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Given the multitude of challenges Earth is facing, sustainability science is of key importance to our continued existence. Evolution is the fundamental biological process underlying the origin of all biodiversity. This phylogenetic diversity fosters the resilience of ecosystems to environmental change, and provides numerous resources to society, and options for the future. Genetic diversity within species is also key to the ability of populations to evolve and adapt to environmental change. Yet, the value of evolutionary processes and the consequences of their impairment have not generally been considered in sustainability research. We argue that biological evolution is important for sustainability and that the concepts, theory, data, and methodological approaches used in evolutionary biology can, in crucial ways, contribute to achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We discuss how evolutionary principles are relevant to understanding, maintaining, and improving Nature Contributions to People (NCP) and how they contribute to the SDGs. We highlight specific applications of evolution, evolutionary theory, and evolutionary biologys diverse toolbox, grouped into four major routes through which evolution and evolutionary insights can impact sustainability. We argue that information on both within-species evolutionary potential and among-species phylogenetic diversity is necessary to predict population, community, and ecosystem responses to global change and to make informed decisions on sustainable production, health, and well-being. We provide examples of how evolutionary insights and the tools developed by evolutionary biology can not only inspire and enhance progress on the trajectory to sustainability, but also highlight some obstacles that hitherto seem to have impeded an efficient uptake of evolutionary insights in sustainability research and actions to sustain SDGs. We call for enhanced collaboration between sustainability science and evolutionary biology to understand how integrating these disciplines can help achieve the sustainable future envisioned by the UN SDGs.

Introduction: Altitudinal changes in soil bacterial diversity, composition, biotic interactions, and function are prevalent. However, the overall patterns and associations among these dimensions remain unclear, particularly in vulnerable alpine mountain ecosystems. Methods: Here, we investigated soil bacterial communities along a high-altitude gradient to elucidate patterns and associations in taxonomic and phylogenetic diversity, co-occurrence networks, and functional potentials. Results: We observed increasing altitudinal trends in bacterial richness and phylogenetic diversity, along with significant differences in taxonomic and phylogenetic composition across altitudes. The connectivity component of the co-occurrence network properties showed a negative association with altitude. We also observed high redundancy in functional potentials, resulting in insignificant variation in functional diversity along the altitudinal gradient. However, the strength of functional diversity varied based on the interaction between network connectivity and phylogenetic diversity. Additionally, functional dissimilarity was more closely associated with phylogenetic rather than taxonomic dissimilarity or differences in network properties, highlighting the role of phylogenetic lineages in functional redundancy. Discussion: This study characterizes the altitudinal distribution of soil bacteria and explores their covariations, enhancing our understanding of soil bacterial diversity and functional potentials along altitudinal gradients and providing valuable insights for predicting community changes and improving alpine ecosystem conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cycas fairylakea is an endemic and Level-One National Key Protected Wild Plant in China. It is distributed in the Meilin Reservoir and Tanglangshan Country Park in Shenzhen. This study investigated two newly discovered wild populations in Taishan and Yangjiang, Guangdong Province. The forest community characteristics and population structure of these newly discovered populations remain unknown, and the sex ratio as well as the species' responses to environmental factors have never been reported, despite their importance for the in-situ conservation of this Cycad. We conducted a comprehensive investigation of the ecological traits (soil properties, community characteristics, and phylogenetic diversity) and population characters (size, age structure, sex ratio, and spatial pattern) of C. fairylakea and determined the impact of environmental factors on the age structure and sex ratio. The results showed that the species number and composition of the two communities differed, yet no significant differences were observed in the plant diversity indices, with close phylogenetic affinities among species. Moreover, the sex ratio, determined by the MADS-Y marker, was relatively balanced. The age structure of the two populations exhibited a "reverse-J" shape, and the survival curves were of the Deevey's type III, indicating low natural regeneration capacities with high mortality in the early stage. Redundancy analysis identified the soil properties as constraining factors of the C. fairylakea sex ratio, while climate factors and community species diversity and evenness indices positively impacted the sex ratio. The combined effects of soil, climate, topography, and shrub layer plant diversity were the main factors influencing the age structure and sex ratio of the C. fairylakea populations. A balanced sex ratio ensures reproductive capacity, which maintains population stability. However, the structural and numerical characteristics of C. fairylakea in the two regions are constrained by environmental pressures. The implementation of well-considered artificial conservation strategies and the safeguarding of the habitat are intended to bolster the survival rate of the seedlings, promote the healthy growth of middle-aged individuals, and maintain the sustained stability of the natural population of C. fairylakea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The temporal stability of forest productivity is a key ecosystem function and an essential service to humanity. Plot-scale tree diversity experiments with observations over 10 to 11 y indicate that tree diversity increases stability under various environmental changes. However, it remains unknown whether these small-scale experimental findings are relevant to the longer-term stability of natural forests. Using 7,500 natural forest plots across much of Canada, monitored over three to four decades on average, we provide strong evidence that higher temporal stability (defined as the mean productivity divided by its SD over time) is consistently associated with greater tree functional, phylogenetic, and taxonomic diversity across all lengths of observations. Specifically, increasing functional diversity from its minimum to maximum values increases stability, mean productivity, and the temporal SD of productivity by 14%, 36%, and 28%, respectively. Our results highlight that the promotion of functionally, phylogenetically, and/or taxonomically diverse forests could enhance the long-term productivity and stability of natural forests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Aim Location Taxon Methods Results Main Conclusions Poeciliids are ecologically important, are widely used as pets, and also have value as model organisms. To understand diversity within this family, we study their phylogenetic diversity (PD) at regional and local scales to delimit bioregions and identify patterns of biodiversity.The Americas.Poeciliidae (Actinopterygii: Cyprinodontiformes).We expanded an existing dated phylogeny from 164 to 261 species with distributional data for 1o × 1o latitude × longitude cells (~111 km2) and conducted a cluster analysis (phylo‐jaccard distance) to delineate bioregions. For individual cells, we mapped species richness (SR), phylogenetic diversity (PD), weighted endemism (WE) and phylogenetic endemism (PE). We used randomisation tests to map phylogenetic clustering and over‐representation of short‐branch species by cell. We used categorical analysis of neo‐ and palaeo‐endemism to map neo‐, palaeo‐, mixed and super (mixed) endemism.We delineated six bioregions. Highest regional species density and density of PD occurred on the Isthmus of Panamá (IOP). At the grid‐cell scale, the Grijalva–Usumacinta drainage is a hotspot for SR, PD, PE and WE; the IOP has high PD and PE; the Isthmus of Tehuantepec (IOT) has high PD, WE and moderately high SR; and western Hispaniola has high WE and moderately high SR. The Grijalva–Usumacinta drainage also includes cells of super (mixed) and palaeoendemism, while mixed endemism is widespread in Middle America and the Greater Antilles. Phylogenetic clustering is widespread, whereas over‐representation of short‐branch species is concentrated in the Chihuahuan Desert–Sierra Madre Oriental region and in western Hispaniola, both hotspots of neoendemism.We found widespread diversification of genera intermixed with relict species (mixed endemism). Furthermore, SR and PD were strongly correlated. Centres of endemism include the Chihuahuan Desert–Sierra Madre Oriental, western Hispaniola, the IOT, the IOP and (most of all) the Grijalva–Usumacinta drainage. However, conservation efforts must occur within each bioregion and for each genus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Liverworts are an ancient plant lineage that occurs worldwide with the highest species richness in cool and humid habitats such as tropical montane and temperate rain forests. It has been proposed that liverworts originated under such temperate climatic conditions and have later expanded into more tropical conditions, but how this is reflected in their phylogenetic diversity along the strong climatic gradients associated with elevation remains unexplored. We studied the phylogenetic diversity of regional liverwort floras along the elevational gradient in the tropical Andes, comparing indices that emphasize deeper and shallower phylogenetic relationships, and relating these to temperature‐ and precipitation‐related variables, as well as to climatic extremes and seasonality. We found that whereas liverwort species richness peaks at around 2000 m a.s.l., richness‐corrected phylogenetic diversity increases with elevation, and the standardized effect of size of phylogenetic diversity is highest at 2500–4000 m a.s.l. This is in accordance with an origin of liverworts under cool conditions, followed by more recent diversification in warmer climates at lower elevations. We further found temperature‐related climatic parameters to be stronger predictors of phylogenetic diversity of liverworts than precipitation‐related variables, and climatic extremes to have a stronger influence than climatic seasonality. We interpret these patterns as reflecting the physiological challenges of adapting to low temperatures as well as rare occurrences of extreme climatic events. All this reveals a strong signal of the evolutionary dynamics of this ancient plant lineage linked with its physiological adaptations to climatic conditions. The age of this group and its poikilohydric nature, i.e. its inability to regulate water loss, lead to patterns that contrast with those of vascular plants, allowing for discerning evolutionary generalities that are independent of physiology and lineage age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Primary forests provide critical habitat