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Explaining species distributions by traits of bryophytes and vascular plants in a patchy landscape

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Abstract

The species pool theory helps us understand species distributions at different geographical scales. In theory, species pools consist of species passing the filters between different geographical scales. Filters of dispersal and environment act between the regional and local pools, while filters of biotic interactions act between the local and the community pools. We studied bryophytes and vascular plants restricted to rich (calcareous) fens that occur as patches in a forested landscape. We then examined their frequencies and abundances at the local and regional scales and related the results to traits important for dispersal and competition. Our results show that weft-forming bryophytes and vascular plants with far-creeping rhizomes have higher local frequency than predicted from their regional frequency. Dispersal traits did not explain any variation in the distributions. This indicates that environmental and biotic filters are more important than dispersal limitation at the regional scale, and that clonal expansion is the most important factor for high frequency and abundance at the local scale in these nutrient poor habitats.

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Acknowledgements

Financial support was obtained from the Swedish Research Council Formas and the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dalarna County Administrative Board, SE-791 84, Falun, Sweden

    Daniel Udd

  2. Uppsala County Administrative Board, SE-751 86, Uppsala, Sweden

    Kalle Mälson

  3. The Swedish Species Information Centre, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Box 7007, SE-750 07, Uppsala, Sweden

    Sebastian Sundberg

  4. Department of Plant Ecology and Evolution, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Norbyvägen 18D, SE-752 36, Uppsala, Sweden

    Håkan Rydin

Authors
  1. Daniel Udd
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  2. Kalle Mälson
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  3. Sebastian Sundberg
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  4. Håkan Rydin
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Håkan Rydin.

Appendices

Appendix 1

Table 4 Trait values, frequencies, abundance and niche breadth for bryophytes in rich fens. ML – moss or liverworth; LF – life form; SP – spore production; SS – spore size; Reg – regional frequency (mean ± SE); Loc – local frequency; Com – community abundance.
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Appendix 2

Table 5

Table 5 Trait-values, frequencies, abundance and niche breadth for vascular plants in rich fens. LF – life form, SM – seed or spore mass; CH – canopy height; SLA – specific leaf area; Reg – regional frequency (mean ± SE); Loc – local frequency; Com – community abundance.
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Udd, D., Mälson, K., Sundberg, S. et al. Explaining species distributions by traits of bryophytes and vascular plants in a patchy landscape. Folia Geobot 50, 161–174 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12224-015-9219-7

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