Dominant species of mid-elevation grasslands of the uKhahlamba-Drakensberg Park are predicted to be largely immune to climate change

作     者：Debbie JEWITT Craig D.MORRIS Tim G.O’CONNOR Michelle J.TEDDER Debbie JEWITT;Craig D.MORRIS;Tim G.O'CONNOR;Michelle J.TEDDER

作者机构：Ezemvelo KZN WildlifeScientific ServicesPO Box 13053Cascades 3202South Africa School of AnimalPlant and Environmental SciencesUniversity of the WitwatersrandJohannesburgPrivate Bag X3WITS 2050South Africa Agricultural Research Council-Animal Production(ARC-AP)℅School of Life Sciences University of KwaZulu-NatalPrivate Bag X01Scottsville 3209PietermaritzburgSouth Africa School of Life SciencesUniversity of KwaZulu-NatalPrivate Bag X01Scottsville 3209PietermaritzburgSouth Africa 

出 版 物：《Journal of Mountain Science》 (山地科学学报（英文）)

年 卷 期：2023年第20卷第9期

页      面：2468-2486页

核心收录：

学科分类：090503[农学-草业科学] 0909[农学-草学] 0905[农学-畜牧学] 09[农学] 0903[农学-农业资源与环境] 

基　　金：We thank Dr Victoria Goodall with advice for the R statistical analyses and the anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments on the manuscript 

主　　题：Drakensberg Environmental gradients Grasslands Mountain biodiversity Vegetation 

摘      要：Anticipating global change impact on natural vegetation,especially in poorly researched systems,requires an understanding of the environmental factors that most strongly influence the organisation of plant communities at different *** environmental relations of plant communities in the Drakensberg mountains of South Africa remain poorly *** study investigated the influence of selected environmental determinants on the dominant species of plant community organisation in this *** order to provide an overview of the influence of the environment on botanical composition and plant diversity,this study,conducted as four discrete exercises,investigated the interplay of altitude,aspect and slope on the abundance of selected species,and to examine the influence of latitude,geological substrate and local topography on species *** diversity showed no pattern of response to investigated environmental *** composition was related to temperature and solarradiation *** altitude sites facing east were distinct for non-graminoid *** and latitude exerted a pronounced effect on species composition,confounded by longitude and precipitation *** substrate,in concert with slope steepness and orientation,influenced composition,restricting the abundance but not distribution of some *** individualistic responses were found for C_3,C_4,and non-graminoid species in relation to altitude,slope and *** and aspect mediate the effects of altitude and hence temperature for some *** study has demonstrated the complexity of drivers influencing species and compositional distribution in the Drakensberg and permits a preliminary consideration of potential changes in the composition and dominance structure of mid-elevation grasslands in response to climate *** dominant grass species were widespread across environmental gradients,occupying currently warm,cool,moist and dry habitats