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Contrasting effects of various disturbances on plant species diversity via functional diversity on an island
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DOI：10.1016/j.gecco.2026.e04306.png)
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Abstract
En 中文
Island ecosystems are highly fragile and subject to intense marine disturbances. However, it remains unclear whether plant communities can adjust their functional traits to mitigate these stresses and sustain species diversity. We investigated the differences in species and functional diversity between the seaward and landward slopes of coastal mountains on Pingtan Island, China. We examined how disturbances regulate species diversity via functional diversity. Our results showed that although shrub communities on seaward slopes had significantly lower total vegetation cover, their species diversity did not differ significantly from that on landward slopes, while their functional dispersion was significantly higher. Structural equation modeling revealed distinct mechanisms on each slope. On seaward slopes, a moderate intensity of diverse natural disturbances directly reduced species diversity but indirectly enhanced it by increasing functional richness. Conversely, single-source disturbances exerted negative effects by reducing functional diversity. On landward slopes, total environmental disturbance was predominantly anthropogenic and exerted solely indirect negative effects on species diversity by reducing functional dispersion. Road density indirectly promoted species diversity by increasing functional richness, whereas nighttime light indirectly suppressed species diversity by decreasing functional richness. Our findings demonstrate that plant communities can maintain species diversity via functional diversity under stronger marine disturbances. Our work also highlights that diverse, moderate natural disturbances and limited human activities are crucial for conserving island species diversity.
Keywords:
Coastal mountains
Environmental differences
Island species diversity
Functional diversity
Island conservation
Island management
Disturbance types
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