Relating geographical variation in pollination types to environmental and spatial factors using novel statistical methods

• The relative frequencies of functional traits of plant species show notable spatial variation, which is often related to environmental factors. Pollination type (insect-, wind- or self-pollination) is a critical trait for plant reproduction and provision of eco-system services. • Here, we mapped t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The New phytologist 2006-01, Vol.172 (1), p.127-139
Main Authors: Kühn, Ingolf, Bierman, Stijn Martinus, Durka, Walter, Klotz, Stefan
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Altitude
Animal and plant ecology
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Autocorrelation
Bayesian methods
Biological and medical sciences
central Europe
compositional data
Demography
Ecosystem
environmental correlates
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Germany
Insect pollination
Modeling
Models, Biological
Models, Statistical
plant functional types
Plant Physiological Phenomena
Plants
Pollen - physiology
Pollination
pollination types
Reproduction - physiology
spatial autocorrelation
Spatial models
Synecology
Terrestrial ecosystems
Vegetation
Wind pollination
Wind velocity
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Summary:• The relative frequencies of functional traits of plant species show notable spatial variation, which is often related to environmental factors. Pollination type (insect-, wind- or self-pollination) is a critical trait for plant reproduction and provision of eco-system services. • Here, we mapped the distribution of pollination types across Germany by combining databases on plant distribution and plant pollination types. Applying a new method, we modelled the composition of pollination types using a set of 12 environmental variables as predictors within a Bayesian framework which allows for the analysis of compositional data in the presence of spatial autocorrelation. • A clear biogeographical pattern in the distribution of pollination types was revealed which was adequately captured by our model. The most striking relationship was a relative increase in insect-pollination and a corresponding decrease of selfing with increasing altitude. Further important factors were wind speed, geology and land use. • We present a powerful tool to analyse the distribution patterns of plant functional types such as pollination types and their relationship with environmental parameters in a spatially explicit framework.
ISSN:0028-646X
1469-8137
DOI:10.1111/j.1469-8137.2006.01811.x