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Mountains are considered excellent natural laboratories for studying the determinants of plant diversity at contrasting spatial scales. To gain insights into how plant diversity is structured at different spatial scales, we surveyed high mountain plant communities in the Chilean Andes where man-driven perturbations are rare. This was done along elevational gradients located at different latitudes taking into account factors that act at fine scales, including abiotic (potential solar radiation and soil quality) and biotic (species interactions) factors, and considering multiple spatial scales. Species richness, inverse of Simpson's concentration (Dequiv), beta-diversity and plant cover were estimated using the percentage of cover per species recorded in 34 sites in the different regions with contrasted climates. Overall, plant species richness, Dequiv and plant cover were lower in sites located at higher latitudes. We found a unimodal relationship between species richness and elevation and this pattern was constant independently of the regional climatic conditions. Soil quality decreased the beta-diversity among the plots in each massif and increased the richness, the Dequiv and cover. Segregated patterns of species co-occurrence were related to increases in richness, Dequiv and plant cover at finer scales. Our results showed that elevation patterns of alpine plant diversity remained constant along the regions although the mechanisms underlying these diversity patterns may differ among climatic regions. They also suggested that the patterns of plant diversity in alpine ecosystems respond to a series of factors (abiotic and biotic) that act jointly at different spatial scale determining the assemblages of local communities, but their importance can only be assessed using a multi-scale spatial approach.

Aims: The sign of interactions among plants in very harsh environments is under debate. The Antarctic tundra is one of the harshest environments on Earth and only two vascular plants (Deschampsia antarctica and Colobanthus quitensis) have successfully established natural populations. D. antarctica mostly establishes facilitative interactions with other species (mosses), but there is no information about the inter-specific interactions established by C. quitensis. We assessed whether C. quitensis grows frequently associated with D. antarctica, and if D. antarctica neighbours have a positive effect on the survival, growth and photochemical efficiency of C. quitensis individuals. Location: King George Island, Antarctic Peninsula. Methods: To assess the spatial association among the two Antarctic vascular plants fifty 50 m × 50 cm quadrats were sampled on each of four different substrates: moss carpet areas; dead moss carpet areas dominated by D. antarctica; a transition zone between dead moss carpets and fellfields; and fellfields characterized by very poor vegetation cover. Infrared thermal images were taken to estimate whether growth associated with D. antarctica affected the foliar temperature of C. quitensis. The importance of D. antarctica neighbours on the growth, survival and photochemical efficiency of C. quitensis was evaluated with a neighbour removal experiment. Results: The number of C. quitensis individuals associated with D. antarctica was significantly higher than when growing alone in the moss carpet and the dead moss carpet, while in the transition zone there was a trend in that direction. C. quitensis individuals growing associated with D. antarctica were bigger than those growing alone in these three substrate types. In the fellfield site there were no significant differences, neither in the number nor the size of individuals when growing alone or associated with D. antarctica. Foliar temperature of C. quitensis individuals associated with D. antarctica was slightly (1.1°C) but significantly higher than in those growing alone. The growth, survival and photochemical efficiency of C. quitensis individuals with neighbours were higher than in individuals with neighbours removed. Conclusions: Our results indicate that D. antarctica has a facilitative effect on the growth, survival and photochemical efficiency of C. quitensis. Thus, facilitative interactions are present and are important in one of the harshest environments on Earth, although results from the fellfield site indicate that further research is needed.

Se presenta un catálogo de las plantas vasculares que crecen en Chile. Está organizado por divisiones, Pteridophyta (Lycopodiopsida y Polypodiopsida), Pinophyta (Gnetopsida y Pinopsida) y Magnoliophyta (Liliopsida y Magnoliopsida), y dentro de cada grupo, las jerarquías taxonómicas (Familia, Género, Especies y taxones infraespecíficos) están ordenados alfabéticamente. Se incluye además un índice alfabético de géneros con indicación de la familia y grupo a que pertenecen. De acuerdo a este catálogo la flora de las plantas vasculares que crecen en Chile, comprende 186 familias, 1121 géneros y 5471 especies, de éstas, 4655 corresponden a especies nativas, de las cuales 2145 son endémicas de Chile y 816 las especies introducidas.

High-elevation ecosystems are among the few ecosystems worldwide that are not yet heavily invaded by non-native plants. This is expected to change as species expand their range limits upwards to fill their climatic niches and respond to ongoing anthropogenic disturbances. Yet, whether and how quickly these changes are happening has only been assessed in a few isolated cases. Starting in 2007, we conducted repeated surveys of non-native plant distributions along mountain roads in 11 regions from 5 continents. We show that over a 5- to 10-year period, the number of non-native species increased on average by approximately 16% per decade across regions. The direction and magnitude of upper range limit shifts depended on elevation across all regions. Supported by a null-model approach accounting for range changes expected by chance alone, we found greater than expected upward shifts at lower/mid elevations in at least seven regions. After accounting for elevation dependence, significant average upward shifts were detected in a further three regions (revealing evidence for upward shifts in 10 of 11 regions). Together, our results show that mountain environments are becoming increasingly exposed to biological invasions, emphasizing the need to monitor and prevent potential biosecurity issues emerging in high-elevation ecosystems. The authors resurveyed a previously sampled set of mountain transects on five continents, showing that the ranges of non-native plant species have shifted upslope in most locations in just 5–10 years.

