Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36829440›Full record

ArticleBiology2023

Ellenberg Indicator Values Disclose Complex Environmental Filtering Processes in Plant Communities along an Elevational Gradient.

Letizia Di Biase, Noelline Tsafack, Loretta Pace, Simone Fattorini

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Biology, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Seed Morphology ofBiology · 2025
    Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Letizia Di BiaseDepartment of Life, Health and Environmental Sciences, University of L'Aquila, Via Vetoio, 67100 L'Aquila, Italy.
Noelline TsafackcE3c-Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes, Azorean Biodiversity Group, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Environment, CHANGE-Global Change and Sustainability Institute, University of the Azores, Rua Capitão João d'Ávila, Pico da Urze, 9700-042 Angra do Heroísmo, Portugal.ORCID 0000-0003-3154-6295
Loretta PaceDepartment of Life, Health and Environmental Sciences, University of L'Aquila, Via Vetoio, 67100 L'Aquila, Italy.
Simone FattoriniDepartment of Life, Health and Environmental Sciences, University of L'Aquila, Via Vetoio, 67100 L'Aquila, Italy.ORCID 0000-0002-4517-2135

Funding

Department of Life, Health and Environmental Sciences, University of L'Aquila FFO 2022 "Struttura di comunità biotiche in ambienti di bassa ed alta quota soggetti a fattori di elevato stress termico e idrico"
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Ellenberg indicator values (EIVs) express plant preferences for temperature, light, continentality, soil moisture, pH, and soil nutrients, and have been largely used to deduce environmental characteristics from plant communities. However, EIVs might also be used to investigate the importance of filtering mechanisms in shaping plant communities according to species ecological preferences, a so far overlooked use of EIVs. In this paper, we investigated how community-weighted means (CWM), calculated with EIVs, varied along an elevational gradient in a small mountain in Central Italy. We also tested if species abundances varied according to their ecological preferences. We found that the prevalence of thermophilous species declines with elevation, being progressively replaced by cold-adapted species. Heliophilous species prevail at low and high elevations (characterized by the presence of open habitats), whereas in the middle of the gradient (occupied by the beech forest), sciophilous species predominate. Variations for moisture and soil nutrient preferences followed a similar pattern, probably because of the high moisture and nutrient levels of forest soils with a lot of humus. No distinct pattern was detected for EIVs for pH and continentality since these factors are subject to more local variations. These results highlight the possible role of EIVs to investigate how environmental gradients shape plant communities.

Indexed as

Apenninescommunity ecologycommunity-weighted meanCWM regressionfourth-corner analysisItalyMediterraneanmountainsmulti-level modellingniche

Identifiers

PMID36829440
PMCPMC9953212

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.