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Plot‐scale experiments indicate that functional diversity (FD) plays a pivotal role in sustaining ecosystem functions such as net primary productivity (NPP). However, the relationships between functional diversity and NPP across larger scale under varying climatic conditions are sparsely studied, despite its significance for understanding forest–atmosphere interactions and informing policy development. Hence, we examine the relationships of community‐weighted mean (CWM) and functional dispersion (FDis) of woody plant traits on NPP across China and if such relationships are modulated by climatic conditions at the national scale. Using comprehensive datasets of distribution, functional traits, and productivity for 9120 Chinese woody plant species, we evaluated the distribution pattern of community‐weighted mean and functional dispersion (including three orthogonal trait indicators: plant size, leaf morphology, and flower duration) and its relationships with NPP. Finally, we tested the effects of climatic conditions on community‐weighted mean/functional dispersion–NPP relationships. We first found overall functional diversity–NPP relationships, but also that the magnitude of these relationships was sensitive to climate, with plant size community‐weighted mean promoting NPP in warm regions and plant size functional dispersion promoting NPP in wet regions. Second, warm and wet conditions indirectly increased NPP by its positive effects on community‐weighted mean or functional dispersion, particularly through mean plant size and leaf morphology. Our study provides comprehensive evidence for the relationships between functional diversity and NPP under varying climates at a large scale. Importantly, our results indicate a broadening significance of multidimensional plant functional traits for woody vegetation NPP in response to rising temperatures and wetter climates. Restoration, reforestation actions and natural capital accounting need to carefully consider not only community‐weighted mean and functional dispersion but also their interactions with climate, to predict how functional diversity may promote ecosystem functioning under future climatic conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: The equator‐to‐poles decline in the number of species, namely the latitudinal diversity gradient (LDG), is the most conspicuous pattern in biology, yet the underlying mechanisms of this pattern remain controversial. Species dispersal could have strong effects on large‐scale species distributions but has rarely been considered in understanding the LDG. Here we sought to examine how dispersal ability may influence the latitudinal phylogenetic patterns of woody angiosperm assemblages. Location: China. Taxon: Woody angiosperms. Methods: Based on a highly supported mega‐phylogeny constructed from plastid genomes, we assessed the patterns of phylogenetic relatedness and dissimilarity of 1184 trees with three different seed dispersal modes (i.e. zoochory, anemochory and autochory) in 12 permanent forest dynamic plots covering tropical, subtropical and temperate zones in China. Results: We found that, compared with zoochorous and anemochorous species, the less vagile autochorous trees exhibited a much weaker latitudinal pattern in phylogenetic relatedness and higher phylogenetic dissimilarity among plots. The phylogenetic dissimilarity pattern of autochorous trees was explained more by geographic distance than environmental factors, consistent with a dominant role for dispersal limitation. Main Conclusions: Our study, for the first time, demonstrates that seed dispersal mode strongly influences the latitudinal phylogenetic patterns of woody angiosperm assemblages in China and highlights the importance of interaction between dispersal limitation and environmental filtering in determining the large‐scale distribution of forest biodiversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The desert ecosystem of the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau (QTP) is an important component of China's desert ecosystem. Studying the mechanisms shaping the taxonomic, phylogenetic, and functional beta diversity of plant communities in the QTP desert will help us to promote scientific conservation and management of the region's biodiversity. This study investigated the effects of environmental (including altitude, climate factors, and soil factors) and geographic distances on three facets of beta diversity as well as their turnover and nestedness components based on field survey data. The results showed that turnover components dominate the three facets of beta diversity. However, the turnover contributions to phylogenetic and functional beta diversity were lower than for taxonomic beta diversity. Environmental distance had a greater influence than geographic distance, with the former uniquely explaining 15.2%–22.8% of beta diversity and the latter explaining only 1.7%–2.4%. Additionally, the explanatory power of different factors for beta diversity differed between herbs and shrubs, with environmental distance being more important for the latter. Distance‐based redundancy analysis suggested that soil total potassium content had a substantial impact on the beta diversity of three dimensions, with mean temperature of the coldest month and soil total phosphorus content having a substantial impact on taxonomic and functional beta diversity as well. Our results support that environmental sorting plays a predominant role in shaping plant community