Taxonomic and functional β-diversity of Collembola across elevational and seasonal gradients on a temperate mountain

Understanding seasonal variations in community composition and species distribution along elevation gradients is a core task in biogeography and ecology but remains poorly studied, particularly in soil animal communities. In this study, we assessed seasonal β diversity of Collembola assemblages on C...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Zhijing Xie, Jian Zhang, Yuhao Zhao, Dingliang Xing, Yunga Wu, Johannes Lux, Liang Chang, Kangle Lu, Xin Sun, Donghui Wu, Stefan Scheu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-06-01
Series:Geoderma
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016706125001600
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850269841849581568
author Zhijing Xie
Jian Zhang
Yuhao Zhao
Dingliang Xing
Yunga Wu
Johannes Lux
Liang Chang
Kangle Lu
Xin Sun
Donghui Wu
Stefan Scheu
author_facet Zhijing Xie
Jian Zhang
Yuhao Zhao
Dingliang Xing
Yunga Wu
Johannes Lux
Liang Chang
Kangle Lu
Xin Sun
Donghui Wu
Stefan Scheu
author_sort Zhijing Xie
collection DOAJ
description Understanding seasonal variations in community composition and species distribution along elevation gradients is a core task in biogeography and ecology but remains poorly studied, particularly in soil animal communities. In this study, we assessed seasonal β diversity of Collembola assemblages on Changbai Mountain, China. We sampled 18,942 individuals comprising 96 Collembola species across 10 altitudes (800 –2150 m) and measured five morphological traits (body length, number of ocelli, furca development, pigmentation and scales) of the species across three seasons. We then assessed both incidence-based and abundance-weighted taxonomic as well as functional β-diversity, and partitioned them into species turnover and nestedness, while also considering the contributions of particular species and elevation. Finally, we used multiple regression-based distance matrices to investigate the relative contribution of local habitat-related and climatic factors to β-diversity and their components. Overall taxonomic β-diversity, but not functional β-diversity, increased significantly with elevational distance. Generally, turnover components dominated taxonomic β-diversity across elevations, while both nestedness and turnover equally contributed to functional β-diversity. By contrast, both taxonomic and functional β-diversity varied inconsistently among seasons. The turnover components dominated taxonomic β-diversity across seasons, whereas the nestedness component contributed more to functional β-diversity. Furthermore, the local contribution to overall incidence-based taxonomic β-diversity followed a pronounced U-shaped pattern, indicates that lower and higher elevations significantly contribute to the biodiversity of Collembola communities. Notably, the local contribution to abundance-weighted taxonomic β-diversity decreased significantly with elevation in September but not in May and July. The species contributing to β-diversity varied not only between taxonomic and functional β-diversity but also between seasons. Temperature strongly influenced both taxonomic and functional β-diversity patterns, underscoring its role in shaping Collembola diversity across elevation. Soil pH correlated with functional β-diversity and its turnover component in September but not in May and July. Our findings highlight the importance of incorporating seasonal variations in biodiversity assessments and underscore the contribution of lower and higher elevations to biodiversity conservation in mountainous regions.
format Article
id doaj-art-4d7ef7d829114b17b108bdca64a53801
institution OA Journals
issn 1872-6259
language English
publishDate 2025-06-01
publisher Elsevier
record_format Article
series Geoderma
spelling doaj-art-4d7ef7d829114b17b108bdca64a538012025-08-20T01:52:55ZengElsevierGeoderma1872-62592025-06-0145811732210.1016/j.geoderma.2025.117322Taxonomic and functional β-diversity of Collembola across elevational and seasonal gradients on a temperate mountainZhijing Xie0Jian Zhang1Yuhao Zhao2Dingliang Xing3Yunga Wu4Johannes Lux5Liang Chang6Kangle Lu7Xin Sun8Donghui Wu9Stefan Scheu10Key Laboratory of Vegetation Ecology, Ministry of Education, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China; J.-F. Blumenbach Institute of Zoology and Anthropology, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, GermanySchool of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China; Corresponding authors.Zhejiang Tiantong Forest Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station, School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China; Institute of Eco-Chongming, East China Normal University, Shanghai, ChinaZhejiang Tiantong Forest Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station, School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China; Institute of Eco-Chongming, East China Normal University, Shanghai, ChinaKey Laboratory of Vegetation Ecology, Ministry of Education, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, ChinaJ.-F. Blumenbach Institute of Zoology and Anthropology, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, GermanyKey Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Environment, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, ChinaKey Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Environment, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, ChinaKey Laboratory of Urban Environment and Health, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen, China; Corresponding authors.Key Laboratory of Vegetation Ecology, Ministry of Education, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China; Institute of Eco-Chongming, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China; Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Resource Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China; Corresponding authors.J.