Direct and indirect effects of climate on richness drive the latitudinal diversity gradient in forest trees

Chu C 1 , Lutz JA 2 , Král K 3 , Vrška T 3 , Yin X 1 , Myers JA 4 Show all authors , Abiem I 5 , Alonso A 6 , Bourg N 7 , Burslem DFRP 8 , Cao M 9 , Chapman H 10 , Condit R 11 , Fang S 1 , Fischer GA 12 , Gao L 13 , Hao Z 14 , Hau BCH 15 , He Q 1 , Hector A 16 , Hubbell SP 17 , Jiang M 18 , Jin G 19 , Kenfack D 20 , Lai J 21 , Li B 1 , Li X 22 , Li Y 23 , Lian J 24 , Lin L 9 , Liu Y 25 , Liu Y 26 , Luo Y 13 , Ma K 21 , McShea W 7 , Memiaghe H 27 , Mi X 21 , Ni M 1 , O'Brien MJ 28 , de Oliveira AA 29 , Orwig DA 30 , Parker GG 31 , Qiao X 18 , Ren H 21 , Reynolds G 28 , Sang W 32 , Shen G 33 , Su Z 34 , Sui X 1 , Sun IF 35 , Tian S 25 , Wang B 22 , Wang X 33 , Wang X 14 , Wang Y 1 , Weiblen GD 36 , Wen S 22 , Xi N 1 , Xiang W 22 , Xu H 23 , Xu K 37 , Ye W 24 , Zhang B 1 , Zhang J 18 , Zhang X 1 , Zhang Y 38 , Zhu K 39 , Zimmerman J 40 , Storch D 41 , Baltzer JL 42 , Anderson-Teixeira KJ 7 , Mittelbach GG 43 , He F 26

Affiliations 

  • 1 Department of Ecology, State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, 510275, Guangzhou
  • 2 Wildland Resources Department, Utah State University, Logan, UT, USA
  • 3 Department of Forest Ecology, Silva Tarouca Research Institute, Brno, Czech Republic
  • 4 Department of Biology and Tyson Research Center, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
  • 5 Department of Plant Science and Technology, University of Jos, Jos, Nigeria
  • 6 Center for Conservation and Sustainability, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, National Zoological Park, Washington, DC, USA
  • 7 Conservation Ecology Center, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, National Zoological Park, Front Royal, VA, USA
  • 8 School of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK
  • 9 Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 650223, Kunming
  • 10 The Nigerian Montane Forest Project, Taraba State, Nigeria
  • 11 Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, IL USA and Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL, USA
  • 12 Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden, Tai Po, Hong Kong SAR
  • 13 Key Laboratory for Plant Diversity and Biogeography of East Asia, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 650201, Kunming
  • 14 Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Management, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 110016, Shenyang
  • 15 School of Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong SAR
  • 16 Department of Plant Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3RB, UK
  • 17 Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
  • 18 Key Laboratory of Aquatic Botany and Watershed Ecology, Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 430074, Wuhan
  • 19 Center for Ecological Research, Northeast Forestry University, 150040, Harbin
  • 20 Center for Tropical Forest Science-Forest Global Earth Observatory, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama City, Panama
  • 21 State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100093, Beijing
  • 22 Guangxi Key Laboratory of Plant Conservation and Restoration Ecology in Karst Terrain, Guangxi Institute of Botany, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Chinese Academy of Sciences, 541006, Guilin
  • 23 Research Institute of Tropical Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, 510000, Guangzhou
  • 24 Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 510650, Guangzhou
  • 25 Heilongjiang Forestry Enginerring and Environment Institute, 150040, Harbin
  • 26 ECNU-Alberta Joint Lab for Biodiversity Study, Tiantong National Station for Forest Ecosystem Research, East China Normal University, 200241, Shanghai
  • 27 Institut de Recherche en, Ecologie Tropicale/Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique et Technologique, Libreville, Gabon
  • 28 Southeast Asia Rainforest Research Partnership (SEARRP), Danum Valley Field Centre, PO Box 60282, 91112, Lahad Datu, Sabah, Malaysia
  • 29 Departamento Ecologia, Universidade de São Paulo, Instituto de Biociências, Cidade Universitária, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
  • 30 Harvard Forest, Harvard University, Petersham, MA, USA
  • 31 Forest Ecology Group, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Edgewater, MD, USA
  • 32 Institute of Botany, Minzu University of China, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100093, Beijing
  • 33 Zhejiang Tiantong Forest Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station, School of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, East China Normal University, 200241, Shanghai
  • 34 College of Forestry, South China Agricultural University, 510642, Guangzhou
  • 35 Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Studies, National Dong Hwa University, 97401, Hualien
  • 36 Department of Plant & Microbial Biology, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, USA
  • 37 Lijiang Forest Ecosystem Research Station, Kunming Instituted of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 674100, Lijiang
  • 38 Guangdong Chebaling National Nature Reserve, 512500, Shaoguan
  • 39 Department of Environmental Studies, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064, USA
  • 40 Institute for Tropical Ecosystem Studies, University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico, 00936, USA
  • 41 Center for Theoretical Study, Charles University, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Praha, Czech Republic
  • 42 Biology Department, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, ON, Canada
  • 43 Kellogg Biological Station and Department of Integrative Biology, Michigan State University, Hickory Corners, Michigan, 49060, USA
Ecol Lett, 2019 Feb;22(2):245-255.
PMID: 30548766 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13175

Abstract

Climate is widely recognised as an important determinant of the latitudinal diversity gradient. However, most existing studies make no distinction between direct and indirect effects of climate, which substantially hinders our understanding of how climate constrains biodiversity globally. Using data from 35 large forest plots, we test hypothesised relationships amongst climate, topography, forest structural attributes (stem abundance, tree size variation and stand basal area) and tree species richness to better understand drivers of latitudinal tree diversity patterns. Climate influences tree richness both directly, with more species in warm, moist, aseasonal climates and indirectly, with more species at higher stem abundance. These results imply direct limitation of species diversity by climatic stress and more rapid (co-)evolution and narrower niche partitioning in warm climates. They also support the idea that increased numbers of individuals associated with high primary productivity are partitioned to support a greater number of species.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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