composition across QTP desert ecosystems. To maintain the plant diversity of this region, it is crucial to prioritize the conservation of its diverse environmental conditions and actively mitigate its degradation by anthropogenic pressures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Massive human‐induced declines of large‐sized animals and trees (megabiota) from the Late Pleistocene to the Anthropocene have resulted in downsized ecosystems across the globe, in which components and functions have been greatly simplified. In response, active restoration projects of extant large‐sized species or functional substitutes are needed at large scales to promote ecological processes that are important for ecosystem self‐regulation and biodiversity maintenance. Despite the desired global scope of such projects, they have received little attention in East Asia. Here, we synthesise the biogeographical and ecological knowledge of megabiota in ancient and modern China, with relevant data mostly located in eastern monsoonal China (EMC), aiming to assess its potential for restoring functionally intact ecosystems modulated by megabiota. We found that during the Late Pleistocene, 12 mammalian megafaunal (carnivores ≥15 kg and herbivores ≥500 kg) species disappeared from EMC: one carnivore Crocuta ultima (East Asian spotted hyena) and 11 herbivores including six megaherbivores (≥1000 kg). The relative importance of climate change and humans in driving these losses remains debated, despite accumulating evidence in favour of the latter. Later massive depletion of megafauna and large‐sized (45–500 kg) herbivores has been closely associated with agricultural expansion and societal development, especially during the late Holocene. While forests rich in large timber trees (33 taxa in written records) were common in the region 2000–3000 years ago, millennial‐long logging has resulted in considerable range contractions and at least 39 threatened species. The wide distribution of C. ultima, which likely favoured open or semi‐open habitats (like extant spotted hyenas), suggests the existence of mosaic open and closed vegetation in the Late Pleistocene across EMC, in line with a few pollen‐based vegetation reconstructions and potentially, or at least partially, reflecting herbivory by herbivorous megafauna. The widespread loss of megaherbivores may have strongly compromised seed dispersal for both megafruit (fleshy fruits with widths ≥40 mm) and non‐megafruit plant species in EMC, especially in terms of extra‐long‐distance (>10 km) dispersal, which is critical for plant species that rely on effective biotic agents to track rapid climate change. The former occurrence of large mammals and trees have translated into rich material and non‐material heritages passed down across generations. Several reintroduction projects have been implemented or are under consideration, with the case of Elaphurus davidianus a notable success in recovering wild populations in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, although trophic interactions with native carnivorous megafauna have not yet been restored. Lessons of dealing with human–wildlife conflicts are key to public support for maintaining landscapes shared with megafauna and large herbivores in the human‐dominated Anthropocene. Meanwhile, potential human–wildlife conflicts, e.g. public health risks, need to be scientifically informed and effectively reduced. The Chinese government's strong commitment to improved policies of ecological protection and restoration (e.g. ecological redlines and national parks) provides a solid foundation for a scaling‐up contribution to the global scope needed for solving the crisis of biotic downsizing and ecosystem degradation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Recent studies highlight the importance of linking landscape ecology and macroecology for a better understanding of broad‐scale biodiversity patterns. The "landscape context effect" denotes that species responses and biodiversity in a focal area are shaped by neighbouring landscape composition and structure outside the focal area. Here, we test whether the landscape context effect could be pronounced at macroecological scales. Location: Sub‐Saharan Africa and continental China. Time period: Late 20th to early 21st centuries. Taxa studied: Terrestrial mammals (≥2 kg). Methods: We calculated species richness on the basis of grid cells of 50 km × 50 km and 100 km × 100 km. We used ordinary least square and random forest models to examine the relationships between species richness within grid cells and landscape context (defined as composition and structure of the neighbouring landscape outside the grid cells, with distances of 10–400 km to the boundary of a given grid cell). We used variation partitioning to quantify the independent and shared explanatory power of the landscape context variables, grouping species by body size and diet. Results: Landscape context alone explained ≤20% of the variation in species richness, even when controlling for correlations with macroenvironmental variables (climate, productivity and topography) and correlations with landscape attributes within the grid cells. Importantly, the explanatory power of landscape context at the scales of 100–400 km ofen outweighed grid‐cell landscape attributes or macro‐environmental variables. The independent explanatory power of landscape context was lowest for small‐sized omnivores. Furthermore, we found higher independent explanatory power for large herbivores in sub‐Saharan Africa than