Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: Aims The Raunkiær's system classifies vascular plants into life forms based on the position of renewal buds during periods unfavourable for plant growth. Despite the importance of Raunkiær's system for ecological research, a study exploring the diversity and distribution of life forms on a continental scale is missing. We aim to (i) map the diversity and distribution of life forms in European vegetation and (ii) test for effects of bioclimatic variables while controlling for habitat‐specific responses. Location Europe. Methods We used data on life forms of 8883 species recorded in 546,501 vegetation plots of different habitats (forest, grassland, scrub and wetland). For each plot, we calculated: (i) the proportion of species of each life form and (ii) the richness and evenness of life forms. We mapped these plot‐level metrics averaged across 50 km × 50 km grid cells and modelled their response to bioclimatic variables. Results Hemicryptophytes were the most widespread life form, especially in the temperate zone of Central Europe. Conversely, therophyte and chamaephyte species were more common in the Mediterranean as well as in the dry temperate regions. Moreover, chamaephytes were also more common in the boreal and arctic zones. Higher proportions of phanerophytes were found in the Mediterranean. Overall, a higher richness of life forms was found at lower latitudes while evenness showed more spatially heterogeneous patterns. Habitat type was the main discriminator for most of the responses analysed, but several moisture‐related predictors still showed a marked effect on the diversity of therophytes and chamaephytes. Conclusions Our maps can be used as a tool for future biogeographic and macro‐ecological research at a continental scale. Habitat type and bioclimatic conditions are key for regulating the diversity and distribution of plant life forms, with concomitant consequences for the response of functional diversity in European vegetation to global environmental changes.
Source: Journal of Vegetation Science
DOI: 10.1111/jvs.13229
Authors: Gabriele Midolo, Irena Axmanová, Jan Divíšek, Pavel Dřevojan, Zdeňka Lososová, Martin Večeřa, Dirk Nikolaus Karger, Wilfried Thuiller, Helge Bruelheide, Svetlana Aćić, Fabio Attorre, Idoia Biurrun, Steffen Boch, Gianmaria Bonari, Andraž Čarni, Alessandro Chiarucci, Renata Ćušterevska, Jürgen Dengler, Tetiana Dziuba, Emmanuel Garbolino, Ute Jandt, Jonathan Lenoir, Corrado Marcenò, Solvita Rūsiņa, Jozef Šibík, Željko Škvorc, Zvjezdana Stančić, Milica Stanišić‐Vujačić, Jens‐Christian Svenning, Grzegorz Swacha, Kiril Vassilev, Milan Chytrý
Institutions: Masaryk University, National Research Council, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche - Istituto di Ricerca sugli Ecosistemi Terrestri, University of Palermo, Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research, Laboratoire d'Écologie Alpine, Université Grenoble Alpes, German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, University of Belgrade, Sapienza University of Rome, University of the Basque Country, University of Siena, University of Nova Gorica, Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, University of Bologna, Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje, University of Bayreuth, ZHAW Zurich University of Applied Sciences, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, M.G. Kholodny Institute of Botany, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Ecologie et Dynamique des Systèmes Anthropisés, Université de Picardie Jules Verne, University of Perugia, University of Latvia, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Plant Science and Biodiversity Centre of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, University of Zagreb, University of Montenegro, Aarhus University, University of Wrocław, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research
Language: English
Subfield: Plant Science
Domain: Life Sciences
SDG: Life on land
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,600
Funders: National Science Foundation, Villum Fonden, Biodiversa+, National Research Foundation, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Agence Nationale de la Recherche, Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung, Danmarks Grundforskningsfond, Eusko Jaurlaritza, Javna Agencija za Raziskovalno Dejavnost RS
Awards: Biodiversity: patterns, processes, predictions and conservation, G2366894008, Feedbacks between Biodiversity and Climate., G2945292035, G2972307431, G3651112909, G3671676825, G4580708554, G5238128993, G5615013734, G6175204082, G7013037140, Feedbacks between Biodiversity and Climate, G863477268
OpenAlex ID: W4391028728