Journal
NATURE GEOSCIENCE
Volume 11, Issue 10, Pages 718-+Publisher
NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP
DOI: 10.1038/s41561-018-0236-z
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Funding
- Swedish Research Council [B0569601]
- European Research Council under the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme (FP/2007-2013, ERC Grant) [331024]
- Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research
- Biodiversity and Ecosystems in a Changing Climate (BECC) programme
- Faculty of Sciences at the University of Gothenburg
- Wenner-Gren Foundations
- David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies at Harvard University
- Wallenberg Academy Fellowship
- German Science Foundation DFG grant [Mu2845/6-1, FR 3246/2-1]
- A. Cox Fellowship (Stanford University)
- University of Amsterdam
- Universidad de Ibague [15-377-INT]
- Institut de Recherche pour le Developpement (IRD)
- Universidad Pedagogica y Tecnologica de Colombia (UPTC) [SGI-2417]
- Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) grant [2012/13248/ALW]
- German Science Foundation DFG [MU 2934/2-1, MU 2934/3-1 (PAK 807)]
- sFossil workshop at the Synthesis Centre for Biodiversity Sciences sDiv (DFG) [FZT 118]
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Mountains are key features of the Earth's surface and host a substantial proportion of the world's species. However, the links between the evolution and distribution of biodiversity and the formation of mountains remain poorly understood. Here, we integrate multiple datasets to assess the relationships between species richness in mountains, geology and climate at global and regional scales. Specifically, we analyse how erosion, relief, soil and climate relate to the geographical distribution of terrestrial tetrapods, which include amphibians, birds and mammals. We find that centres of species richness correlate with areas of high temperatures, annual rainfall and topographic relief, supporting previous studies. We unveil additional links between mountain-building processes and biodiversity: species richness correlates with erosion rates and heterogeneity of soil types, with a varying response across continents. These additional links are prominent but under-explored, and probably relate to the interplay between surface uplift, climate change and atmospheric circulation through time. They are also influenced by the location and orientation of mountain ranges in relation to air circulation patterns, and how species diversification, dispersal and refugia respond to climate change. A better understanding of biosphere-lithosphere interactions is needed to understand the patterns and evolution of mountain biodiversity across space and time.
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