Abstract:
The plants that comprise the vegetation of chinese subtropics are diverse with respect to
geographical distribution patterns. Understanding how the plants with different geographical
distribution patterns that live together in this region differ in their ecological niches, would advance
our knowledge of species coexistence mechanisms. Here, based on the data of woody angiosperm
community composition in eight broad-leaved forest dynamics plots widely distributed in the
chinese subtropics, by adopting statistical methods such as phylogenetic linear model and analysis
of variance (ANOVA), we examined the differences in life history traits, including leaf habit and
growth form, as well as ecological behaviors (i.e., Ellenberg indicator values), between the plants
of temperate distribution genera and the plants of tropical distribution genera. We found that (1) for
the 265 study genera, genus distribution pattern showed a significant phylogenetic signal (i.e.,
Pagel's λ = 0.935, P< 0.001). (2) The genera of temperate distribution pattern comprised a higher
ratio of deciduous broad-leaved plants and trees than the genera of tropical distribution pattern. (3)
The plants of temperate distribution genera exist in environments with high light, low temperature
and water compared with the plants of tropical distribution genera, regardless of the effects of leaf
habit and growth form were controlled or not. (4) For all the plants, or for each leaf habit or growth
form group separately, the ratio of species richness of the temperate distribution genera to the
tropical distribution genera in the forest was controlled by mean annual temperature (MAT). The
findings imply that the plants of temperate and tropical distribution genera differed in both their life
history traits as well as their ecological behaviors, and the geographical turnover of plants of these
two distribution patterns in the chinese subtropical broad-leaved forests was largely controlled by
MAT.
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