and diverse ecological niches for bird species, which are being seriously threatened by massive anthropogenic activities in the Anthropocene. Conversion from primary forests to secondary forests and plantation forests results in biodiversity loss, reducing ecosystem functioning and services. However, few studies have evaluated bird diversity patterns in different forest types caused by anthropogenic activities at both pantropics and regional scales, especially from taxonomic, phylogenetic and functional perspective simultaneously, as well as from the perspective of both alpha and beta diversity. Location: Pantropics. Methods: We analysed patterns of bird diversity in primary forests, secondary forests and plantation forests at pantropics and regional scales. Number of threatened species, rare species, and generalist species in the three forest types were summarized. Taxonomic, phylogenetic and functional diversity, as well as phylogenetic and functional structure of bird communities among the three forest types, were evaluated through multiple comparisons. Beta diversity of bird communities in the three forest types was also calculated and decomposed into turnover and nestedness‐resultant components, and correlations between environmental factors and beta diversity were examined. Results: The results showed that primary forests harboured more threatened species, more large species and specialist species than secondary forests and plantation forests. In addition, plantation forests had lower phylogenetic alpha diversity but higher functional alpha diversity, and had more clustered phylogenetic structure but more over‐dispersed functional structure. Notably, taxonomic, phylogenetic and functional beta diversity of bird communities was significantly higher in primary forests than in plantation forests, and turnover components showed similar patterns and accounted for major parts of overall beta diversity. Main Conclusions: These findings suggest that primary forests play an important role in protecting bird taxonomic, phylogenetic and functional diversity, and emphasize that future conservation efforts should focus on the strict protection of primary forests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the relative importance of the factors that drive global patterns of biodiversity is among the major topics of ecological and biogeographic research. In freshwater bodies, spatial, temporal, abiotic, and biotic factors are important structurers of these ecosystems and can trigger distinct responses according to the facet of biodiversity considered. The objective was to evaluate how different facets of β-diversity (taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic) based on data from the planktonic ciliate community of a Neotropical floodplain, are influenced by temporal, spatial, abiotic, and biotic factors. The research was conducted in the upper Paraná River floodplain between the years 2010 and 2020 in different water bodies. All predictors showed significant importance on the facets of β-diversity, except the abiotic predictors on species composition data, for the taxonomic facet. The functional and phylogenetic facets were mostly influenced by abiotic, biotic, and spatial factors. For temporal predictors, results showed influence on taxonomic (structure and composition data) and functional (structure data) facets. Also, a fraction of shared explanation between the temporal and abiotic components was observed for the distinct facets. Significant declines in β-diversity in continental ecosystems have been evidenced, especially those with drastic implications for ecosystemic services. Therefore, the preservation of a high level of diversity in water bodies, also involving phylogenetic and functional facets, should be a priority in conservation plans and goals, to ensure the maintenance of important ecological processes involving ciliates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lichens are dual organisms, with one major mycobiont and one major photobiont in each lichen symbiosis, which can survive extreme environmental conditions in the Arctic. However, the diversity and distribution of lichen photobionts in the Arctic remain poorly understood compared to their mycobiont partners. This study explored the diversity of lichen mycobionts and photobionts in 197 lichen samples collected from the Ny-Ålesund region (Svalbard, High Arctic). The nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions were sequenced and phylogenetic analyses were performed. The relationships between mycobionts and photobionts, as well as the association patterns, were also investigated. A total of 48 species of lichen mycobionts (16 families, nine orders) and 31 species/lineages of photobionts were identified. These 31 photobiont species belonged to one class (Trebouxiophyceae) and five genera, including 22 species of Trebouxia, five species of Asterochloris, two species of Chloroidium, one species of Symbiochloris, and one species of Coccomyxa. The results indicated that most analyzed lichen mycobionts could associate with multiple photobiont species, and the photobionts also exhibited a similar pattern. The results provided an important reference dataset for characterizing the diversity of lichen mycobionts and photobionts in the High Arctic region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Incomplete elevational sampling in studies of biodiversity and community assembly along elevational gradients can result in inconsistent findings and potentially inaccurate conclusions about assembly mechanisms. In this study, we conducted extensive sampling of small mammals over a 3200 m elevational gradient on Xiling Snow Mountain, Southwestern China. We integrated functional and phylogenetic diversity to determine the mechanisms structuring small mammal assemblages. Our findings indicate that taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic diversity, along with all species richness-corrected indices of functional and phylogenetic diversity, exhibit similar hump-shaped patterns. Our results suggest that environmental filtering plays a considerable role in structuring small mammal communities at low and high elevations, while competitive exclusion governs the assembly processes at middle elevations. Human footprint, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, precipitation seasonality and potential evapotranspiration are key drivers of small mammal diversity and community structure along elevational gradients. In summary, our study provides evidence that phylogenetic diversity is a robust surrogate for functional diversity, and challenges the recent large-scale studies that advocate a linear relationship between small mammal assembly process and elevation. We emphasize the importance of continuously documenting general patterns of small mammal diversity across entire elevational gradients in future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Populus euphratica is a key community-building species in the desert riparian forests of Northwest China, exhibiting exceptional resistance to stress and playing a vital role in soil and water conservation as well as maintaining ecological balance in arid regions. To investigate the ecological processes underlying the composition of P. euphratica communities and to identify their community construction mechanisms, this study analyses the species diversity and phylogenetic diversity of 58 P. euphratica communities, exploring their assembly processes and key influencing factors. This research aims to elucidate the relationship between community structure from the perspective of species evolution and analyse the construction mechanisms of P. euphratica communities across different clusters in arid environments. The results show that the species diversity of P. euphratica clusters in Northwest China is relatively low, and a significant correlation is noted with phylogenetic diversity (PD). The Shannon–Wiener and Margalef indices exhibit similar trends, whereas Simpson's index show the opposite trends. Pielou's index range from 0.7 to 0.85. Notably, the PD and species diversity of the P. euphratica–Haloxylon ammodendron association group (Group 4) is significantly higher (p < 0.05) compared to that of the other groups. Additionally, net relatedness index (NRI) and nearest taxon index (NTI) peaked in the P. euphratica–H. ammodendron association group (Group 4) and the Populus pruinosa–Tamarix ramosissima–Phragmites australis association group (Group 1) (p < 0.05). A Pearson correlation analysis indicated that PD was significantly positively correlated with Margalef's index, Shannon–Wiener's index, and Pielou's index, but was significantly negatively correlated with Simpson's index, while also being associated with environmental factors. Key factors influencing the diversity of P. euphratica communities in Northwest China include total phosphorus, pH, soil moisture content, total potassium, the mean temperature of the coldest quarter, precipitation of the wettest month, and precipitation seasonality. Soil factors primarily affected the Pielou and Simpson indices of species diversity, whereas climatic factors mainly influenced the Margalef and Shannon–Wiener indices. PD and structure were mainly influenced by climatic factors. The combined effects of soil and climatic factors play a crucial role in sustaining the diversity and ecological adaptation of these plant communities. In summary, P. euphratica communities may exhibit a significant ecological niche conservation in response to environmental changes, and competitive exclusion might be the primary process shaping community structure. Climatic factors were shown to be important regulators of community diversity and phylogenetic structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We introduce a new "ecosystem‐scale" experiment at the Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve in central Minnesota, USA to test long‐term ecosystem consequences of tree diversity and composition. The experiment—the largest of its kind in North America—was designed to provide guidance on forest restoration efforts that will advance carbon sequestration goals and contribute to biodiversity conservation and sustainability.The new Forest and Biodiversity (FAB2) experiment uses native tree species in varying levels of species richness, phylogenetic diversity and functional diversity planted in 100 m2 and 400 m2 plots at 1 m spacing, appropriate for testing long‐term ecosystem consequences. FAB2 was designed and established in conjunction with a prior experiment (FAB1) in which the same set of 12 species was planted in 16 m2 plots at 0.5 m spacing. Both are adjacent to the BioDIV prairie‐grassland diversity experiment, enabling comparative investigations of diversity and ecosystem function relationships between experimental grasslands and forests at different planting densities and plot sizes.Within the first 6 years, mortality in 400 m2 monoculture plots was higher than in 100 m2 plots. The highest mortality occurred in Tilia americana and Acer negundo monocultures, but mortality for both species decreased with increasing plot diversity. These results demonstrate the importance of forest diversity in reducing mortality in some species and point to potential mechanisms, including light and drought stress, that cause tree mortality in vulnerable monocultures. The experiment highlights challenges to maintaining monoculture and low‐diversity treatments in tree mixture experiments of large extent.FAB2 provides a long‐term platform to test the mechanisms and processes that contribute to forest stability and ecosystem