Journal
JOURNAL OF VEGETATION SCIENCE
Volume 27, Issue 5, Pages 1036-1046Publisher
WILEY-BLACKWELL
DOI: 10.1111/jvs.12414
Keywords
Central Europe; City; Community assembly; Competitiveness; Dispersal strategy; Niche preferences; Species traits; Urban habitats
Categories
Funding
- Czech Science Foundation [14-10723S]
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Question: It is often assumed, but poorly tested, that patterns of phylogenetic diversity reflect 'v sity plant curnnrurlifies. Here we test whether phylogeny can be used as a proxy for functional diversity in general and specifically for diversity in plant niche preferences, dispersal strategics and competitiveness-related traits. Location: Central Fu rope,Belgium and the Netherlands. Methods: We used a species composition data set from seven urban habitats, each sampled in 32 large cities of ten countries, and combined this with information about species phylogeny and functional traits, the latter divided into categories representingniche preferences, dispersal strategies and co SS Results: We found positive significant, yet very weak, relationships between phylogenetic diversity and overall functional diversity, and between phylogenetic diversity and diversity in both species dispersal strategies and competitiveness. The relationship between phylogenetic diversity and diversity in species niche preferences was not significant. Conclusions: We suggest that the combination of multiple trait states that coexist in urban plant communities and even within the same lineages weakens the phylogeny function relationship. Phylogenetic diversity is a weak proxy for functional diversity of urban plant communities. For sonic facets of functional diversity, the phylogeny function relationship may not apply at all.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available