Are degraded karst tiankengs coupled with microclimatic underground forests the refugia of surface flora? Evidence from China’s Yunnan
Karst tiankengs, as one of the most magnificent negative topographies, are capable of forming a bank for species diversity conservation easily. More than 300 karst tiankengs have been discovered and identified worldwide. Given its treacherous terrain, although original karst tiankeng were identified...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2022-09-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2022.1015468/full |
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| author | Wei Shui Yuanmeng Liu Cong Jiang Xiang Sun Xiaomei Jian Pingping Guo Hui Li Sufeng Zhu Sili Zong Meiqi Ma |
| author_facet | Wei Shui Yuanmeng Liu Cong Jiang Xiang Sun Xiaomei Jian Pingping Guo Hui Li Sufeng Zhu Sili Zong Meiqi Ma |
| author_sort | Wei Shui |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Karst tiankengs, as one of the most magnificent negative topographies, are capable of forming a bank for species diversity conservation easily. More than 300 karst tiankengs have been discovered and identified worldwide. Given its treacherous terrain, although original karst tiankeng were identified as species refuges, the broader distribution of degraded karst tiankeng has not been systematically studied. Our study area comprised the degraded karst tiankeng cluster immersed in the fragmented karst forests of Yunnan, China. Fifty-eight plant samples were selected from karst tiankengs and surface. We compared species composition, and analyzed diversity indices and similarity coefficients to verify the isolation effect of karst tiankengs on floras. The results indicated that: (1) In the degraded karst tiankeng, there were 24 families, 37 genera and 48 species in the tree layer and 27 families, 43 genera and 49 species in the shrub layer. Outside the degraded karst tiankengs, 20 families, 31 genera and 39 species were in the tree layer, and the shrub layer included 26 families, 44 genera and 55 species. (2) The species composition reached significant differences within and outside degraded karst tiankeng (p < 0.05) based on the analysis of variance (ANOVA). (3) In the degraded karst tiankeng, species richness/diversity in trees were higher than those in the shrub layer, while at the surface, shrubs had higher richness and lower diversity than trees by Alpha-diversity index. And for Beta-diversity index, species similarity among degraded karst tiankengs (0.215) was extremely dissimilar, which was even lower than the contrast within and outside the degraded karst tiankengs (0.272). (4) Shared species ranged from 1 to 5 among the four habitats, with high variability in plant species across the habitat matrices. Through a comparative analysis of systematic biodiversity methods, we found that the degraded karst tiankengs, an independent type of karst tiankeng, are the unreported refugia. Species records in degraded karst tiankeng cluster will contribute to plant diversity conservation and resource management, and to the linkage with broader China’s karst floras. Karst tiankeng botanical habitats possess not only biodiversity value for in situ conservation, but will further support the ecological recovery of surface flora. While its mechanism needs to be further revealed. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T11:28:58Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-28a99eb0b360460aa1caf2768e2983a4 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
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| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T11:28:58Z |
| publishDate | 2022-09-01 |
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| spelling | doaj.art-28a99eb0b360460aa1caf2768e2983a42022-12-22T04:26:12ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution2296-701X2022-09-011010.3389/fevo.2022.10154681015468Are degraded karst tiankengs coupled with microclimatic underground forests the refugia of surface flora? Evidence from China’s YunnanWei Shui0Yuanmeng Liu1Cong Jiang2Xiang Sun3Xiaomei Jian4Pingping Guo5Hui Li6Sufeng Zhu7Sili Zong8Meiqi Ma9College of Environment and Safety Engineering, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou, ChinaCollege of Environment and Safety Engineering, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou, ChinaCollege of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, ChinaCollege of Environment and Safety Engineering, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou, ChinaKey Lab of Urban Environment and Health, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen, ChinaCollege of Environment and Ecology, Xiamen University, Xiamen, ChinaCollege of Environment and Safety Engineering, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou, ChinaEcology and Nature Conservation Institute, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, ChinaCollege of Environment and Safety Engineering, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou, ChinaCollege of Environment and Safety Engineering, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou, ChinaKarst tiankengs, as one of the most magnificent negative topographies, are capable of forming a bank for species diversity conservation easily. More than 300 karst tiankengs have been discovered and identified worldwide. Given its treacherous terrain, although original karst tiankeng were identified as species refuges, the broader distribution of degraded karst tiankeng has not been systematically studied. Our study area comprised the degraded karst tiankeng cluster immersed in the fragmented karst forests of Yunnan, China. Fifty-eight plant samples were selected from karst tiankengs and surface. We compared species composition, and analyzed diversity indices and similarity coefficients to verify the isolation effect of karst tiankengs on floras. The results indicated that: (1) In the degraded karst tiankeng, there were 24 families, 37 genera and 48 species in the tree layer and 27 families, 43 genera and 49 species in the shrub layer. Outside the degraded karst tiankengs, 20 families, 31 genera and 39 species were in the tree layer, and the shrub layer included 26 families, 44 genera and 55 species. (2) The species composition reached significant differences within and outside degraded karst tiankeng (p < 0.05) based on the analysis of variance (ANOVA). (3) In the degraded karst tiankeng, species richness/diversity in trees were higher than those in the shrub layer, while at the surface, shrubs had higher richness and lower diversity than trees by Alpha-diversity index. And for Beta-diversity index, species similarity among degraded karst tiankengs (0.215) was extremely dissimilar, which was even lower than the contrast within and outside the degraded karst tiankengs (0.272). (4) Shared species ranged from 1 to 5 among the four habitats, with high variability in plant species across the habitat matrices. Through a comparative analysis of systematic biodiversity methods, we found that the degraded karst tiankengs, an independent type of karst tiankeng, are the unreported refugia. Species records in degraded karst tiankeng cluster will contribute to plant diversity conservation and resource management, and to the linkage with broader China’s karst floras. Karst tiankeng botanical habitats possess not only biodiversity value for in situ conservation, but will further support the ecological recovery of surface flora. While its mechanism needs to be further revealed.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2022.1015468/fullkarst tiankengspecies recordsplant diversityrefugiaYunnan |
| spellingShingle | Wei Shui Yuanmeng Liu Cong Jiang Xiang Sun Xiaomei Jian Pingping Guo Hui Li Sufeng Zhu Sili Zong Meiqi Ma Are degraded karst tiankengs coupled with microclimatic underground forests the refugia of surface flora? Evidence from China’s Yunnan Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution karst tiankeng species records plant diversity refugia Yunnan |
| title | Are degraded karst tiankengs coupled with microclimatic underground forests the refugia of surface flora? Evidence from China’s Yunnan |
| title_full | Are degraded karst tiankengs coupled with microclimatic underground forests the refugia of surface flora? Evidence from China’s Yunnan |
| title_fullStr | Are degraded karst tiankengs coupled with microclimatic underground forests the refugia of surface flora? Evidence from China’s Yunnan |
| title_full_unstemmed | Are degraded karst tiankengs coupled with microclimatic underground forests the refugia of surface flora? Evidence from China’s Yunnan |
| title_short | Are degraded karst tiankengs coupled with microclimatic underground forests the refugia of surface flora? Evidence from China’s Yunnan |
| title_sort | are degraded karst tiankengs coupled with microclimatic underground forests the refugia of surface flora evidence from china s yunnan |
| topic | karst tiankeng species records plant diversity refugia Yunnan |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2022.1015468/full |
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