Effects of the Climatic Region on Richness Correlations between Vascular Plants and Vertebrates in Nature Reserves of China

Identifying indicator taxa is a solution to the problem of a lack of diverse data. However, the variation between studies on richness correlations (RCs) among taxa from different climate regions makes the application value of indicator taxa questionable. Few studies have compared the RCs among climatic regions in a single study, leaving the variation in RCs and the underlying ecological drivers among climatic regions unknown. In this study, data were compiled on vascular plants, vertebrates (including mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians), and environmental factors across 219 nature reserves located in subtropical and temperate regions of China to examine RCs among taxonomic groups and underlying ecological mechanisms. Results showed that the climatic region could affect between-taxon correlations in species richness and that the effectiveness of vascular plants as suitable indicator taxa for vertebrates varied with the climatic region and target taxa. Energy (temperature and evapotranspiration) and habitat heterogeneity (area and elevation range) were ecological drivers of RCs among taxonomic groups in the subtropical and temperate regions. The differences in the effect of abiotic factors on RCs among taxonomic groups caused the difference in RCs between subtropical and temperate regions. Our findings provide new evidence for understanding the variation of RCs and the underlying mechanisms and highlight the positive role of climatic variables and habitat heterogeneity in determining RCs between vascular plants and vertebrates.

Automated summary

This study investigates the richness correlations among taxonomic groups and the underlying ecological mechanisms in subtropical and temperate regions of China. The results suggest that climate region affects the correlations in species richness, and the effectiveness of vascular plants as indicator taxa varies with climate region and target taxa. Energy and habitat heterogeneity are ecological drivers of richness correlations among taxonomic groups. The findings provide new evidence for understanding the variation and underlying mechanisms of richness correlations and highlight the importance of climatic variables and habitat heterogeneity in determining correlations between vascular plants and vertebrates.