Haider Sylvia, Lembrechts Jonas J, McDougall Keith, Pauchard Aníbal, Alexander Jake M, Barros Agustina, Cavieres Lohengrin A, Rashid Irfan, Rew Lisa J, Aleksanyan Alla, Arévalo José R, Aschero Valeria, Chisholm Chelsea, Clark V Ralph, Clavel Jan, Daehler Curtis, Dar Pervaiz A, Dietz Hansjörg, Dimarco Romina D, Edwards Peter, Essl Franz, Fuentes-Lillo Eduardo, Guisan Antoine, Gwate Onalenna, Hargreaves Anna L, Jakobs Gabi, Jiménez Alejandra, Kardol Paul, Kueffer Christoph, Larson Christian, Lenoir Jonathan, Lenzner Bernd, Padrón Mederos Miguel A, Mihoc Maritza, Milbau Ann, Morgan John W, Müllerová Jana, Naylor Bridgett J, Nijs Ivan, Nuñez Martin A, Otto Rüdiger, Preuk Niels, Ratier Backes Amanda, Reshi Zafar A, Rumpf Sabine B, Sandoya Verónica, Schroder Mellesa, Speziale Karina L, Urbach Davnah, Valencia Graciela, Vandvik Vigdis, Vitková Michaela, Vorstenbosch Tom, Walker Tom W N, Walsh Neville, Wright Genevieve, Zong Shengwei, Seipel Tim
Institute of Biology/Geobotany and Botanical Garden Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg Halle Germany.
German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig Leipzig Germany.
Ecol Evol. 2022 Feb 14;12(2):e8590. doi: 10.1002/ece3.8590. eCollection 2022 Feb.
Climate change and other global change drivers threaten plant diversity in mountains worldwide. A widely documented response to such environmental modifications is for plant species to change their elevational ranges. Range shifts are often idiosyncratic and difficult to generalize, partly due to variation in sampling methods. There is thus a need for a standardized monitoring strategy that can be applied across mountain regions to assess distribution changes and community turnover of native and non-native plant species over space and time. Here, we present a conceptually intuitive and standardized protocol developed by the Mountain Invasion Research Network (MIREN) to systematically quantify global patterns of native and non-native species distributions along elevation gradients and shifts arising from interactive effects of climate change and human disturbance. Usually repeated every five years, surveys consist of 20 sample sites located at equal elevation increments along three replicate roads per sampling region. At each site, three plots extend from the side of a mountain road into surrounding natural vegetation. The protocol has been successfully used in 18 regions worldwide from 2007 to present. Analyses of one point in time already generated some salient results, and revealed region-specific elevational patterns of native plant species richness, but a globally consistent elevational decline in non-native species richness. Non-native plants were also more abundant directly adjacent to road edges, suggesting that disturbed roadsides serve as a vector for invasions into mountains. From the upcoming analyses of time series, even more exciting results can be expected, especially about range shifts. Implementing the protocol in more mountain regions globally would help to generate a more complete picture of how global change alters species distributions. This would inform conservation policy in mountain ecosystems, where some conservation policies remain poorly implemented.
气候变化和其他全球变化驱动因素威胁着世界各地山区的植物多样性。对此类环境变化的一种有广泛记录的反应是植物物种改变其海拔范围。范围变化往往具有独特性且难以一概而论，部分原因是采样方法存在差异。因此，需要一种标准化的监测策略，可应用于各个山区，以评估本地和非本地植物物种在空间和时间上的分布变化及群落更替。在此，我们提出了一个由山区入侵研究网络（MIREN）制定的概念直观且标准化的方案，用于系统地量化本地和非本地物种沿海拔梯度的全球分布模式以及气候变化和人类干扰的交互作用所导致的变化。调查通常每五年进行一次，在每个采样区域沿着三条重复的道路设置20个采样点，各点海拔增量相等。在每个采样点，从山路一侧延伸至周围自然植被设置三个样地。该方案自2007年至今已在全球18个地区成功应用。对某一时刻的分析已经产生了一些显著结果，揭示了本地植物物种丰富度的区域特定海拔模式，但非本地物种丰富度在全球范围内呈现一致的海拔下降趋势。非本地植物在道路边缘直接相邻区域也更为丰富，这表明受干扰的路边是入侵山区的一个载体。从即将开展的时间序列分析中，有望获得更令人兴奋的结果，尤其是关于范围变化的结果。在全球更多山区实施该方案将有助于更全面地了解全球变化如何改变物种分布。这将为山区生态系统的保护政策提供参考，而目前一些保护政策的实施情况仍不佳。
