TY - JOUR

T1 - Global fern and lycophyte richness explained: How regional and local factors shape plot richness

AU - Weigand, Anna

AU - Abrahamczyk, Stefan

AU - Aubin, Isabelle

AU - Bita-Nicolae, Claudia

AU - Bruelheide, Helge

AU - I. Carvajal-Hernández, Cesar

AU - Cicuzza, Daniele

AU - Nascimento da Costa, Lucas Erickson

AU - Csiky, János

AU - Dengler, Jürgen

AU - Gasper, André Luís de

AU - Guerin, Greg R.

AU - Haider, Sylvia

AU - Hernández-Rojas, Adriana

AU - Jandt, Ute

AU - Reyes-Chávez, Johan

AU - Karger, Dirk N.

AU - Khine, Phyo Kay

AU - Kluge, Jürgen

AU - Krömer, Thorsten

AU - Lehnert, Marcus

AU - Lenoir, Jonathan

AU - Moulatlet, Gabriel M.

AU - Aros-Mualin, Daniela

AU - Noben, Sarah

AU - Olivares, Ingrid

AU - G. Quintanilla, Luis

AU - Reich, Peter B.

AU - Salazar, Laura

AU - Silva-Mijangos, Libertad

AU - Tuomisto, Hanna

AU - Weigelt, Patrick

AU - Zuquim, Gabriela

AU - Kreft, Holger

AU - Kessler, Michael

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2019 John Wiley & Sons Ltd

PY - 2020/1/1

Y1 - 2020/1/1

N2 - Aim: To disentangle the influence of environmental factors at different spatial grains (regional and local) on fern and lycophyte species richness and to ask how regional and plot-level richness are related to each other. Location: Global. Taxon: Ferns and lycophytes. Methods: We explored fern and lycophyte species richness at two spatial grains, regional (hexagonal grid cells of 7,666 km2) and plot level (300–500 m2), in relation to environmental data at regional and local grains (the 7,666 km2 hexagonal grid cells and 4 km2 square grid cells, respectively). For the regional grain, we obtained species richness data for 1,243 spatial units and used them together with climatic and topographical predictors to model global fern richness. For the plot-level grain, we collated a global dataset of nearly 83,000 vegetation plots with a surface area in the range 300–500 m2 in which all fern and lycophyte species had been counted. We used structural equation modelling to identify which regional and local factors have the biggest effect on plot-level fern and lycophyte species richness worldwide. We investigate how plot-level richness is related to modelled regional richness at the plot's location. Results: Plot-level fern and lycophyte species richness were best explained by models allowing a link between regional environment and plot-level richness. A link between regional richness and plot-level richness was essential, as models without it were rejected, while models without the regional environment-plot-level richness link were still valid but had a worse goodness-of-fit value. Plot-level richness showed a hump-shaped relationship with regional richness. Main conclusions: Regional environment and regional fern and lycophyte species richness each are important determinants of plot-level richness, and the inclusion of one does not substitute the inclusion of the other. Plot-level richness increases with regional richness until a saturation point is reached, after which plot-level richness decreases despite increasing regional richness, possibly reflecting species interactions.

AB - Aim: To disentangle the influence of environmental factors at different spatial grains (regional and local) on fern and lycophyte species richness and to ask how regional and plot-level richness are related to each other. Location: Global. Taxon: Ferns and lycophytes. Methods: We explored fern and lycophyte species richness at two spatial grains, regional (hexagonal grid cells of 7,666 km2) and plot level (300–500 m2), in relation to environmental data at regional and local grains (the 7,666 km2 hexagonal grid cells and 4 km2 square grid cells, respectively). For the regional grain, we obtained species richness data for 1,243 spatial units and used them together with climatic and topographical predictors to model global fern richness. For the plot-level grain, we collated a global dataset of nearly 83,000 vegetation plots with a surface area in the range 300–500 m2 in which all fern and lycophyte species had been counted. We used structural equation modelling to identify which regional and local factors have the biggest effect on plot-level fern and lycophyte species richness worldwide. We investigate how plot-level richness is related to modelled regional richness at the plot's location. Results: Plot-level fern and lycophyte species richness were best explained by models allowing a link between regional environment and plot-level richness. A link between regional richness and plot-level richness was essential, as models without it were rejected, while models without the regional environment-plot-level richness link were still valid but had a worse goodness-of-fit value. Plot-level richness showed a hump-shaped relationship with regional richness. Main conclusions: Regional environment and regional fern and lycophyte species richness each are important determinants of plot-level richness, and the inclusion of one does not substitute the inclusion of the other. Plot-level richness increases with regional richness until a saturation point is reached, after which plot-level richness decreases despite increasing regional richness, possibly reflecting species interactions.

KW - Biology

KW - big data

KW - macroecology

KW - pteridophytes

KW - regional-local richness relationship

KW - saturation curves

KW - structural equation modelling

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85077896250&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1111/jbi.13782

DO - 10.1111/jbi.13782

M3 - Journal articles

AN - SCOPUS:85077896250

VL - 47

SP - 59

EP - 71

JO - Journal of Biogeography

JF - Journal of Biogeography

SN - 0305-0270

IS - 1

ER -