Climatic niche lability but growth form conservatism in the African woody flora

descriptionPublicationkeyboard_double_arrow_right Article 01 Mar 2022 Belgium, Belgium, France, United Kingdom English Publisher:WileyJournal:Ecology Letters, volume 25, pages 1,164-1,176 (issn: 1461-023X, eissn: 1461-0248,

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Authors: Gorel, Anaïs‐pasiphaé; Hardy, Olivier J.; Dauby, Gilles; Dexter, Kyle G.; Segovia, Ricardo A.; Steppe, Kathy; Fayolle, Adeline;

doi: 10.1111/ele.13985

pmid: 35229970

handle: 2268/289051 , 2013/ULB-DIPOT:oai:dipot.ulb.ac.be:2013/341308 , 20.500.11820/a18569ee-7d86-4ea4-8c5e-26012533a513

Climatic niche lability but growth form conservatism in the African woody flora

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Abstract

AbstractClimatic niche evolution during the diversification of tropical plants has received little attention in Africa. To address this, we characterised the climatic niche of >4000 tropical African woody species, distinguishing two broad bioclimatic groups (forest vs. savanna) and six subgroups. We quantified niche conservatismversuslability at the genus level and for higher clades, using a molecular phylogeny of >800 genera. Although niche stasis at speciation is prevalent, numerous clades individually cover vast climatic spaces suggesting a general ease in transcending ecological limits, especially across bioclimatic subgroups. The forest biome was the main source of diversity, providing many lineages to savanna, but reverse shifts also occurred. We identified clades that diversified in savanna after shifts from forest. The forest‐savanna transition was not consistently associated with a growth form change, though we found evolutionarily labile clades whose presence in forest or savanna is associated respectively with climbing or shrubby species diversification.

Countries

Belgium, Belgium, France, United Kingdom

Related Organizations

Département Sciences sociales, agriculture et alimentation, espace et environnement
France
University of Montpellier
France
Ghent University
Belgium
Université Libre de Bruxelles
Belgium
University of Edinburgh
United Kingdom

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Keywords

570, [SDV.BID.SPT]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Biodiversity/Systematics, Sciences de l’environnement & écologie, Forests, [SDV.BV.BOT] Life Sciences [q-bio]/Vegetal Biology/Botanics, forest, woody species, Woody species, Bioclimatic groups, Niche lability, Agriculture & agronomie, Environmental sciences & ecology, Savanna, [SDV.BID.SPT] Life Sciences [q-bio]/Biodiversity/Systematics, Phylogenetics and taxonomy, [SDV.EE.ECO] Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment/Ecosystems, growth forms, large-scale niche evolution, Large-scale niche evolution, Forest, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, Ecosystem, Phylogeny, tropical Africa, Phylogenetics and taxonomy, [SDV.BV.BOT]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Vegetal Biology/Botanics, Plants, Tropical Africa, Growth forms, Agriculture & agronomy, Life sciences, savanna, [SDE.BE] Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology, Biologie végétale (sciences végétales, sylviculture, mycologie...), niche lability, [SDV.EE.ECO]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, Africa, Sciences du vivant, [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology, environment/Ecosystems, Biologie, Phytobiology (plant sciences, forestry, mycology...), bioclimatic groups

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