in continental China. Main conclusions: Landscape context plays a substantial role in shaping local biodiversity patterns at regional and continental scales, with its strength varying with organism diet and movement needs and possibilities. These findings support that conservation efforts should include effective management of landscape structure, with attention to differing space requirements among organism groups. Our work also illustrates the scope for testing landscape ecological hypotheses at macroecological scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Understanding how biotic communities are spatially distributed is essential for biodiversity conservation in human‐modified landscapes. The large‐scale subsidence wetlands generated by underground coal mining in China have been increasingly used by large numbers of waterbirds, which remain understudied. We aimed to explore the role of non‐random assembly in shaping the regional waterbird diversity in non‐breeding seasons, providing insights for the conservation. Location: The North China Plain. Methods: Taxonomic β‐diversity and functional β‐diversity (both multiple‐site and pairwise) of the waterbird communities were quantified and decomposed into turnover (i.e. species replacement) and nestedness components (i.e. the poorer sites being subsets of the richer sites). Observed functional α‐diversity and pairwise β‐diversity, as well as the two components, were compared with simulated means under random assembly processes in null models, which maintained the species richness, pairwise taxonomic dissimilarity, and its turnover and nestedness components as the observed. Results: The communities exhibited similar multiple‐site taxonomic and functional β‐diversity, which were primarily contributed by taxonomic and functional turnover, respectively. The pairwise functional β‐diversity, as well as its turnover and nestedness components, was positively correlated with their taxonomic counterparts. The pairwise functional β‐diversity was higher than the taxonomic β‐diversity, with the former mainly reflecting nestedness of functional strategies and the latter reflecting species replacement. The observed functional α‐diversities in most communities were lower, and most of the observed pairwise functional β‐diversities were higher than the simulated means in null models. Main conclusions: The above patterns suggest the existence of non‐random assembly of the waterbird communities across the subsidence wetlands. To protect waterbirds in the subsidence wetlands, we suggest that most wetlands should be protected via increasing habitat diversity. Furthermore, considering the changing environmental conditions, changes in the multiple biodiversity metrics should be monitored to inform the ongoing management plans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the driving factors of soil multifunctionality is of great significance for the protection and restoration of degraded terrestrial ecosystems. However, the effects of above‐ and belowground factors are rarely evaluated simultaneously, and the driving mode of both factors on soil multifunctionality is not clear. Here, we evaluated the restoration of mobile dunes threatened by desertification through aerial seeding, that is, the sowing of seeds through aerial devices, from 1983 to 2015 in Mu Us Desert, China, using soil and plant data. The effect of aerial seeding on the restoration of soil multifunctionality, plant diversity, and soil microbial diversity in mobile dunes was significant, which was tested by loess regression. Further, the plant diversity becomes saturated in the later stages of restoration. The effect also leads to the restoration of soil multifunctionality lags behind plant and soil microorganisms. The factors (plant and soil microorganisms) driving soil multifunctionality is not a separate action or a joint action that test by structural equation models (SEMs), but that plants restore first and then indirectly drive soil multifunctionality through soil microorganisms during the restoration process. We also found that bacteria are the main direct indicators of soil multifunctionality, which was tested using Random forests modelling. This study highlights that plants indirectly drive soil multifunctionality through soil microorganisms, and soil microorganisms are key to elucidating the restoration mechanism and process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biodiversity science in China has seen rapid growth over recent decades, ranging from baseline biodiversity studies to understanding the processes behind evolution across dynamic regions such as the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. We review research, including species catalogues; biodiversity monitoring; the origins, distributions, maintenance and threats to biodiversity; biodiversity-related ecosystem function and services; and species and ecosystems' responses to global change. Next, we identify priority topics and offer suggestions and priorities for future biodiversity research in China. These priorities include (i) the ecology and biogeography of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and surrounding mountains, and that of subtropical and tropical forests across China; (ii) marine and inland aquatic biodiversity; and (iii) effective conservation and management to identify and maintain synergies between biodiversity and socio-economic development to fulfil China's vision for becoming an ecological civilization. In addition, we propose three future strategies: (i) translate advanced biodiversity science into practice for biodiversity conservation; (ii) strengthen capacity building and application of advanced technologies, including high-throughput sequencing, genomics and remote sensing; and (iii) strengthen and expand international collaborations. Based on the recent rapid progress of biodiversity research, China is well positioned to become a global leader in biodiversity research in the near future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China is one of the most species‐rich countries in the world, harboring many rare gymnosperms. Following recent human‐led loss of forests, China is now experiencing increases in forest cover resulting from efforts of reforestation schemes. As anthropogenic activities have previously been found to interact with topography in shaping forest cover in China and considering the large human population and the ongoing population increase of the country, it is important to understand the role of anthropogenic pressures relative to environmental drivers for shaping species distributions here. Based on the well‐established relationship between human population density and topography, we propose a hypothesis for explaining species distributions in a country dominated by human activities, predicting that species are more likely to occur in areas of steep topography under medium human population densities compared to low and high human population densities. Using species occurrence data from the Chinese Vascular Plant Distribution Database along with a common SDM method (maximum entropy modeling), we tested this hypothesis. Our results show that steep topography has the highest importance for predicting Chinese gymnosperm species occurrences in general, and threatened species specifically, in areas of medium human population densities. Consequently, these species are more often found in areas of steep terrain, supporting the proposed hypothesis. Results from this study highlight the need to include topographically heterogeneous habitats when planning new protected areas for species conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human activities currently play a dominant role in shaping and eroding Earth's biodiversity, but the historical dynamics leading to this situation are poorly understood and contentious. Importantly, these dynamics are often studied and discussed without an emphasis on cultural evolution, despite its potential importance for past and present biodiversity dynamics. Here, we investigate whether cultural filtering, defined as the impact of cultural evolution on species presence, has driven the range dynamics of five historically widespread megafauna taxa (Asiatic elephant, rhinoceroses, tiger, Asiatic black bear, and brown bear) across China over the past 2 millennia. Data on megafauna and sociocultural history were compiled from Chinese administrative records. While faunal dynamics in China are often linked to climate change at these time scales, our results reveal cultural filtering as the dominant driver of range contractions in all five taxa. This finding suggests that the millennia-long spread of agricultural land and agricultural intensification, often accompanied by expansion of the Han culture, has been responsible for the extirpation of these megafauna species from much of China. Our results suggest that cultural filtering is important for understanding society's role in the assembly of contemporary communities from historical regional species pools. Our study provides direct evidence that cultural evolution since ancient times has overshadowed climate change in shaping broadscale megafauna biodiversity patterns, reflecting the strong and increasing importance of sociocultural processes in the biosphere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human activities have shaped large-scale distributions of many species, driving both range contractions and expansions. Species differ naturally in range size, with small-range species concentrated in particular geographic areas and potentially deviating ecologically from widespread species. Hence, species' responses to human activities may be influenced by their geographic range sizes, but if and how this happens are poorly understood. Here, we use a comprehensive distribution database and species distribution modeling to examine if and how human activities have affected the extent to which 9,701 vascular plants fill their climatic potential ranges in China. We find that narrow-ranged species have lower range filling and widespread species have higher range filling in the human-dominated southeastern part of China, compared with their counterparts distributed in the less humaninfluenced northwestern part. Variations in range filling across species and space are strongly associated with indicators of human activities (human population density, human footprint, and proportion of cropland) even after controlling for alternative drivers. Importantly, narrow-ranged and widespread species show negative and positive range-filling relationships to these human indicators, respectively. Our results illustrate that floras risk biotic homogenization as a consequence of anthropogenic activities, with narrowranged species becoming replaced by widespread species. Because narrow-ranged species are more numerous than widespread species in nature, negative impacts of human activities will be prevalent. Our findings highlight the importance of establishing more protected areas and zones of reduced human activities to safeguard the