Abstract
Mountains are interesting systems for studying patterns of diversity distribution and the role of environmental filters and competition on community assembly. According to the phylogenetic niche conservatism theory, the co-occurrence of closely related species might indicate that environmental filters are more important than competition when structuring communities in time and space. We investigated the patterns of phylogenetic diversity and the influence of environmental filters in the Brazilian rocky grasslands and tested the influence of phylogenetic niche conservatism. We placed 180 plots of 1 m2 in five sites along an altitudinal gradient at the Cipó Mountains (Espinhaço Range, southeastern Brazil) and surveyed all vascular plant species and edaphic variables. We assessed the phylogenetic diversity of the communities by calculating the phylogenetic species variability and phylogenetic species richness. These measures were related to altitude and the edaphic variables through a principal component analysis and regressions. Phylogenetic species variability decreased towards higher altitudes and less fertile sites, whereas phylogenetic species richness increased. Thus, the number of species and the degree of phylogenetic clustering increased with increasing altitude, suggesting that the intensity of abiotic factors acting as environmental filters increased with altitude and could be constraining species in the community to a smaller number of clades.
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Acknowledgements
Our research was supported by São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) (FAPESP-Microsoft Research Institute Grants #2013/50155-0 and FAPESP Grant: #2009/54208-6,) and by the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) (Grants: CNPq-PVE #400717/2013-1 and the Long-Term Ecological Research PELD-CRSC-17). JSM received a Master’s degree scholarship from CAPES (Coordination of Superior Level Staff Improvement); MGGC received a CNPq-PDJ (Grant #161293/2015-8) and receives FAPESP (Grants #2015/10754-8, #2018/21646-0) scholarships. LPCM receives a productivity fellowship from CNPq (#310761/2014-0, #311820/2018-2). MAB received a productivity fellowship from CNPq (#305912/2013-5). We thank ICMBio for granting the permits needed to work at Serra do Cipó National Park (PNSC) and its buffer zone. We also thank the Reserva Vellozia, Pousada Pouso do Elefante, and Cedro Têxtil Company, for allowing access to private areas around the PNSC. We thank Soizig Le Stradic and Marcel Coelho for the floristic survey and other aids. We are grateful to all the taxonomists who helped us in plant identification: Ana Paula Fortuna, Ana Paula Prata, Augusto Francener, Caroline Oliveira Andrino, Cassiano Aimberê Dorneles Welker, Daniela Zappi, Fernando AO Silveira, Gabriel Marcusso, Guilherme Antar, Gustavo Shimizu, Ilsi Boldrini, James Lucas da Costa Lima, João Aguiar Nogueira Batista, João Semir, José Floriano Barêa Pastore, Marcelo Monge, Leonardo Maurici Borges, José Floriano Barêa Pastore, Maria Fernanda Calió, Nara Mota, Pablo Hendrigo Alves de Melo, Rosana Romero, and Suzana Costa. We also would like to thank the Department of Environmental Sciences at the Federal University of São Carlos for providing the license for ArcGis®10.5.
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de Mattos, J.S., Morellato, L.P.C., Camargo, M.G.G. et al. Plant phylogenetic diversity of tropical mountaintop rocky grasslands: local and regional constraints. Plant Ecol 220, 1119–1129 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-019-00982-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-019-00982-5