different life forms and species with different range sizes separately.The effects of environmental variables on species richness were analyzed,and relative contributions of different hypotheses were evaluated across life forms and species range size groups.The species richness patterns were consistent across different species groups and the species richness was the highest in Sichuan,Guangzhou and Hainan provinces,making these provinces the hotspots of this family.Climate seasonality is the primary factor in determining richness variation of Moraceae.The best combination model gave the largest explanatory power for Moraceae species richness across each group of range size and life forms followed by the hydrothermal dynamic hypothesis,Janzen’s hypothesis and tropical niche conservatism hypothesis.All these models has a large shared effects but a low independent effect(<5%),except rare species.These findings suggest unique patterns and mechanisms underlying rare species richness and provide a theoretical basis for protection of the Moraceae species in China.