-F. Blumenbach Institute of Zoology and Anthropology, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany; Centre of Biodiversity and Sustainable Land Use, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, GermanyUnderstanding seasonal variations in community composition and species distribution along elevation gradients is a core task in biogeography and ecology but remains poorly studied, particularly in soil animal communities. In this study, we assessed seasonal β diversity of Collembola assemblages on Changbai Mountain, China. We sampled 18,942 individuals comprising 96 Collembola species across 10 altitudes (800 –2150 m) and measured five morphological traits (body length, number of ocelli, furca development, pigmentation and scales) of the species across three seasons. We then assessed both incidence-based and abundance-weighted taxonomic as well as functional β-diversity, and partitioned them into species turnover and nestedness, while also considering the contributions of particular species and elevation. Finally, we used multiple regression-based distance matrices to investigate the relative contribution of local habitat-related and climatic factors to β-diversity and their components. Overall taxonomic β-diversity, but not functional β-diversity, increased significantly with elevational distance. Generally, turnover components dominated taxonomic β-diversity across elevations, while both nestedness and turnover equally contributed to functional β-diversity. By contrast, both taxonomic and functional β-diversity varied inconsistently among seasons. The turnover components dominated taxonomic β-diversity across seasons, whereas the nestedness component contributed more to functional β-diversity. Furthermore, the local contribution to overall incidence-based taxonomic β-diversity followed a pronounced U-shaped pattern, indicates that lower and higher elevations significantly contribute to the biodiversity of Collembola communities. Notably, the local contribution to abundance-weighted taxonomic β-diversity decreased significantly with elevation in September but not in May and July. The species contributing to β-diversity varied not only between taxonomic and functional β-diversity but also between seasons. Temperature strongly influenced both taxonomic and functional β-diversity patterns, underscoring its role in shaping Collembola diversity across elevation. Soil pH correlated with functional β-diversity and its turnover component in September but not in May and July. Our findings highlight the importance of incorporating seasonal variations in biodiversity assessments and underscore the contribution of lower and higher elevations to biodiversity conservation in mountainous regions.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016706125001600Beta diversityConservationMountainSeasonSoil fauna
spellingShingle Zhijing Xie
Jian Zhang
Yuhao Zhao
Dingliang Xing
Yunga Wu
Johannes Lux
Liang Chang
Kangle Lu
Xin Sun
Donghui Wu
Stefan Scheu
Taxonomic and functional β-diversity of Collembola across elevational and seasonal gradients on a temperate mountain
Geoderma
Beta diversity
Conservation
Mountain
Season
Soil fauna
title Taxonomic and functional β-diversity of Collembola across elevational and seasonal gradients on a temperate mountain
title_full Taxonomic and functional β-diversity of Collembola across elevational and seasonal gradients on a temperate mountain
title_fullStr Taxonomic and functional β-diversity of Collembola across elevational and seasonal gradients on a temperate mountain
title_full_unstemmed Taxonomic and functional β-diversity of Collembola across elevational and seasonal gradients on a temperate mountain
title_short Taxonomic and functional β-diversity of Collembola across elevational and seasonal gradients on a temperate mountain
title_sort taxonomic and functional β diversity of collembola across elevational and seasonal gradients on a temperate mountain
topic Beta diversity
Conservation
Mountain
Season
Soil fauna
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016706125001600
work_keys_str_mv AT zhijingxie taxonomicandfunctionalbdiversityofcollembolaacrosselevationalandseasonalgradientsonatemperatemountain
AT jianzhang taxonomicandfunctionalbdiversityofcollembolaacrosselevationalandseasonalgradientsonatemperatemountain
AT yuhaozhao taxonomicandfunctionalbdiversityofcollembolaacrosselevationalandseasonalgradientsonatemperatemountain
AT dingliangxing taxonomicandfunctionalbdiversityofcollembolaacrosselevationalandseasonalgradientsonatemperatemountain
AT yungawu taxonomicandfunctionalbdiversityofcollembolaacrosselevationalandseasonalgradientsonatemperatemountain
AT johanneslux taxonomicandfunctionalbdiversityofcollembolaacrosselevationalandseasonalgradientsonatemperatemountain
AT liangchang taxonomicandfunctionalbdiversityofcollembolaacrosselevationalandseasonalgradientsonatemperatemountain
AT kanglelu taxonomicandfunctionalbdiversityofcollembolaacrosselevationalandseasonalgradientsonatemperatemountain
AT xinsun taxonomicandfunctionalbdiversityofcollembolaacrosselevationalandseasonalgradientsonatemperatemountain
AT donghuiwu taxonomicandfunctionalbdiversityofcollembolaacrosselevationalandseasonalgradientsonatemperatemountain
AT stefanscheu taxonomicandfunctionalbdiversityofcollembolaacrosselevationalandseasonalgradientsonatemperatemountain