| Authors |
Valeriy V. Akatov, Dr.Sc., Professor, Leading Researcher of the Department of Ecology and Environmental Conservation of the Maikop State Technological University (385000, Russia, Maikop, Pervomaiskaya Street 191); Senior Researcher of the Caucasian State Nature Biosphere Reserve (385000, Russia, Maikop, Sovetskaya Street 187); iD ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3567-6225; e-mail: akatovmgti@mail.ru
Tatyana V. Akatova, PhD, Senior Researcher of the Caucasian State Nature Biosphere Reserve (385000, Russia, Maikop, Sovetskaya Street 187); e-mail: hookeria@mail.ru
Sergey G. Chefranov, Dr.Sc., Professor of the Department of Information Security and Applied Mathematics of the Maikop State Technological University (385000, Russia, Maikop, Pervomaiskaya Street 191); e-mail: kafedra.ibpi@gmail.com
Tatyana G. Eskina, PhD, Senior Researcher of the Caucasian State Nature Biosphere Reserve (385000, Russia, Maikop, Sovetskaya Street 187); e-mail: ttrepet@inbox.ru |
| Abstract |
Climate warming may cause not only a reduction in the area of high-mountain vegetation, but also a change in the abundance of many species, including dominant ones, which may have additionally negative consequences for plant communities. Therefore, our knowledge how dominants affect high-mountain plant communities at different spatial scales is important to predict changes in their species richness in the future. In this study, we aimed to answer the following questions: i) How does the species richness of high-mountain plant communities of the Western Caucasus depend on the participation of dominant species? ii) Can this relationship be explained on the basis of the «energy diversity» hypothesis? iii) Do dominants affect the degree of similarity (or difference) in the species composition of plant communities located in different habitats? The research was carried out in the Caucasian State Nature Reserve, Russia. The objects of study were seven homogeneous sites of plant communities dominated by Alchemilla retinervis, A. oxysepala, Geranium gymnocaulon, Carex capillifolia, Inula grandiflora, Calamagrostis arundinacea, Epilobium angustifolium. Within each of them, biomass samples were taken from 25–30 plots of 0.25 m2, which were then disassembled by species and weighed. The participation of dominants (the degree of dominance) was assessed through the ratio of their biomass and biomass of samples as a whole. The results show that, first, most of the studied high-mountain plant communities are characterised by a close relationship between the relative participation of the dominant and the species richness in small plots. Secondly, this connection can be explained on the basis of the «energy-diversity» hypothesis. This means that the size of the species pool of plant communities with different degrees of dominance should be approximately the same. Thirdly, the plant communities with relatively high participation of dominants are characterised by a slightly higher degree of compositional dissimilarity than plant communities with low participation. We have concluded that dominants have a predominantly local effect on the species richness of high-mountain plant communities in the Western Caucasus. However, an increase in their participation leads to a decrease in the occurrence of many accompanying species, and, accordingly, can make these species more vulnerable to the effects of other factors. |
| References |
Akatov V.V. 2018. The composition, species richness and species pool size of mono- and oligodominant forest stands of the Western Caucasus. Vegetation of Russia 32: 3–18. DOI: 10.31111/vegrus/2018.32.3 [In Russian]
Akatov V.V., Akatova T.V. 2020. Contemporary changes of the vegetation in the mountainous Adygea as the reflection of global processes. In: M.K. Bedanokov, S.A. Lebedev, A.G. Kostianoy (Eds.): The Republic of Adygea Environment. Vol. 106. Cham: Springer. P. 413–441. DOI: 10.1007/698_2020_493
Akatov V.V., Akatova T.V., Chefranov S.G. 2018. Degree of dominance and species richness in plant communities with high and low intensity of interspecies competition. Biology Bulletin Reviews 8(6): 389–400. DOI: 10.1134/S207908641805002X
Akatov V.V., Akatova T.V., Chefranov S.G. 2021. Impact of Solidago canadensis L. on species diversity of plant communities at different spatial scale. Russian Journal of Biological Invasions 12(1): 1–10. DOI: 10.1134/S2075111721010021
Bartha S., Szentes Sz., Horváth A., Házi J., Zimmermann Z., Molnár Cs., Dancza I., Margóczi K., Pál R., Purger D., Schmidt D., Óvári M., Komoly C., Sutyinszki Zs., Szabó G., Csathó A.I., Juhász M., Penksza K., Molnár Zs. 2014. Impact of mid-successional dominant species on the diversity and progress of succession in regenerating temperate grasslands. Applied Vegetation Science 17(2): 201–213. DOI: 10.1111/avsc.12066
Bedanokov M.K., Chich S.K., Chetyz D.Y., Trepet S.A., Lebedev S.A., Kostianoy A.G. 2020. Physicogeographical Characteristics of the Republic of Adygea. In: M.K. Bedanokov, S.A. Lebedev, A.G. Kostianoy (Eds.): The Republic of Adygea Environment. Vol. 106. Cham: Springer. P. 19–55. DOI: 10.1007/698_2020_637
Berger W.H., Parker F.L. 1970. Diversity of planktonic foraminifera in deep-sea sediments. Science 168(3937): 1345–1347. DOI: 10.1126/science.168.3937.1345
Bhattarai K.R. 2017. Variation of plant species richness at different spatial scales. Botanica Orientalis 11: 49–62. DOI: 10.3126/botor.v11i0.21033
Csergő A.M., Demeter L., Turkington R. 2013. Declining diversity in abandoned grasslands of the Carpathian Mountains: do dominant species matter? PLoS ONE 8(8): e73533. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0073533
Gaertner M., Breeyen A.D., Hui C., Richardson D.M. 2009. Impacts of alien plant invasions on species richness in Mediterranean-type ecosystems: A meta-analysis. Progress in Physical Geography 33: 319–338. DOI: 10.1177/2F0309133309341607
García L.V., Marañón T., Moreno F., Clemente L. 1993. Above-ground biomass and species richness in a Mediterranean salt marsh. Journal of Vegetation Science 4: 417–424. DOI: 10.2307/3235601
Gvozdetskiy N.A. 1963. Caucasus. Essay on the Nature. Moscow: Publishing house of geographical literature. 264 p. [In Russian]
Hammer Ø., Harper D.A.T., Ryan P.D. 2001. PAST: Paleontological statistics software package for education and data analysis. Palaeontologia Electronica 4(1): 9.