rich flora of China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: The aim was to assess whether and to what extent the role of local landscape attributes in shaping macroscopic biodiversity patterns is sensitive to spatial and thematic resolutions of land cover data. Location: Sub‐Saharan Africa and continental China. Time period: Early 21st century. Taxa studied: Terrestrial mammals. Methods: We conducted spatial and thematic scaling analyses to generate land cover datasets of different spatial (0.3, 0.5, 1.0 and 9.0 km) and thematic (two, three and five classes) resolutions. We calculated landscape metrics based on the resulting land cover maps and examined the power of landscape metrics for explaining species richness patterns, using non‐spatial (OLS) and spatial (SAR) linear models and random forest (RF) models. We systematically assessed the resolution dependence of explanatory power for different geographical regions, different scaling approaches and different model types. We also compared the explanatory power of landscape attributes with that of macroclimate. Results: Collectively, local landscape attributes generally had strong explanatory power for species richness. For the African system, the largest explanatory power was c. 60% based on the OLS models and random forest models and c. 30% based on the non‐spatial components of the SAR models. For the Chinese system, the largest explanatory power was c. 35% based on the OLS models and c. 40% based on the SAR and random forest models. We observed a linear scaling relationship, which is robust to studied systems, scaling approaches and model types. In contrast, the scaling relationship varies substantially among single landscape metrics. At coarse resolutions, the addition of landscape attributes collectively would not improve climate‐envelope models significantly, whereas at finer resolutions, landscape attributes collectively have explanatory power that is close to or even exceeds climate. Main conclusions: Local landscape attributes play an important role in shaping macroscopic biodiversity patterns. However, their strength is highly sensitive to both spatial and thematic resolutions of land cover data, with stronger explanatory power detected at finer resolutions. Strong sensitivity to spatial and thematic resolutions makes landscape attributes highly plastic determinants, leading to contrasting conclusions if based on greatly different resolutions of land cover data. Scaling analyses are needed to examine such cross‐scale effects of macroecological determinants systematically. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many threatened species have undergone range retraction, and are confined to small fragmented populations. To increase their survival prospects, it is necessary to find suitable habitat outside their current range, to increase and interconnect populations. Species distribution models may be used to this purpose and can be an important part of the conservation strategies. One pitfall is that such mapping will typically assume that the current distribution represents the optimal habitat, which may not be the case for threatened species. Here, we use maximum entropy modelling (Maxent) and rectilinear bioclimatic envelope modelling with current and historical distribution data, together with the location of protected areas, and environmental and anthropogenic variables, to answer three key questions for the conservation of Rhinopithecus, a highly endangered genus of primates consisting of five species of which three are endemic to China, one is endemic to China and Myanmar and one is endemic to Vietnam; Which environmental variables best predict the distribution? To what extent is Rhinopithecus living in an anthropogenically truncated niche space? What is the genus’ potential distribution in the region? Mean temperature of coldest and warmest quarter together with annual precipitation and precipitation during the driest quarter were the variables that best explained Rhinopithecus’ distribution. The historical records were generally in warmer and wetter areas and in lower elevation than the current distribution, strongly suggesting that Rhinopithecus today survives in an anthropogenic truncated niche space. There is 305,800-319,325 km2 of climatic suitable area within protected areas in China, of which 96,525-100,275 km2 and 17,175-17,550 km2 have tree cover above 50 and 75%, respectively. The models also show that the area predicted as climatic suitable using Maxent was 72-89% larger when historical records were included. Our results emphasise the importance of considering historical records when assessing restoration potential and show that there is high potential for restoring Rhinopithecus to parts of its former range. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The human introduction and spread of species in urban greenspace may lead to an increase in the similarity of plant species composition between distant areas. Univervsity campuses are an important element of greenspace in many cities, but we know little about the extent to which such biotic homogenization of plant species can be detected across different regions and plant growth forms. Here, we collected plant species occurrence data from 253 Chinese university campuses in 130 cities to explore patterns and drivers of plant diversity and biotic homogenizations across different geographical regions and growth forms. We found that native species richness was positively correlated to campus area at the national scale, while non-native species richness was significantly associated with mean annual temperature, precipitation seasonality, campus area and campus age. We found limited support for homogenization caused by non-native plants in most regions. For growth forms, tree species exhibited significant biotic homogenization at the national scale, with weak or no effect for shrubs or herbs. Plant compositional similarity varied among regions, and eastern China always had the highest similarity in species composition with other regions. Combined effects of mean annual temperature and geographic distance overshadowed the roles of other predictors in shaping compositional dissimilarity in most regions. These findings suggest that multi-region settings and plant growth forms should be considered in urban biodiversity management, with special attention towards avoiding homogenization in trees. Increasing native species with local characteristics and considering region-specific environmental and socio-economic conditions are beneficial to mitigate biotic homogenization in urban greenspace. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Native, mixed-species plantings increase ecosystem services of reforested sites. • Long-lived Taxaceae species potentially increase forest structural complexity. • Large areas in China are suitable for Ta. cuspidata and To. grandis reforestation. • Shaded conditions are important for two Taxaceae species to avoid competition. • Using rare, native tree species in reforestation promotes their conservation. Ecosystem restoration is regarded as one of the most cost-effective ways of mitigating the effects of the ongoing climate- and anthropogenic changes and slow or revert the loss of biodiversity. Forest restoration has much potential to conserve forest specialist species and ecosystem services, by using multiple, native tree species to promote a high local diversity of trees, with likely positive effects on overall biodiversity and on ecosystem resilience. In this study, we assessed the potential of using two rare, native species of the yew family (Taxaceae) in forest restoration in China. Species of this family are only rarely used in reforestation despite their potential contribution to tree functional diversity as long-lived, shade-tolerant, evergreen understory trees with fleshy seed cones of value to frugivorous animals. By using species distribution modelling methods, we analysed national and local scale occurrence data for Taxus cuspidata and Torreya grandis to determine the climate-based potential ranges as well as important factors for growth on a local scale. The analyses showed that both species have large potential ranges driven mainly by precipitation and by comparing these ranges with the areas that have potential for sustaining forests, we found large areas available for forest restoration where these species could be included. On the local scale, we found that low light levels and low competition from co-occurring trees are more important for the growth of seedlings compared to the adult individuals of both species. If the ecological requirements for seedlings are ensured, i.e. by creating moderately shaded environments in which seedlings can escape competition, both Taxaceae species have high potential for reforestation in China and will increase the ecological qualities of a restored forest, and at the same time, the conservation of rare tree-species in their native ranges is ensured. Conclusively, both Ta. cuspidata and To. grandis are shade-tolerant, slow-growing trees that, by creating an evergreen scrubby layer, add to forest structural complexity and stability, thereby helping support ecosystem services and biodiversity, e.g. microhabitat and resources for birds and other animals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Tree cover in China has undergone massive changes through deforestation, reforestation, and afforestation during the last 60 years. This study investigates the distribution of tree cover in the eastern part of China in 2010, and how it is related to climate, topography, and anthropogenic pressure. We use random forest modeling of remote sensing data for tree cover, together with data for topography, climate, and anthropogenic pressure. Our results show that 2,136,000 km2 had tree cover ≥25% in the eastern part of China in 2010 and that the areas with high tree cover were mainly distributed in north-eastern, southern, and south-central China. The variable that best explains the distribution of tree cover is actual evapotranspiration followed by slope and population density. The association between slope and tree cover increases as population density rises, suggesting that the association may be influenced by anthropogenic land use intensity and that slopes act as refugees for forests. Our study emphasizes the need to pay attention to the association between slope and tree cover and especially to the anthropogenic factors that, entirely or to some extent, drive this association. