Diversity and distribution of Raunkiær's life forms in European vegetation

• Published in: Journal of Vegetation Science
• Main Authors: Midolo, Gabriele, Axmanová, Irena, Divíšek, Jan, Dřevojan, Pavel, Lososová, Zdeňka, Večeřa, Martin, Karger, Dirk Nikolaus, Thuiller, Wilfried, Bruelheide, Helge, Aćić, Svetlana, Attorre, Fabio, Biurrun, Idoia, Boch, Steffen, Bonari, Gianmaria, Čarni, Andraž, Chiarucci, Alessandro, Ćušterevska, Renata, Dengler, Jürgen, Dziuba, Tetiana, Garbolino, Emmanuel, Jandt, Ute, Lenoir, Jonathan, Marcenò, Corrado, Rūsiņa, Solvita, Šibík, Jozef, Škvorc, Željko, Stančić, Zvjezdana, Stanišić-Vujačić, Milica, Svenning, Jens‐christian, Swacha, Grzegorz, Vassilev, Kiril, Chytrý, Milan
• Other Authors: Masaryk University Brno (MUNI), Department of Botany and Zoology Brno (SCI / MUNI), Faculty of Science Brno (SCI / MUNI), Masaryk University Brno (MUNI)-Masaryk University Brno (MUNI), Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, Laboratoire d'Ecologie Alpine (LECA ), Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB Université de Savoie Université de Chambéry )-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA), Martin-Luther-Universität Halle Wittenberg (MLU), Department of Agrobotany, Belgrade-Zemun, Serbia, Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza" = Sapienza University Rome (UNIROMA), University of the Basque Country = Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea (UPV / EHU), National Institute of Biology Ljubljana (NIB), Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna = University of Bologna (UNIBO), Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje (UKIM), Zürcher Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften = Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW), University of Bayreuth, German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Centre de recherche sur les Risques et les Crises (CRC), Mines Paris - PSL (École nationale supérieure des mines de Paris), Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL), Ecologie et Dynamique des Systèmes Anthropisés - UMR CNRS 7058 UPJV (EDYSAN), Université de Picardie Jules Verne (UPJV)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2024
• Subjects: [SDE]Environmental Sciences; Arctic
• Online Access: https://u-picardie.hal.science/hal-04515457; https://doi.org/10.1111/jvs.13229

International audience Aims The Raunkiær's system classifies vascular plants into life forms based on the position of renewal buds during periods unfavourable for plant growth. Despite the importance of Raunkiær's system for ecological research, a study exploring the diversity and distribution of life forms on a continental scale is missing. We aim to (i) map the diversity and distribution of life forms in European vegetation and (ii) test for effects of bioclimatic variables while controlling for habitat‐specific responses. Location Europe. Methods We used data on life forms of 8883 species recorded in 546,501 vegetation plots of different habitats (forest, grassland, scrub and wetland). For each plot, we calculated: (i) the proportion of species of each life form and (ii) the richness and evenness of life forms. We mapped these plot‐level metrics averaged across 50 km × 50 km grid cells and modelled their response to bioclimatic variables. Results Hemicryptophytes were the most widespread life form, especially in the temperate zone of Central Europe. Conversely, therophyte and chamaephyte species were more common in the Mediterranean as well as in the dry temperate regions. Moreover, chamaephytes were also more common in the boreal and arctic zones. Higher proportions of phanerophytes were found in the Mediterranean. Overall, a higher richness of life forms was found at lower latitudes while evenness showed more spatially heterogeneous patterns. Habitat type was the main discriminator for most of the responses analysed, but several moisture‐related predictors still showed a marked effect on the diversity of therophytes and chamaephytes. Conclusions Our maps can be used as a tool for future biogeographic and macro‐ecological research at a continental scale. Habitat type and bioclimatic conditions are key for regulating the diversity and distribution of plant life forms, with concomitant consequences for the response of functional diversity in European vegetation to global environmental changes.