productivity in changing environments. Its ecosystem‐scale design, and accompanying R package, are designed to discern species and lineage effects and multiple dimensions of diversity to inform restoration of ecosystem functions and services from forests. It also provides a platform for improving remote sensing approaches, including Uncrewed Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) equipped with LiDAR, multispectral and hyperspectral sensors, to complement ground‐based monitoring. We aim for the experiment to contribute to international efforts to monitor and manage forests in the face of global change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Temporal variation during the assembly of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungal communities within plant roots have been posited as critical drivers of the plant-fungal symbiotic outcomes. However, functional implications of these dynamics for the host plant remain poorly understood. We conducted a controlled pot experiment with Sorghum bicolor to investigate how temporal shifts in AM fungal community composition and phylogenetic diversity influence plant growth and phosphorus responses to the symbiosis. We characterised the root-colonising AM fungal communities across three time points and explored their community assembly processes by analysing their phylogenetic diversity and employing joint species distribution modelling with the Hierarchical Modelling of Species Communities (HMSC) framework. We found strong AM fungal turnover through time with a high phylogenetic signal, indicating recruitment of phylogenetically clustered AM fungal species in the host. This temporal phylogenetic clustering of communities coincided with marked increases in plant biomass and phosphorus responses to the AM fungal symbiosis, suggesting that host selection for specific fungi may be a key determinant of these benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BackgroundAimsMethodsResultsConclusion\nKEY HIGHLIGHTSThe interaction between plants and mycorrhizal fungi is one of the most important and well-studied in ecology. However, the manner in which ecological communities of plants and arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi are structured by both deterministic and stochastic processes remains unclear.To quantify the role of deterministic and stochastic assembly processes in both plant and arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungal communities along with environmental filters in the assembly of communities in areas subject to flooding.We studied phylogenetic relationships and diversity measures in plants and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in three tropical coastal wetland communities with contrasting landscapes and soil properties.We found that non-random processes were dominant in plant communities, while mycorrhizal communities appeared to be determined by stochastic processes. Clustering trends were predominant in plant communities in areas subject to flooding.Environment filters and limiting similarity drive the plant community assembly, whereas ecological drift and/or dispersal limitations were determinants in the assembly of mycorrhizal communities. Environmental filters were found to be the main driver of plant community assembly in in areas subject to flooding. Plant assembly is predominantly influenced by deterministic mechanisms such as environmental filters and limiting similarity, operating simultaneously with stochastic processes.The fungal community assembly was determined by random patterns, suggesting that stochastic processes govern them and emphasising the importance of dispersal limitations and ecological drift.The assembly of plant communities in flooded areas was influenced by environmental filters, which have selected specialised traits such as adventitious roots, conferring stress adaptations that enable these plants to inhabit flooded sites.High levels of species richness and phylogenetic diversity in AM fungi do not always promote high levels of species richness and phylogenetic diversity in plants and that this assumption was true only for the coastal dune scrub community.Plant assembly is predominantly influenced by deterministic mechanisms such as environmental filters and limiting similarity, operating simultaneously with stochastic processes.The fungal community assembly was determined by random patterns, suggesting that stochastic processes govern them and emphasising the importance of dispersal limitations and ecological drift.The assembly of plant communities in flooded areas was influenced by environmental filters, which have selected specialised traits such as adventitious roots, conferring stress adaptations that enable these plants to inhabit flooded sites.High levels of species richness and phylogenetic diversity in AM fungi do not always promote high levels of species richness and phylogenetic diversity in plants and that this assumption was true only for the coastal dune scrub community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Aim Location Taxon Methods Results Main Conclusions Most plant groups originated under tropical conditions, leading to the hypothesis of tropical niche conservatism, according to which species assemblages of a clade originating and diversifying in tropical climates are expected to have low phylogenetic diversity and dispersion in temperate climates because only few lineages have adapted to these novel conditions. The opposite may be expected for clades originating under temperate conditions, but this temperate niche conservatism hypothesis has not been tested for a broad temperature gradient including both tropical and arctic climates. Liverworts are thought to have originated in temperate climates, and may thus follow the pattern of temperate niche conservatism. Here, we test this hypothesis using regional liverwort floras across a nearly full temperature gradient from tropical through temperate to arctic climates in North America. In addition, we investigate whether temperature‐related variables and climate extreme variables play a more important role in determining phylogenetic structure of liverwort assemblages, compared to precipitation‐related variables and climate seasonality variables, respectively.North America.Liverworts (Marchantiophyta).Phylogenetic diversity (measured as mean pairwise distance) and phylogenetic dispersion (measured as standardised effect size of mean pairwise distance) in liverworts in regional floras in North America were related to latitude and climatic variables. Variation partitioning analysis was used to assess the relative importance of temperature‐ versus precipitation‐related variables and of climate extremes versus seasonality on phylogenetic diversity and dispersion.Phylogenetic diversity and dispersion in liverworts is highest in temperate climates, compared to both tropical and arctic climates. Temperature‐related variables and climate extreme variables explained more variation in phylogenetic diversity and dispersion of liverwort assemblages than did precipitation‐related variables and climate seasonality variables, respectively.Variations in phylogenetic diversity and dispersion in liverworts along the latitudinal gradient in North America are consistent with the temperate niche conservatism hypothesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we explored the distributions of grass genera in the Southern Cone (SC) of South America, applying several phylogenetic diversity (PD) metrics and randomization tests. Grasses appear to have been present in South America since their early evolution as tropical understory species more than 60 Ma. During the course of evolution, grasses have adapted to all terrestrial biomes and become one of the most successful plant families on earth. At present, the SC contains nearly all terrestrial biomes and a wide range of humid to arid ecoregions. Analyzing 126.514 point occurrences and four plastid markers for 148 genera (91% of the native grass genera), we found that tropical humid regions hold the highest PD, with no observed bias in branch lengths. These results indicate that niche conservatism dominates the diversity pattern of grasses in the SC. We found significantly low PD in the Dry Chaco and in the Patagonian Steppe, which suggest ecological filtering in both warm and cold arid regions. The Patagonian Steppe also holds significantly longer branches than expected by chance, as the native grass flora is mainly composed of distantly related Pooideae genera with a northern hemisphere origin. Short branches are found in the Uruguayan Savanna, suggesting that these grasslands could be a cradle for grass diversity within the SC. The dated phylogeny supported the current view of a relatively recent evolution of the family within the SC, with most diversification taking place from the middle Miocene and onwards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Temperature significantly influences the composition and structure of biotic communities at large scales. While its role in shaping taxonomic diversity is well‐documented, its relationship with other facets of biodiversity, like phylogenetic diversity, remains poorly known. Understanding how and to which extent temperature contributes to global patterns of phylogenetic diversity compared to other biodiversity‐structuring factors is crucial for comprehending how bird assemblages are structured worldwide, predicting their response to global‐change drivers and supporting conservation policies focused on preserving bird genetic diversity and evolutionary history. Location: Worldwide. Methods: We analyse the role of temperature in predicting bird regional phylogenetic richness (PD) and divergence (MPD) worldwide, before and after controlling for the effect of species richness (SR). We also assess the shape of this relationship in different biogeographic realms and compare its explanatory power with other key biodiversity‐structuring factors such as elevation, human impact index, net primary productivity and land use diversity. Results: Our findings underscore the high significance and consistency of temperature as a key predictor positively associated with bird PD and MPD across the six main biogeographic realms, even after accounting for SR and latitude, suggesting that temperature modulates the intrinsic capacity of environments to support a diverse array of lineages. In addition, PD and MPD tended to increase at low elevations, but the human‐impact index did not effectively predict bird phylogenetic diversity at this scale. Furthermore, high PD was linked to regions with high primary productivity and high land‐use diversity, although both of these relationships were strongly mediated by SR. Conclusions: This study unveils the key role of temperature in explaining bird phylogenetic diversity worldwide over other key biodiversity‐structuring factors and points to the profound implications that climate change will have on the amount of evolutionary history held in bird assemblages, beyond species extinctions or range shifts alone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Picea purpurea forests are a fundamental part of the coniferous forests of the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau. These forests support an extremely rich diversity of organisms while providing crucial ecological functions. Despite their importance, the species and phylogenetic diversity (PD) of these forests remain understudied. The extent to which different plant growth forms in the forest are influenced by the environment varies according to differences in the evolutionary