Hejda M., Pyšek P., Jarošik V. 2009. Impact of invasive plants on the species richness, diversity and composition of invaded communities. Journal of Ecology 97(3): 3393–3403. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2745.2009.01480.x
Hillebrand H., Bennett D.M., Cadotte M.W. 2008. Consequences of dominance: a review of evenness effects on local and regional ecosystem processes. Ecology 89(6): 1510–1520. DOI: 10.1890/07-1053.1
Kostianoy A.G., Serykh I.V., Lebedev S.A., Kostianaia E.A., Varshanina T.P. 2021. Regional climate change in the Republic of Adygea. In: M.K. Bedanokov, S.A. Lebedev, A.G. Kostianoy (Eds.): The Republic of Adygea Environment. Vol. 106. Cham: Springer. P. 311–357. DOI: 10.1007/698_2021_734
Lebedev S.A., Kostianoy A.G., Kravchenko P.N., Shevyakova O.P. 2021. Seasonal and interannual variability of NDVI in the Republic of Adygea. In: M.K. Bedanokov, S.A. Lebedev, A.G. Kostianoy (Eds.): The Republic of Adygea Environment. Vol. 106. Cham: Springer. P. 443–461. DOI: 10.1007/698_2021_742
Levine J.M., Vilà M., D'Antonio C.M., Dukes J.S., Grigulis K., Lavorel S. 2003. Mechanisms underlying the impacts of exotic plant invasions. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 270(1517): 775–781. DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2003.2327
Ma W., He J.S., Yang Y., Wang X., Liang C., Anwar M., Zeng H., Fang J., Schmid B. 2010. Environmental factors covary with plant diversity–productivity relationships among Chinese grassland sites. Global Ecology and Biogeography 19(2): 233–243. DOI: 10.1111/i.1466-238.2009.00508.x
Magurran A. 1988. Ecological diversity and its measurement. Princeton: Princeton University Press. 181 p.
Onipchenko V.G. 2002. Alpine vegetation of the Teberda Reserve, the Northwest Caucasus. Zürich: Veröffentlichungen des Geobotanischen Institutes der ETH, Stiftung Rübel. 168 p.
Onipchenko V., Mark A.F., Wells G. 2005. Floristic richness of three perhumid New Zealand alpine plant communities in comparison with other regions. Austral Ecology 30(5): 518–525. DOI: 10.1111/j.1442-9993.2005.01466.x
Onipchenko V.G., Dudova K.V., Akhmetzhanova A.A., Khomutovskiy M.I., Dzhatdoeva T.M., Tekeev D.K., Elumeeva T.G. 2020. Which plant strategies are related to dominance in alpine communities? Zhurnal Obshchei Biologii 81(1): 37–46. DOI: 10.31857/S0044459620010054 [In Russian]
Onipchenko V.G., Semenova G.V. 1995. Comparative analysis of the floristic richness of alpine communities in the Caucasus and the Central Alps. Journal of Vegetation Science 6(2): 299–304. DOI: 10.2307/3236225
Onipchenko V.G., Semenova G.V., van der Maarel E. 1998. Population strategies in severe environments: alpine plants in the northwestern Caucasus. Journal of Vegetation Science 9(1): 27–40. DOI: 10.2307/3237220
Panov V.D. 2000. Climatic conditions and ecological status of the highland areas of the Republic of Karachaevo-Cherkessia. Evaluation of ecological condition in highland and foothill ecosystems of Caucasus. Stavropol: Kavkazskiy Krai. P. 53–62. [In Russian]
Powell K.I., Chase J.M., Knight T.M. 2011. A synthesis of plant invasion effects on biodiversity across spatial scales. American Journal of Botany 98(3): 539–548. DOI: 10.3732/ajb.1000402
Powell K.I., Chase J.M., Knight T.M. 2013. Invasive plants have scale-dependent effects on diversity by altering species-area relationships. Science 339(6117): 316–318. DOI: 10.1126/science.1226817
Rabotnov T.A. 1983. Phytocoenology. Moscow: Moscow State University. 296 p. [In Russian]
Rejmánek M., Richardson D.M., Pyšek P. 2013. Plant invasions and invasibility of plant communities. In: E. van der Maarel, J. Franklin (Eds.): Vegetation Ecology. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell. P. 387‒424.
Shiffers E.V. 1953. The vegetation of the North Caucasus and its natural feeding grounds. Moscow: AS USSR. 400 p. [In Russian]
Srivastava D.S., Lawton J.H. 1998. Why more productive sites have more species: an experimental test of theory using tree-hole communities. American Naturalist 152(4): 510‒529. DOI: 10.1086/286187
Stohlgren T.J., Rejmánek M. 2014. No universal scale-dependent impacts of invasive species on native plant species richness. Biology Letters 10(1): 20130939. DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2013.0939
Varshanina T.P., Mitusov D.V. 2005. Climatic resources of landscapes of the Republic of Adygea. Maykop: Adygea State University. 237 p. [In Russian]
Wright D.H. 1983. Species-Energy Theory: An Extension of Species-Area Theory. Oikos 41(3): 496–506. DOI: 10.2307/3544109 |
