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Global decoupling of functional and phylogenetic diversity in plant communities

Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review

Authors

  • Author Collaboration of "Global decoupling of functional and phylogenetic diversity in plant communities"
  • Georg J.A. Hähn
  • Gabriella Damasceno
  • Esteban Alvarez-Davila
  • Isabelle Aubin
  • Marijn Bauters
  • Erwin Bergmeier
  • Sylvia Haider

Plant communities are composed of species that differ both in functional traits and evolutionary histories. As species’ functional traits partly result from their individual evolutionary history, we expect the functional diversity of communities to increase with increasing phylogenetic diversity. This expectation has only been tested at local scales and generally for specific growth forms or specific habitat types, for example, grasslands. Here we compare standardized effect sizes for functional and phylogenetic diversity among 1,781,836 vegetation plots using the global sPlot database. In contrast to expectations, we find functional diversity and phylogenetic diversity to be only weakly and negatively correlated, implying a decoupling between these two facets of diversity. While phylogenetic diversity is higher in forests and reflects recent climatic conditions (1981 to 2010), functional diversity tends to reflect recent and past climatic conditions (21,000 years ago). The independent nature of functional and phylogenetic diversity makes it crucial to consider both aspects of diversity when analysing ecosystem functioning and prioritizing conservation efforts.

Original languageEnglish
Article numbere12976
JournalNature Ecology & Evolution
Volume9
Issue number2
Pages (from-to)237-248
Number of pages12
ISSN2397-334X
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 02.2025

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited 2024.

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DOI

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