history and characteristics of these taxa. Here, we investigate the variations in all, woody, and herbaceous plant species diversity (SD) and PD in the eastern Qinghai–Tibet Plateau's Picea purpurea forests, along with the associated environmental factors influencing these patterns. Our results show that both SD and PD exhibit similar patterns across all, woody, and herbaceous plants. Notably, mean annual precipitation, total nitrogen, and altitude were identified as the primary factors accounting for the majority of variance in SD and PD within plant communities. Specifically, we found positive correlations between SD and PD with soil total nitrogen content, while negative correlations were observed with mean annual precipitation and altitude. Furthermore, we find that the influence of environmental variables on all plants was found to be more pronounced compared to woody and especially herbaceous plants in terms of both SD and PD. Environmental factors had a direct effect on SD and PD in all woody and herbaceous plants. However, the strength of these effects varied. Importantly, our results indicate that environmental factors influence SD independently of PD. Our findings suggest that precipitation and total soil nitrogen were the most influential environmental factors affecting plant diversity across different growth forms in Picea purpurea communities. However, inferring SD from PD remains a challenging task. These findings of our study will provide guidance for forest biodiversity conservation and sustainable forest management in the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Phylogenetic indexes summarize the evolutionary information within a given assemblage pool based on the topology and branch lengths of a hypothesized phylogenetic tree. However, different historical contingencies experienced by these assemblages can unevenly distribute evolutionary information through time and over the phylogeny. ‘treesliceR' is an R package containing tools to flexibly cut phylogenies at different depths, and also has built‐in functions to assess spatially explicit phylogenetic patterns over time. ‘treesliceR' can slice phylogenies in any temporal orientation (‘rootwardly' or ‘tipwardly'), using different criteria (million years or phylogenetic diversity). Moreover, ‘treesliceR' contains functions to assess the rates of accumulation of any phylogenetic information (e.g. α and β diversities) through time. These functions are unique to the package and provide outputs that are ready‐to‐use in graphing functions. We demonstrated the main uses of ‘treesliceR' by investigating areas of paleo‐endemism and neo‐endemism of Passeriformes in Australia. Finally, we mapped rates of accumulation of phylogenetic β‐diversity (Cpβrate) across Australia. ‘treesliceR' is an open‐source R package under continuous progress, designed to decompose temporally any phylogenetic information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the link between plant species diversity and biomass has been well‐studied, the impact of evolutionary diversity on community biomass across long timescales or ongoing change remains a subject of debate. We elucidated the association between evolutionary diversity and community aboveground biomass (AGB) using an ideal experimental system with over 150‐year history of natural vegetation regeneration. Higher phylogenetic diversity facilitated the sampling effect under the influence of environmental filtering, and caused an increase in AGB. Phylogenetic structure varied from aggregation to dispersion during the later period of vegetation recovery (70–150 years), which was correlated with increases in niche complementarity and increasing AGB. Woody plant evolutionary diversity was used as a key to predict the relationship between vegetation recovery and AGB, with a total explanatory power of ~84.7%. Mixed forests composed of evergreen conifers and deciduous broadleaf forests had higher carbon sequestration potential than that of pure forests, which is advantageous for increasing top‐stage AGB. This research expands our knowledge of the causes and effects of biodiversity and ecosystem function dynamics over time and space, which is important for accurately predicting future climate change effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The identification of multiple facets of biodiversity (e.g., phylogenetic and functional) can help to understand how evolutionary and ecological mechanisms shape the assembly of biological communities.Here, we employed multiple regressions and variance partitions to investigate the effects of environmental conditions, connectivity and space on aspects of the functional and phylogenetic facets of fish fauna in tropical headwater streams of the Xingu River basin, in Eastern Amazonia.We found that the functional and phylogenetic diversities of fish communities are related to local environmental conditions and stream connectivity in the drainage network, with marked differences occurring between the rainy and dry periods. Furthermore, we discovered that functional uniqueness was influenced mainly by environmental factors, whereas phylogenetic uniqueness had a more complex relationship with the influence of local environmental factors and connectivity.Our findings indicate that the fish assemblages of small headwater streams of the Xingu River basin share a close phylogenetic history. This is probably because of the climatic and environmental stability experienced by Amazonian ichthyofauna over evolutionary time.Our findings emphasise the role of niche‐based processes in shaping the unique functional composition of fish assemblages in headwater streams, and highlight the importance of environmental heterogeneity in maintaining the ecological integrity of these freshwater ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prunus serotina is one of the most widespread alien tree species in temperate European forests. Although numerous studies revealed both negative and positive impacts on native ecosystems, only a few assessed the quantitative impacts along a species abundance gradient, based on aboveground biomass of per capita effects. Here we studied how alpha diversity of forest understory changes with increasing aboveground biomass of P. serotina. In Wielkopolska National Park (W Poland) we established 92 plots in both nutrient-rich and poor Pinus sylvestris stands. We assessed the effects of P. serotina proportion on understory species composition using non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS). We also assessed the effects of P. serotina proportion on alpha diversity metrics using generalized mixed-effects linear models, accounting also for stand age, soil C:N ratio, and light availability. P. serotina biomass ranged from 0.0 to 34.29 Mg ha−1 (with an average of 5.70 ± 0.83 Mg ha−1), comprising 0% to 17.26% (with an average of 2.93 ± 0.43%) of total woody species biomass. NMDS revealed a lack of P. serotina proportion effects on understory species composition. We found small positive impacts of P. serotina proportion on total species richness (+ 8.8 species along a gradient with a 10% increase of P. serotina biomass proportion) and functional richness (+ 0.08). The positive impacts of P. serotina were mostly related to the confounding effect of two factors: an increase in light availability facilitates both the development of understory plants as well as the growth of P. serotina. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Significant research efforts have been made to uncover links between biodiversity and biomass productivity in forest ecosystems. However, the causal link between these two ecosystem components, and the underlying mediation role of disturbance, are yet poorly understood for hyper‐diverse tropical forests, because multiple ecological mechanisms are sequentially or simultaneously in play, leading to contradictory results in observational studies.Here, we introduce a novel framework for inferring the expected effects of evolutionary diversity on biomass stocks and productivity within forest ecosystems using observational field data. This framework involves an analytical decomposition of stand biomass into three key components: the number of trees, the mean size of trees and the mean wood density. Through this approach, we can distinguish structure‐ and compositional‐based diversity effects, which likely have distinct ecological origins. We tested this framework in one of the oldest tropical forest experiments, where different levels of silvicultural disturbances were applied in the 1980s, with regular monitoring since then.Our results revealed that disturbance history mediates the effect of evolutionary diversity on forest biomass dynamics and that several Biodiversity Ecosystem Function (BEF) relationships may be hidden behind the composite biomass variable. We specifically found an overall significant negative relationship between evolutionary diversity and biomass productivity soon after disturbances (~5–8 years), mostly via mean tree size, despite a positive evolutionary diversity effect on mean wood density. This result reflects that the productivity of disturbed forests is driven by a few dominant and disturbance‐prone species with low wood density and large potential stature, and not by niche complementarity among species. However, these effects rapidly vanished with time, with non‐significant overall effect of evolutionary diversity on productivity both ~30 years after disturbance and in the undisturbed plots.Synthesis. By disentangling the effects of evolutionary diversity on the different components of forest biomass, our framework unveiled how evolutionary diversity impacts forest productivity through different ecological mechanisms, and suggests that it plays a major role, albeit mainly negative, only soon after a disturbance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The patterns and drivers of pollen transport on insect bodies can have important consequences for plant reproductive success and floral evolution; however, they remain little studied. Recently, pollinator bodies have been further described as pollen competitive arenas, where pollen grains can compete for space, with implications for the evolution of pollen dispersal strategies and plant community assembly. However, the identity, strength, and diversity of pollen competitive interactions and how they vary across pollinator functional groups is not known. Evaluating patterns and drivers of the pollen co‐transport landscape and how these vary across different pollinator groups is central to further our understanding of floral evolution and co‐flowering community assembly.Here, we integrate information on the number and identity of pollen grains on individual insect pollen loads with network analyses to uncover novel pollen co‐transport networks and how these vary across pollinator functional groups (bees and bee flies). We further evaluate differences in pollen load size, species composition, diversity and phylogenetic diversity among insect groups and how these relate to body size and gender.Pollen co‐transport networks were diverse and highly modular in bees, with groups of pollen species interacting more often with each other on insect bodies. However, the number, identity and frequency of competitors that pollen grains encounter on insect bodies vary between some pollinator functional groups. Other aspects of pollen loads such as their size, richness and phylogenetical diversity were shaped by bee size or gender, with females carrying larger but less phylogenetically diverse pollen loads than males.Synthesis. Our results show that the number, identity and phylogenetic relatedness of pollen competitors changes as pollen grains travel on the body of different pollinators. As a result, pollinator groups impose vastly different interaction landscapes during pollen transport, with so far unknown consequences for plant reproductive success, floral evolution and community assembly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global loss of plant diversity is expected to have reverberating effects on other trophic levels, affecting the structure and functioning of ecosystems. To understand such effects, biodiversity–ecosystem function (BEF) experiments that manipulate tree diversity have been established around the world. In a BEF experiment carried out since 2016 in a seasonally dry tropical forest, we examined the effects of tree diversity, facilitation and density of trees with extrafloral nectaries on the abundance, richness, functional diversity and phylogenetic diversity of ground ants. Also, we used artificial seeds to test seed dispersal efficiency of ants within the experiment. Generalized linear mixed models (GLMM) showed that tree richness positively affects ant abundance, richness, functional diversity and phylogenetic diversity. Also, tree richness had a strong positive effect on the proportion of dispersed seeds, as well as their dispersal distance. Contrary to our expectations, facilitation and the number of trees with extrafloral nectaries did not affect ground ants and their functions. Our results indicate that the global impoverishment of tree communities can affect several dimensions of ant diversity and their ecosystem functions, including forest regeneration processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Shangqiu Yellow River Ancient Course National Forest Park, the only national forest park in China created entirely from man-made forests, plays a critical role in ecological conservation. Our research employed plot surveys and quantitative ecological methods, including a diversity index analysis and importance value analysis, to investigate the diversity of arboreal, shrub, and herbaceous plants. This study revealed the composition and distribution of plant communities and analyzed invasive species. It identified dominant plant families, genera, and species and evaluated the types, distribution, and characteristics of invasive plants. We documented 70 families, 177 genera, and 254 species, highlighting that local environmental factors and human activities significantly affect the composition and distribution of plant communities. The presence of 29 invasive plant species poses a risk to the ecosystem. We constructed a phylogenetic tree of the plant community based on rbcL (ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase large subunit) gene sequences, revealing the evolutionary relationships among species, and evaluated the community's stability using the NTI (nearest taxon index) and NRI (net relatedness index). This research aims to provide a scientific foundation for conserving plant diversity and promoting sustainable development, and it can inform ecological protection and biodiversity studies in similar regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem function has always been one of the hot issues in the field of ecology. With the acceleration of global warming, the precipitation pattern has become one of the main drivers of biodiversity loss, which has a profound impact on ecosystem functional services and stability. However, the studies on the effects and mechanisms of plant community diversity and ecosystem productivity under precipitation changes in desert steppe are still unclear. According to the change rate (−41.1% to 39.2%) of precipitation in the study area in recent 50 years, five precipitation gradients (i.e., −40%, −20%, CK, +20% and +40%) were set to simulate the possible future precipitation pattern changes. Aboveground biomass increased with the increase of precipitation. Compared with CK, the aboveground biomass increased by 22.81% with +40% and decreased by 80.71% with −40%, and the negative impact of precipitation decrease on aboveground biomass was more significant. Through multiple stepwise regression analyses, species diversity, functional diversity and phylogenetic diversity were identified as the best models of aboveground biomass. The results showed that the aboveground biomass changes could be explained by 51.3%, 81.6%, 32.6% and 60% respectively. Combined with plant community diversity, the final index model was obtained through multiple stepwise regression analyses, which could explain 88.3% of changes in aboveground biomass. In this model, The average coefficient of specific leaf area and leaf thickness had a very high significance level, and these two functional traits of dominant species had a greater explanatory power for ecosystem system function. There was a nonlinear correlation between precipitation and aboveground biomass, and drought had a more significant negative effect on aboveground biomass. Compared with species diversity and phylogenetic diversity, plant functional traits can better explain ecosystem productivity. Selection effects are the main maintenance mechanism of desert steppe community productivity under the background of precipitation change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract We introduce a new “ecosystem‐scale” experiment at the Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve in central Minnesota, USA to test long‐term ecosystem consequences of tree diversity and composition. The experiment—the largest of its kind in North America—was designed to provide guidance on forest restoration efforts that will advance carbon sequestration goals and contribute to biodiversity conservation and sustainability. The new Forest and Biodiversity (FAB2) experiment uses native tree species in varying levels of species richness, phylogenetic diversity and functional diversity planted in 100 m2 and 400 m2 plots at 1 m spacing, appropriate for testing long‐term ecosystem consequences. FAB2 was designed and established in conjunction with a prior experiment (FAB1) in which the same set of 12 species was planted in 16 m2 plots at 0.5 m spacing. Both are adjacent to the BioDIV prairie‐grassland diversity experiment, enabling comparative investigations of diversity and ecosystem function relationships between experimental grasslands and forests at different planting densities and plot sizes. Within the first 6 years, mortality in 400 m2 monoculture plots was higher than in 100 m2 plots. The highest mortality occurred in Tilia americana and Acer negundo monocultures, but mortality for both species decreased with increasing plot diversity. These results demonstrate the importance of forest diversity in reducing mortality in some species and point to potential mechanisms, including light and drought stress, that cause tree mortality in vulnerable monocultures. The experiment highlights challenges to maintaining monoculture and low‐diversity treatments in tree mixture experiments of large extent. FAB2 provides a long‐term platform to test the mechanisms and processes that contribute to forest stability and ecosystem productivity in changing environments. Its ecosystem‐scale design, and accompanying R package, are designed to discern species and lineage effects and multiple dimensions of diversity to inform restoration of ecosystem functions and services from forests. It also provides a platform for improving remote sensing approaches, including Uncrewed Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) equipped with LiDAR, multispectral and hyperspectral sensors, to complement ground‐based monitoring. We aim for the experiment to contribute to international efforts to monitor and manage forests in the face of global change.

Incomplete elevational sampling in studies of biodiversity and community assembly along elevational gradients can result in inconsistent findings and potentially inaccurate conclusions about assembly mechanisms. In this study, we conducted extensive sampling of small mammals over a 3200 m elevational gradient on Xiling Snow Mountain, Southwestern China. We integrated functional and phylogenetic diversity to determine the mechanisms structuring small mammal assemblages. Our findings indicate that taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic diversity, along with all species richness-corrected indices of functional and phylogenetic diversity, exhibit similar hump-shaped patterns. Our results suggest that environmental filtering plays a considerable role in structuring small mammal communities at low and high elevations, while competitive exclusion governs the assembly processes at middle elevations. Human footprint, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, precipitation seasonality and potential evapotranspiration are key drivers of small mammal diversity and community structure along elevational gradients. In summary, our study provides evidence that phylogenetic diversity is a robust surrogate for functional diversity, and challenges the recent large-scale studies that advocate a linear relationship between small mammal assembly process and elevation. We emphasize the importance of continuously documenting general patterns of small mammal diversity across entire elevational gradients in future studies.

Abstract Background Montane ecosystems play crucial roles as global biodiversity hotspots. However, climatic changes and anthropogenic pressure increasingly threaten the stability of montane community dynamics, such as diversity-elevation interactions, creating a challenge in understanding species biogeography and community ecology dynamics in these crucial conservation areas. We examined how varying sampling spatial grains influence small mammal diversity patterns within Kenya’s tallest montane ecosystems. Methods Employing a combination of multidimensional alpha diversity metrics and multisite beta diversity characteristics (species richness, phylogenetic and functional diversity and divergence, and multisite beta diversity) alongside spatial generalized additive multivariate regression analyses, we tested how spatial scaling influences elevational diversity gradient patterns and their associations with environmental and human activity variables. Results The diversity-elevation associations were generally homogeneous across spatial grains; however, idiosyncratic patterns emerged across mountains. The total (taxonomic, phylogenetic, and functional) beta diversity, nestedness, and turnover resultant components monotonically increased or decreased with varying spatial grains. The associations between the diversity patterns and the environmental and human footprint variables increased with spatial grain size but also presented variations across mountains and indices. Species richness and phylogenetic and functional richness indices were more strongly influenced by spatial scale variations than were the divergence and community structure indices in both the diversity distribution patterns and their associations with the environmental and human variables. Conclusions The diversity-elevation and diversity-environment (including human activity pressure) relationships across spatial grains suggest that montane small mammal diversity patterns portray subtle but systematic sensitivity to sampling spatial grain variation and underscore the importance of geographical context in shaping these elevational diversity gradients. For improved effectiveness, conservation efforts should consider these spatial effects and the unique geographical background of individual montane ecosystems.

