Factors that shape the elevational patterns of plant diversity in the Yatsugatake Mountains, Japan.

ABSTRACT: Elevation is involved in determining plant diversity in montane ecosystems. This study examined whether the distribution of plants in the Yatsugatake Mountains, central Japan, substantiated hypotheses associated with an elevational diversity gradient. Species richness of trees, shrubs, herbs, ferns, and bryophytes was investigated in study plots established at 200-m elevational intervals from 1,800 to 2,800 m. The changes in plant diversity (alpha and beta diversities, plant functional types, and elevational ranges) with elevation were analyzed in relation to climatic factors and elevational diversity gradient hypotheses, that is, mass effect, mid-domain effect, and Rapoport's elevational rule. In addition, the elevational patterns of dominance of plant functional types were also analyzed.

SUBMITTER: Oishi Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8093696 | biostudies-literature | 2021 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature