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Environmental filters and patterns of tree regeneration in high altitude sub-tropical Quercus-dominated forests

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Ecological Research

Abstract

We investigated how environmental variables explain patterns of tree regeneration in high altitude sub-tropical Quercus-dominated forests by: (1) determining whether the seedling and sapling communities show non-random spatial patterns of floristic composition; (2) identifying which environmental variables explain the observed patterns of floristic composition; (3) examining if similarity in floristic composition is related to similarity in environmental variables. We used data gathered in permanent plots established across 10 km in high altitude sub-tropical Quercus-dominated forests. Our analyses consisted of unconstrained ordination analyses (Non-metric Multidimensional Scaling) to characterize the spatial patterns of floristic composition; constrained ordination analyses (Canonical correspondence analysis) to assess the contribution of environmental variables in explaining patterns of floristic composition and, the simple and partial Mantel test to correlate the floristic composition similarity to environmental similarity. Our results provided evidence of non-random spatial patterns of floristic distribution due to structured environmental filters such as canopy-related variables, litter, grazing and aspect. Floristic compositional similarity did not depend on geographical distance between sites or on differences in their environment; therefore a number of plots were similar in floristic composition, in both seedlings and saplings, but have no environmental similarity.

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Acknowledgments

We are greatly indebted to J. Martín Vázquez-López, Oscar Sánchez Jiménez and Abel Ceja Gutiérrez for his valuable assistance during the fieldwork. Two anonymous reviewers improved substantially this paper with their comments. Universidad de Guadalajara provided funds for the fieldwork.

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  1. Departamento de Ecología y Recursos Naturales-IMECBIO, Universidad de Guadalajara, Centro Universitario de la Costa Sur, Av. Independencia Nacional # 151, Autlán de Navarro, Jalisco, CP. 48900, Mexico

    Miguel Olvera-Vargas, Blanca Lorena Figueroa-Rangel & Ramón Cuevas Guzmán

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  1. Miguel Olvera-Vargas
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  2. Blanca Lorena Figueroa-Rangel
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  3. Ramón Cuevas Guzmán
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Correspondence to Miguel Olvera-Vargas.

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Olvera-Vargas, M., Figueroa-Rangel, B.L. & Guzmán, R.C. Environmental filters and patterns of tree regeneration in high altitude sub-tropical Quercus-dominated forests. Ecol Res 29, 711–721 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11284-014-1163-0

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