Abstract Background Mountain ecosystems are critical hotspots of global biodiversity, yet the dynamics of community assembly along their elevational gradients are not well understood. This gap is primarily due to the complexity of environmental and biotic interactions that influence species distribution and community structure. Although extensive research has been conducted on certain taxa, such as small mammals and bats, comprehensive studies encompassing entire mammal assemblages are lacking. Our research aims to bridge this gap by examining the taxonomic, phylogenetic, and functional diversity, as well as the assemblage structures of mammal communities across elevational gradients in the Central and East Himalayas, exploring how diverse ecological and evolutionary processes impact community assembly. Methods We analyzed mammal elevational diversity patterns using species richness, functional diversity (FD), and phylogenetic diversity (PD). We compared the observed values of community structure, such as mean pairwise phylogenetic distance (MPD) and mean pairwise functional distance (MFD), with null-model corrected effect sizes to identify patterns and processes of community assembly. Using structural equation modeling and hierarchical partitioning, we investigated the relationships between climate, productivity, and various facets of diversity, describing the organization of each component across different elevations. Results Taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic diversity generally decreased with elevation but showed varied patterns such as mid-elevation peaks, low-elevation plateaus, or monotonic declines across different regions. Richness-controlled functional diversity increased towards mid-low elevations and decreased at higher elevations in both regions, whereas richness-controlled phylogenetic diversity lacked consistent patterns. Phylogenetic structures tended to cluster from mid to high elevations, indicating closer relationships than those observed in random communities, likely due to significant environmental turnover near tree lines. Functional structure showed greater clustering at high elevations and increased over-dispersion at lower elevations, suggesting that species are more functionally similar than expected at higher elevations and more diverse at lower elevations. Our results revealed that environmental factors, evolutionary histories, and trait-driven ecological processes collectively shape species richness along these gradients. Conclusions Our results showed incongruent community structures across phylogenetic and functional diversity. Generally, functional traits are closely linked to environmental conditions, reducing the chance of observing traits that are misaligned with their surroundings. Species with similar ecological roles or distinct evolutionary lineages often show convergent adaptations to highland environments. Additionally, our findings emphasize that community assembly varies with the biogeography and diversification history of individual mountain ranges, complicating the development of a generalized theory. Using multiple measures is important for accurate community structure assessments and effective conservation planning, as variable elevational patterns exist across different diversity dimensions.

Abstract Fire plays a key role in grasslands, determining the distribution and evolution of species and boundaries with neighboring ecosystems. Evidence of community-wide responses to fire is largely based on taxonomic and functional descriptors, while the phylogenetic dimension is overlooked. Here we evaluated how the taxonomic and phylogenetic structure of grassland plant communities responded to a time since fire (TSF) gradient. We sampled 12 communities in Southern Brazil under varying TSF and calculated taxonomic species richness (S) and dominance (D), phylogenetic diversity (PD), and mean phylogenetic distances (MPD). We used Structural Equation Models to test the relationships between the environmental gradient and community descriptors. Communities with longer TSF presented higher PD and MPD but lower species richness and increased taxonomic dominance. These sites were dominated by monocots, specifically C4 grasses, but also presented exclusive clades, whereas recently-burned sites presented lower taxonomic dominance and more species distributed in a wider variety of clades. Our results indicate that these scenarios are interchangeable and dependent on fire management. Fire adaptation was not constrained by phylogenetic relatedness, contrasting with previous findings for tropical savannahs and indicating that temperate and tropical non-forest ecosystems from South America respond differently to fire, possibly due to different evolutionary histories.

Background: Mountain ecosystems are critical hotspots of global biodiversity, yet the dynamics of community assembly along their elevational gradients are not well understood. This gap is primarily due to the complexity of environmental and biotic interactions that influence species distribution and community structure. Although extensive research has been conducted on certain taxa, such as small mammals and bats, comprehensive studies encompassing entire mammal assemblages are lacking. Our research aims to bridge this gap by examining the taxonomic, phylogenetic, and functional diversity, as well as the assemblage structures of mammal communities across elevational gradients in the Central and East Himalayas, exploring how diverse ecological and evolutionary processes impact community assembly. Methods: We analyzed mammal elevational diversity patterns using species richness, functional diversity (FD), and phylogenetic diversity (PD). We compared the observed values of community structure, such as mean pairwise phylogenetic distance (MPD) and mean pairwise functional distance (MFD), with null-model corrected effect sizes to identify patterns and processes of community assembly. Using structural equation modeling and hierarchical partitioning, we investigated the relationships between climate, productivity, and various facets of diversity, describing the organization of each component across different elevations. Results: Taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic diversity generally decreased with elevation but showed varied patterns such as mid-elevation peaks, low-elevation plateaus, or monotonic declines across different regions. Richness-controlled functional diversity increased towards mid-low elevations and decreased at higher elevations in both regions, whereas richness-controlled phylogenetic diversity lacked consistent patterns. Phylogenetic structures tended to cluster from mid to high elevations, indicating closer relationships than those observed in random communities, likely due to significant environmental turnover near tree lines. Functional structure showed greater clustering at high elevations and increased over-dispersion at lower elevations, suggesting that species are more functionally similar than expected at higher elevations and more diverse at lower elevations. Our results revealed that environmental factors, evolutionary histories, and trait-driven ecological processes collectively shape species richness along these gradients. Conclusions: Our results showed incongruent community structures across phylogenetic and functional diversity. Generally, functional traits are closely linked to environmental conditions, reducing the chance of observing traits that are misaligned with their surroundings. Species with similar ecological roles or distinct evolutionary lineages often show convergent adaptations to highland environments. Additionally, our findings emphasize that community assembly varies with the biogeography and diversification history of individual mountain ranges, complicating the development of a generalized theory. Using multiple measures is important for accurate community structure assessments and effective conservation planning, as variable elevational patterns exist across different diversity dimensions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite recent efforts to make large‐scale biodiversity datasets available, several data shortfalls still exist that preclude our progress in achieving global conservation and sustainability goals. In this study, we present a comprehensive native tree dataset (1689 species) from the Indian Himalayan Region (IHR)—home to two global biodiversity hotspots—assembled from an extensive data synthesis. Based on this database, we investigate the geographic patterns and drivers of α‐ and β‐taxonomic and phylogenetic diversity of the native trees among 13 different provinces of IHR. Our results revealed a considerable variation in the α‐ and β‐taxonomic and phylogenetic diversity among the provinces of IHR, with the highest values in eastern provinces. We found phylogenetic clustering mostly in the western provinces, and phylogenetic dispersion in the eastern provinces. We found a positive correlation between the taxonomic and phylogenetic dissimilarity across the IHR. Also, the different sets of explanatory variables explained the variation of tree species richness, standardized effect size of phylogenetic diversity, net relatedness index, and nearest taxon index, with maximum contribution by temperature seasonality (Bio4). Furthermore, temperature‐related climatic distance individually explained most of the variation in the taxonomic and phylogenetic dissimilarity between the provinces of IHR. Overall, our findings unveil the patterns of taxonomic, biogeographic, and phylogenetic dimensions of tree flora in the IHR, which in turn can help in formulating scientific data‐based regional policy and conservation strategies. Looking forward, we presented a model study for bridging the Linnean, Wallacean, and Darwinian shortfalls in the globally data‐deficient biodiversity‐rich regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The intricate mechanisms controlling plant diversity and community composition are cornerstone of ecological understanding. Yet, the role of mycorrhizal symbiosis in influencing community composition has often been underestimated. Here, we use extensive species survey data from 1315 grassland sites in China to elucidate the influence of mycorrhizal symbiosis on plant phylogenetic diversity and community assembly. We show that increasing mycorrhizal symbiotic potential leads to greater phylogenetic dispersion within plant communities. Mycorrhizal species predominantly influence deterministic processes, suggesting a role in niche‐based community assembly. Conversely, non‐mycorrhizal species exert a stronger influence on stochastic processes, highlighting the importance of random events in shaping community structure. These results underscore the crucial but often hidden role of mycorrhizal symbiosis in driving plant community diversity and assembly. This study provides valuable insights into the mechanisms shaping ecological communities and the way for more informed conservation that acknowledges the complex interplay between symbiosis and community dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent anthropogenic activities have escalated human exploitation of riparian zones of river ecosystems, consequently diminishing aquatic biodiversity. This intensification of land use is also causing water quality degradation and changes in water environmental factors, evidenced by increased nutrient levels and adversely impacting the community structure and diversity of aquatic organisms. Notably, the Weihe River Basin, the largest tributary of the Yellow River, has demonstrated signs of significant anthropogenic pressure. Despite this, comprehensive investigations examining the effects of land-use intensity on aquatic organism diversity in this watershed remain limited. In this study, the environmental impacts and macroinvertebrate diversity under high-intensity and low-intensity land-use scenarios within the Weihe River Basin were investigated through field surveys conducted during the spring and autumn seasons. Our results demonstrated that areas under high-intensity land use exhibited elevated nutrient concentrations (e.g., total nitrogen) compared to those under low-intensity land use. These environmental changes significantly influenced the macroinvertebrate community structure, reducing functional and phylogenetic diversities in high-intensity land-use watersheds. Hydrological factors (water depth, river width, and discharge) have a significant impact on macroinvertebrate taxonomic diversity. Thus, understanding the effects of land-use intensity on aquatic biodiversity is essential for ecological assessments of impacted watersheds and developing management strategies for the sustainable use and planning of riparian lands in the Weihe River Basin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecologists strive to untangle the complex interplay of current and historical factors, along with evolutionary history of species, to understand communities' structure. However, this can be achieved by integrating different approaches to expanding our knowledge about the underlying processes connecting assemble rules of ecological communities. In order to better understand how ecological and/or evolutionary factors may affect the structure of communities, we assessed the phylogenetic and functional structure of 33 tadpole communities in the Atlantic Forest Southeastern Brazil and tested whether phylogenetic conservatism drives tadpole traits. We identified 19 communities which were significantly phylogenetic clustered and 10 which were significantly functional clustered. Trait diversity was skewed towards the root, indicating phylogenetic trait conservatism as an important driver of the structure of tadpole communities. The best explanatory model of the phylogenetic diversity included, in order of importance, presence of potential fish predators, water conductivity, external diversity of vegetation structure, canopy cover, internal diversity of vegetation structure and dissolved oxygen. Most variables were negatively correlated with phylogenetic diversity, but the presence of potential fish predators was positively correlated. For functional structure, external diversity of vegetation structure, canopy cover, area, dissolved oxygen and presence of potential fish predators were selected as the best explanatory model (presented in order of importance). Furthermore, of the 10 functionally structured communities, eight were also phylogenetically structured. In this sense, environmental variables could be filtering tadpole lineages interacting with phylogenetically conserved species traits, thus driving anura tadpole species' occurrence on communities. Our study provides evidence that anuran communities structure results from interacting ecological and evolutionary processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: The influence of species phylogenetic relatedness on the formation of insular assemblages remains understudied in functional island biogeography, especially for terrestrial habitat islands (i.e. distinct habitat patches embedded in a matrix that differ in the prevailing environmental conditions). Here, we tested three eco‐evolutionary hypotheses: (1) functional specialization of species (i.e. specialism) is associated with phylogenetic clustering at the habitat archipelago scale, (2) such clustering increases with insularity at the habitat island scale and (3) traits indicative of effective local persistence strategies shape island specialism. Location: Terrestrial habitat islands, Europe (Fens in the Western Carpathians, Outcrops in Moravia and Mountaintops in the Cantabrian Range). Taxon: Angiosperms. Methods: We assessed the phylogenetic relatedness of habitat specialists in three different archipelagos composed of terrestrial habitat islands based on phylogenetic signals and phylogenetic diversity (PD) measures. We estimated the effect of insularity on PD using linear models and the effect of persistence traits on specialism using phylogenetic logistic regressions. Results: Our hypotheses were largely not supported. Outcrop and mountaintop specialist assemblages did not exhibit any phylogenetic structuring, whereas fen specialists were clustered at the archipelago scale. Therefore, insularity seems not to act as a selective force for phylogenetic structure, and ecologically important persistence traits do not operate as precursors of specialism. Main Conclusions: Our results show that species phylogenetic relatedness plays a minor role in shaping habitat island specialist assemblages. Furthermore, the effects of phylogenetic relatedness on assemblages of island specialists are system and scale dependent. Finally, accounting for species' phylogenetic relatedness on persistence traits yielded results similar to previous studies, which corroborates the positive relationship between insularity and functional traits (indicative of enhanced plant persistence abilities with increasing within‐archipelago insularity). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Different measures of macroinvertebrate diversity (species diversity, functional diversity, phylogenetic diversity) and functional feeding groups (FFGs) are commonly used to assess the ecological status of large shallow lakes. In this study, biodiversity and FFGs in a large shallow lake, Lake Hongze, differed between littoral and pelagic habitats, with the spatial variability of littoral assemblages more correlated with nutrient concentrations, whilst pelagic assemblages were more associated with wave-induced disturbance (e.g., mean effective fetch). Species diversity was poorly correlated with measures of nutrient concentrations, whereas functional diversity, phylogenetic diversity, and functional feeding groups are promising indicators of nutrient concentrations. Lastly, our findings support the use of biodiversity and FFGs to disentangle the effects of nutrients and wave-induced disturbance on macroinvertebrate assemblages. Furthermore, monitoring both littoral and pelagic habitats in large shallow lakes is recommended to better understand and quantify ecosystem changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aims Latitudinal diversity gradients have been intimately linked to the tropical niche conservatism hypothesis, which posits that there has been a strong filter due to the challenges faced by ancestral tropical lineages to adapt to low temperatures and colonize extra-tropical regions. In liverworts, species richness is higher towards the tropics, but the centres of diversity of the basal lineages are distributed across extra-tropical regions, pointing to the colonization of tropical regions by phylogenetically clustered assemblages of species of temperate origin. Here, we test this hypothesis through analyses of the relationship between macroclimatic variation and phylogenetic diversity in Chinese liverworts. Methods Phylogenetic diversity metrics and their standardized effect sizes for liverworts in each of the 28 regional floras at the province level in China were related to latitude and six climate variables using regression analysis. We conducted variation partitioning analyses to determine the relative importance of each group of climatic variables. Key Results We find that the number of species decreases with latitude, whereas phylogenetic diversity shows the reverse pattern, and that phylogenetic diversity is more strongly correlated with temperature-related variables compared with precipitation-related variables. Conclusions We interpret the opposite patterns observed in phylogenetic diversity and species richness in terms of a more recent origin of tropical diversity coupled with higher extinctions in temperate regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 2014, highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5 viruses of clade 2.3.4.4 have been dominating the outbreaks across Europe, causing massive deaths among poultry and wild birds. However, the factors shaping these broad‐scale outbreak patterns, especially those related to waterbird community composition, remain unclear. In particular, we do not know whether these risk factors differ from those of other H5 clades. Addressing this knowledge gap is important for predicting and preventing future HPAI outbreaks. Using extensive waterbird survey datasets from about 6883 sites, we here explored the effect of waterbird community composition on HPAI H5Nx (clade 2.3.4.4) spatial patterns in the 2016/2017 and 2020/2021 epidemics in Europe, and compared it with the 2005/2006 HPAI H5N1 (clade 2.2) epidemic. We showed that HPAI H5 occurrences in wild birds in the three epidemics were strongly associated with very similar waterbird community attributes, which suggested that, in nature, similar interspecific transmission processes operate between the HPAI H5 subtypes or clades. Importantly, community phylogenetic diversity consistently showed a negative association with H5 occurrence in all three epidemics, suggesting a dilution effect of phylogenetic diversity. In contrast, waterbird community variables showed much weaker associations with HPAI H5Nx occurrence in poultry. Our results demonstrate that models based on previous epidemics can predict future HPAI H5 patterns in wild birds, implying that it is important to include waterbird community factors in future HPAI studies to predict outbreaks and improve surveillance activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: The spatial distribution of plant diversity in urban areas is fundamental to understanding the relationship between urbanization and biodiversity. Previous research has primarily focused on taxonomic levels to assess species richness. In contrast, investigations into the spatial patterns of phylogenetic diversity in urban plants remain limited. Objectives: This study aims to investigate the spatial patterns of plant phylogenetic diversity along an urban–rural gradient and quantify how phylogenetic diversity and the degree of urbanization are related. Methods: A survey of vascular plants was conducted at 134 randomly selected sample plots along four urban–rural transects in Shanghai, China. Three phylogenetic diversity metrics were calculated: Faith’s phylogenetic diversity (PD), net relatedness index (NRI), and net nearest taxon index (NTI), along with the urbanization degree index (UDI). Regression analysis was employed to quantify the spatial patterns of plant phylogenetic diversity across different taxa along the urban–rural gradients and their relationships with UDI. Results: The study observed seven distinct patterns of plant phylogenetic diversity along the urban–rural gradients in different taxa, which support the previous hypotheses that biological distribution patterns at the species level also hold true at the phylogenetic level. Faith’s phylogenetic diversity (PD) showed a linear increase with increasing UDI for total, woody, perennial, and cultivated plant assemblages. The UDI explained 3–36% of the variation in PD for these taxa. In contrast, PD for annual and spontaneous plants exhibited a linear decrease with increasing UDI, which explained 25% and 3% variation in PD for annual and spontaneous plants, respectively. The net relatedness index (NRI) for woody, perennial, and cultivated plants, as well as the net nearest taxon index (NTI) for perennial and cultivated plants, linearly increases with UDI, whereas the NRI for total, annual, and spontaneous plants, as well as NTI for total, woody, annual, and spontaneous plants linearly decrease with UDI. However, some of these trends were only marginally significant. Conclusions: The spatial patterns of plant phylogenetic diversity varied along the urban-to-rural gradients, indicating that urban environmental filtering has an impact on plant phylogenetic diversity. Urbanization increased the phylogenetic richness of different plant taxa in Shanghai but resulted in more clustering and relatedness of species within plant assemblages. Phylogenetic richness exhibited a linear increase with UDI, while the phylogenetic divergence decreased with UDI. The UDI is a useful predictor for examining variations in plant phylogeny due to urbanization. Our findings provide insights into how urbanization impacts plant phylogenetic diversity, helping urban plant diversity conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first general overview of mycorrhizal functional groups associated with the flora of the Queensland Sunshine Coast heathlands, a community of low phylogenetic diversity, is provided in this Short Communication. Broad proportions of plant species associated with mycorrhizal and non-mycorrhizal functional groups in the heathlands were compared with those in the surrounding rainforest flora, and across the heath strata. This overview suggests that a greater diversity of mycorrhizal strategies and an increased number of plant genera with non-mycorrhizal associations are found in the heathlands, with proportions varying among the strata. These associations may be facilitating the coexistence of plant species and increasing phylogenetic dispersion. General proportions of plants associated with non-mycorrhizal and mycorrhizal functional groups in the Sunshine Coast flora of Queensland are strikingly different between the rainforest and heath communities. The heath mycorrhizal associations show proportions similar to other low-fertility environments. Proportions of different mycorrhizal associations in the flora are different across the heath strata, suggesting that competitive interactions and facilitation may be contributing to plant assembly patterns. Image prepared in ITOL by Hilary Pearl. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Birds are sensitive to environmental changes and can drive range shifts rapidly due to their high mobility. Though previous studies have examined the associations between species traits and range shifts, whether species traits could still explain heterogeneity in shift directions remains poorly explored. Here, we compiled new bird records of China from 2000 to 2019 and analyzed species traits associated with apparent shift directions. We collected 350 provincial-level new records of birds belonging to 67 families of 22 orders. Of these, 32 are threatened, with 3 critically endangered, 11 endangered, and 18 vulnerable. Provinces in western China (i.e., Yunnan and Xizang) had relatively higher species richness of new recorded birds; this pattern was also reflected in the phylogenetic diversity we observed. In addition, provinces in northern China (i.e., Tianjin, Shandong, and Beijing) had relatively higher richness-controlled phylogenetic diversity. Phylogenetic overdispersion of new recorded bird communities was observed in 61.29% of provinces (19 of 31). The main shift directions indicated by new bird records were northward (with nearly 50% of birds moving NW, N and NE). Migration, hand-wing index (HWI), body mass, and range size are the four key factors that most significantly influence the shift directions in bird species, suggesting that bird movement toward newly suitable areas varies with species-specific traits. Together, these results demonstrate the importance of considering species ecological traits when predicting shift directions of birds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The environmental filtering hypothesis predicts that abiotic factors restrict communities by selecting species capable of survival and persistence under specific conditions, resulting in variations in beta diversity, phylogenetic clustering, and niche differentiation among communities when studying environmental gradients. Cushion bogs and high-altitude wetlands along the Andes display homogeneous flora contrasting with zonal vegetation. Despite being influenced by microclimatic conditions, these ecosystems are subject to diverse environmental effects. Here, we test the environmental filtering hypothesis on the structure of cushion bog communities along a broad-scale latitudinal gradient from 15° S to 42° S. We analyzed 421 bogs and 293 species across three macroclimatic regions with distinct summer, winter, and transitional arid rainfall regimes. Using variance partitioning and membership-based regionalization models, we examined the impacts of climatic, edaphic, and spatial variables on beta diversity. We also assessed species' niche overlap and the influence of environmental filters on the communities' phylogenetic diversity. Results show that species turnover and niche overlap vary with macroclimatic differences, delineating three distinct regions. Notably, phylogenetic clustering in the driest part of the gradient (23° S–24° S) highlights the impact of environmental filtering. Aridity and temperature variations at a broad scale serve as environmental filters shaping the composition of bog communities across southern South America. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The decrease in species richness toward higher latitudes is an expected biogeographical pattern. This pattern could be related to particular environmental constraints and the evolutionary history of clades. However, species richness does not fully represent the evolutionary history of the clades behind their distributions. Phylogenetic diversity better clarifies the role of historical factors in biogeographical patterns. We analyzed environmental and historical drivers related to latitudinal variation in species richness and phylogenetic diversity of Atlantic Forest endemic snakes. We implemented species distribution models, from voucher-based locality points, to map the snake ranges and diversity. We used generalized additive mixed models to evaluate the relationships among the diversity metrics and area, topographical roughness, and past climate change velocity since the Last Maximum Glacial in the Atlantic Forest latitudinal gradient. Contrary to the expected general pattern, species richness was higher toward higher latitudes, being positively related to past climatic stability. Species richness also increased with total area and higher topographical roughness. Phylogenetic diversity, on the other hand, showed opposite relationships related to the same factors. Phylogenetic diversity increased with lower climatic stability in lower latitudes. Thus, dimensions of diversity were affected in different ways by historical and environmental constraints in this unique and threatened biodiversity hotspot. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vegetation characteristics are an important proxy to measure the outcome of ecological restoration and monitor vegetation changes. Similarly, the classification of remotely sensed images is a prerequisite for many field ecological studies. We have a limited understanding of how the remote sensing approach can be utilized to classify spontaneous vegetation in post‐industrial spoil heaps that dominate urban areas. We aimed to assess whether an objective a priori classification of vegetation using remotely sensed data allows for ecologically interpretable division. We hypothesized that remote sensing‐based vegetation clusters will differ in alpha diversity, species, and functional composition; thereby providing ecologically interpretable division of study sites for further analyses. We acquired remote‐sensing data from Sentinel 2A for each studied heap from July to September 2020. We recorded vascular plant species and their abundance across 400 plots on a post‐coal mine in Upper Silesia, Poland. We assessed differences in alpha diversity indices and community‐weighted means (CWMs) among remote sensing‐based vegetation units. Analysis of remotely sensed characteristics revealed five clusters that reflected transition in vegetation across successional gradients. Analysis of species composition showed that the 1st (early‐succession), 3rd (late‐succession), and 5th (mid‐succession) clusters had 13, 10, and 12 exclusive indicator species, respectively, however, the 2nd and 4th clusters had only one species. While the 1st, 2nd, and 4th can be combined into a single cluster (early‐succession), we found the lowest species richness in the 3rd cluster (late‐succession) and the highest in the 5th cluster (mid‐succession). Shannon's diversity index revealed a similar trend. In contrast, the 3rd cluster (late‐succession) had significantly higher phylogenetic diversity. The 3rd cluster (late‐succession) had the lowest functional richness and the highest functional dispersion. Our approach underscored the significance of a priori classification of vegetation using remote sensing for vegetation surveys. It also highlighted differences between vegetation types along a successional gradient in post‐mining spoil heaps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: The continuous rise in anthropogenic nitrogen input, as one of the global change drivers, could have significant effect on terrestrial ecosystems, altering plant diversity and production. However, the effect of the nitrogen deposition rate on the multidimensional plant diversity–production relationship is poorly understood. Here, we investigated how varying rates of nitrogen deposition affect multidimensional plant diversity, biomass production, and its correlation in a temperate steppe of northern China. Biomass production increased initially and reached the maximum, then decreased with nitrogen deposition rates. Nitrogen deposition reduced species richness and plant functional diversity, while it enhanced plant functional trait identity such as plant height and leaf chlorophyll content. The phylogenetic structure of the plant community shifted from clustering to overdispersion along the nitrogen deposition gradient. However, nitrogen deposition did not change the relationships of species richness and phylogenetic structure with production but affected the functional diversity–production relationships. The results imply the robust species and phylogenetic diversity–production relationships and the varying functional diversity–production correlations under nitrogen deposition. The findings highlight the importance of a trait-based approach in studying the linkage between biodiversity and ecosystem function and facilitate the development of effective management strategies to maintain biodiversity and ecosystem function in the temperate steppe. Nitrogen (N) deposition, as one of the global change drivers, can alter terrestrial plant diversity and ecosystem function. However, the response of the plant diversity–ecosystem function relationship to N deposition remains unclear. On one hand, in the previous studies, taxonomic diversity (i.e., species richness, SR) was solely considered the common metric of plant diversity, compared to other diversity metrics such as phylogenetic and functional diversity. On the other hand, most previous studies simulating N deposition only included two levels of control versus N enrichment. How various N deposition rates affect multidimensional plant diversity–ecosystem function relationships is poorly understood. Here, a field manipulative experiment with a N addition gradient (0, 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, and 64 g N m−2 yr−1) was carried out to examine the effects of N addition rates on the relationships between plant diversity metrics (taxonomic, phylogenetic, and functional diversity) and ecosystem production in a temperate steppe. Production initially increased and reached the maximum value at the N addition rate of 47 g m−2 yr−1, then decreased along the N-addition gradient in the steppe. SR, functional diversity calculated using plant height (FDis-Height) and leaf chlorophyll content (FDis-Chlorophyll), and phylogenetic diversity (net relatedness index, NRI) were reduced, whereas community-weighted means of plant height (CWMHeight) and leaf chlorophyll content (CWMChlorophyll) were enhanced by N addition. N addition did not affect the relationships of SR, NRI, and FDis-Height with production but significantly affected the strength of the correlation between FDis-Chlorophyll, CWMHeight, and CWMChlorophyll with biomass production across the eight levels of N addition. The findings indicate the robust relationships of taxonomic and phylogenetic diversity and production and the varying correlations between functional diversity and production under increased N deposition in the temperate steppe, highlighting the importance of a trait-based approach in studying the plant diversity–ecosystem function under global change scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]