Species-Level Versus Community-Level Responses to Microhabitat Type and Diversity in an Experimental Plant Community
Soil heterogeneity has been theoretically predicted to promote plant performance, but empirical evidence is often mixed. By focusing on a gradient of microhabitats (single, three and six types of microhabitats), we tested the hypothesis that increasing the number of microhabitats promotes the divers...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-09-01
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/14/10/803 |
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| author | Bing Hu Zhu-Wen Xu Wei Xue Fei-Hai Yu |
| author_facet | Bing Hu Zhu-Wen Xu Wei Xue Fei-Hai Yu |
| author_sort | Bing Hu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Soil heterogeneity has been theoretically predicted to promote plant performance, but empirical evidence is often mixed. By focusing on a gradient of microhabitats (single, three and six types of microhabitats), we tested the hypothesis that increasing the number of microhabitats promotes the diversity and productivity of plant communities. We created different types of microhabitats by adding different forms of nitrogen (<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><msubsup><mrow><mi>NH</mi></mrow><mn>4</mn><mo>+</mo></msubsup></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula>, <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><msubsup><mrow><mi>NO</mi></mrow><mn>3</mn><mo>−</mo></msubsup></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula> and glycine) or combinations of these nitrogen in an even or patchy way. Community biomass, but not evenness, differed in different types of single-microhabitat. Increasing the number of microhabitat types did not alter community growth or evenness, but it increased the difference in the relative abundance of plant species within the community. These results suggest that microhabitat diversity can influence plant competitive hierarchies, and that this effect can lead to changed community growth, but may not be decisive for plant evenness. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T20:21:47Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e01b72014ec94e2ea53d62e0420ecf21 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1424-2818 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T20:21:47Z |
| publishDate | 2022-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Diversity |
| spelling | doaj.art-e01b72014ec94e2ea53d62e0420ecf212023-11-23T23:47:56ZengMDPI AGDiversity1424-28182022-09-01141080310.3390/d14100803Species-Level Versus Community-Level Responses to Microhabitat Type and Diversity in an Experimental Plant CommunityBing Hu0Zhu-Wen Xu1Wei Xue2Fei-Hai Yu3Key Lab Grassland Ecology, School of Ecology & Environment, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot 010021, ChinaKey Lab Grassland Ecology, School of Ecology & Environment, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot 010021, ChinaInstitute of Wetland Ecology & Clone Ecology/Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation, Taizhou University, Taizhou 318000, ChinaInstitute of Wetland Ecology & Clone Ecology/Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation, Taizhou University, Taizhou 318000, ChinaSoil heterogeneity has been theoretically predicted to promote plant performance, but empirical evidence is often mixed. By focusing on a gradient of microhabitats (single, three and six types of microhabitats), we tested the hypothesis that increasing the number of microhabitats promotes the diversity and productivity of plant communities. We created different types of microhabitats by adding different forms of nitrogen (<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><msubsup><mrow><mi>NH</mi></mrow><mn>4</mn><mo>+</mo></msubsup></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula>, <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><msubsup><mrow><mi>NO</mi></mrow><mn>3</mn><mo>−</mo></msubsup></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula> and glycine) or combinations of these nitrogen in an even or patchy way. Community biomass, but not evenness, differed in different types of single-microhabitat. Increasing the number of microhabitat types did not alter community growth or evenness, but it increased the difference in the relative abundance of plant species within the community. These results suggest that microhabitat diversity can influence plant competitive hierarchies, and that this effect can lead to changed community growth, but may not be decisive for plant evenness.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/14/10/803community evennessproductivitymulti-microhabitatnitrogen formsplant diversitysoil heterogeneity |
| spellingShingle | Bing Hu Zhu-Wen Xu Wei Xue Fei-Hai Yu Species-Level Versus Community-Level Responses to Microhabitat Type and Diversity in an Experimental Plant Community Diversity community evenness productivity multi-microhabitat nitrogen forms plant diversity soil heterogeneity |
| title | Species-Level Versus Community-Level Responses to Microhabitat Type and Diversity in an Experimental Plant Community |
| title_full | Species-Level Versus Community-Level Responses to Microhabitat Type and Diversity in an Experimental Plant Community |
| title_fullStr | Species-Level Versus Community-Level Responses to Microhabitat Type and Diversity in an Experimental Plant Community |
| title_full_unstemmed | Species-Level Versus Community-Level Responses to Microhabitat Type and Diversity in an Experimental Plant Community |
| title_short | Species-Level Versus Community-Level Responses to Microhabitat Type and Diversity in an Experimental Plant Community |
| title_sort | species level versus community level responses to microhabitat type and diversity in an experimental plant community |
| topic | community evenness productivity multi-microhabitat nitrogen forms plant diversity soil heterogeneity |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/14/10/803 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT binghu specieslevelversuscommunitylevelresponsestomicrohabitattypeanddiversityinanexperimentalplantcommunity AT zhuwenxu specieslevelversuscommunitylevelresponsestomicrohabitattypeanddiversityinanexperimentalplantcommunity AT weixue specieslevelversuscommunitylevelresponsestomicrohabitattypeanddiversityinanexperimentalplantcommunity AT feihaiyu specieslevelversuscommunitylevelresponsestomicrohabitattypeanddiversityinanexperimentalplantcommunity |