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biotic homogenization, the increasing similarity of biotas over time, is an important topic in biodiversity conservation and has been widely linked to anthropogenic factors, e.g., land use change and climate change. However, so far few studies have simultaneously tested the taxonomic, phylogenetic and functional homogenization caused by human activities. Here, we analyzed the effects of land use change on biotic homogenization of bird communities in these three biodiversity dimensions in the steppe region in Inner Mongolia, China. The results showed that taxonomic, phylogenetic and functional similarities were significantly lower in relatively natural grassland than in the other disturbed habitats, i.e., planted woodland, farmland and village. In addition, there were also higher associations between bird community similarities and climate distances in natural grassland than in the other disturbed habitats. These results suggest that more intense land use types result in consistent taxonomic, phylogenetic and functional homogenization of bird communities, while at the same time diminish community turnover across climate gradients. These findings indicate that anthropogenic activities in this steppe region may not only cause biodiversity loss in taxonomic level, but also in other biodiversity dimensions, highlighting the important role of natural steppe in biodiversity conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Along with the increasing demand for energy and pressure to reduce carbon emissions, floating photovoltaic (FPV) systems are increasingly built on the surface of water bodies with the aim to produce clean energy. However, little is known about how FPV systems influence freshwater ecosystems, e.g., their zooplankton communities. We investigated how rotifer communities responded to FPV systems in subsidence wetlands created by underground coal mining in the North China Plain. Diversity metrics of the rotifer communities were compared between wetlands with and without FPV systems. The density of rotifers was higher in wetlands without FPV systems. In contrast, rotifer diversity as represented by Shannon-Weiner and Pielou evenness indices was higher in the FPV-covered wetlands, while there was no difference in species richness between the two types of wetlands. Furthermore, community structures differed between the two types of wetlands, in large part reflecting differences in the relative abundance of five dominant species found in both types of wetlands. These differences in rotifer assemblages were in large part explainable from environmental changes caused by the FPV panels, notably reduced light availability and water temperature, leading to reduced phytoplankton production. These findings show that FPV systems cause major changes to rotifer communities in these subsidence wetlands and likely in wetlands more generally, and monitoring of the longer-term effects is recommended given the fundamental role of zooplankton in freshwater ecosystems. [Display omitted] • Floating photovoltaic (FPV) systems are expanding in subsidence wetlands in China. • FPV-covered wetlands had lower density but higher species diversity of rotifers. • Rotifer community structures differed between wetlands with and without FPV systems. • FPV systems affected rotifer community through reducing light and water temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Incomplete sampling of species' geographic distributions has challenged biogeographers for many years to precisely quantify global-scale biodiversity patterns. After correcting for the spatial inequality of sample completeness, we generated a global species diversity map for woody angiosperms (82,974 species, 13,959,780 occurrence records). The standardized diversity estimated more pronounced latitudinal and longitudinal diversity gradients than the raw data and improved the spatial prediction of diversity based on environmental factors. We identified areas with potentially high species richness and rarity that are poorly explored, unprotected, and threatened by increasing human pressure: They are distributed mostly at low latitudes across central South America, Central Africa, subtropical China, and Indomalayan islands. These priority areas for botanical exploration can help to efficiently fill spatial knowledge gaps for better describing the status of biodiversity and improve the effectiveness of the protected area network for global woody plant conservation.

The habitat partitioning hypothesis provides a conceptual framework for explaining the maintenance of plant and animal diversity. Its central tenet assumes environmental conditions are spatially structured, and that this structure is reflected in species distributions through associations with different habitats. Studies confirming habitat partitioning effects have focused primarily on spatial distributions of plants and animals, with habitat partitioning hypothesis under explored for macrofungi. Here, we examined the sporocarps of macrofungi in a 5-ha forest dynamics plot in China. We used four different methods to define microhabitats for habitat partitioning analyses based on topography, understory light availability, plant community, or a combination of these factors, and analyzed the effect of microhabitat partitioning on epigeous macrofungal community. Our results showed that the characteristics of the macrofungal assemblages varied among the habitats. A total of 85 species examined were associated with one or more of the habitat types (85/125, 68%). The factors related to the sporocarp composition differed among the various microhabitats. Our findings suggest that different microhabitats favor occurrence of different macrofungal species, and sporocarps -environment relation varied among the different microhabitats at this temperate mountain forest locality. These findings shed new light to the biodiversity conservation in macrofungi in temperate deciduous broad-leaved forest and point to the potential importance of microhabitat partitioning for sporocarp formation.