Climate change and other global change drivers threaten plant diversity in mountains worldwide. A widely documented response to such environmental modifications is for plant species to change their elevational ranges. Range shifts are often idiosyncratic and difficult to generalize, partly due to variation in sampling methods. There is thus a need for a standardized monitoring strategy that can be applied across mountain regions to assess distribution changes and community turnover of native and non-native plant species over space and time. Here, we present a conceptually intuitive and standardized protocol developed by the Mountain Invasion Research Network (MIREN) to systematically quantify global patterns of native and non-native species distributions along elevation gradients and shifts arising from interactive effects of climate change and human disturbance. Usually repeated every five years, surveys consist of 20 sample sites located at equal elevation increments along three replicate roads per sampling region. At each site, three plots extend from the side of a mountain road into surrounding natural vegetation. The protocol has been successfully used in 18 regions worldwide from 2007 to present. Analyses of one point in time already generated some salient results, and revealed region-specific elevational patterns of native plant species richness, but a globally consistent elevational decline in non-native species richness. Non-native plants were also more abundant directly adjacent to road edges, suggesting that disturbed roadsides serve as a vector for invasions into mountains. From the upcoming analyses of time series, even more exciting results can be expected, especially about range shifts. Implementing the protocol in more mountain regions globally would help to generate a more complete picture of how global change alters species distributions. This would inform conservation policy in mountain ecosystems, where some conservation policies remain poorly implemented.

Taxonomic and genetic diversity are among the components of biodiversity. Both components need to be taken in consideration to establish management and conservation strategies in high-priority areas for conservation. Pedro del Rio Zañartu park in the peninsula of Hualpen, contains one of the last relicts of the coastal forest of the Bio-Bio Region, mainly concentrated in the Terrestrial Biological Station (EBT) assigned to the University of Concepcion near to the city of Concepcion. In this study, we evaluated both taxonomic and genetic diversity of the peninsula to establish conservation strategies and future management plans in the area. We quantified the number of species along 20 transects within the park and in the surrounding areas. In addition, we measured the genetic diversity in five phylogenetically unrelated species, using AFLP markers. A total of 90 species were recorded, 78 % native and 22 % non-native. The highest species richness was found in the EBT area, having significance difference with the rest of the sampling sites. The genetic analysis showed similar values of genetic diversity than previously reported for species with similar biological traits and for the same studied species, in different zones of their distribution. Therefore, high levels of species richness and genetic diversity were found in the EBT. This could be as a result of the management and protection by the university. Considering the presence of endangered species within the EBT and the spatial distribution of species richness in the area, we recommend that the park Pedro del Rio Zañartu and surrounding areas need to be part of the areas protected by the government.

A national‐scale study of outcrossing potential within Chilean vascular flora was conducted using an upgraded algorithm, which adds parameters such as pollinator agents, climate, and geographic conditions. Datasets were organized and linked in a Web platform (www.flujogenico.cl), in which the development of a total outcrossing potential (TOP) predictor was formulated. The TOP predictor is the engine in the Web platform, which models the effect of a type of agricultural practice on others (coexistence calculation mode) and on the environment (biodiversity calculation mode). The scale for TOP results uses quintiles in order to define outcrossing potential between species as “very low,” “low,” “medium,” “high,” or “very high.” In a coexistence analysis considering 256 species (207 genera), the 10 highest TOP values were for genera Citrus, Prunus, Trifolium, Brassica, Allium, Eucalyptus, Cucurbita, Solanum, Lollium, and Lotus. The highest TOP for species in this analysis fell at “high” potential, 4.9% of the determined values. In biodiversity mode, seven out of 256 cultivated species (2.7%) were native, and 249 (97.3%) corresponded to introduced species. The highest TOP was obtained in the genera Senecio, Calceolaria, Viola, Solanum, Poa, Alstroemeria, Valeriana, Vicia, Atriplex, and Campanula, showing “high” potential in 4.9% of the values. On the other hand, 137 genetically modified species, including the commercial and pre‐commercial developments, were included and represented 100 genera. Among these, 22 genera had relatives (i.e., members of the same genus) in the native/introduced group. The genera with the highest number of native/introduced relatives ranged from one (Ipomea, Limonium, Carica, Potentilla, Lotus, Castanea, and Daucus) to 66 species (Solanum). The highest TOP was obtained when the same species were coincident in both groups, such as for Carica chilensis, Prosopis tamarugo, and Solanum tuberosum. Results are discussed from the perspective of assessing the possible impact of cultivated species on Chilean flora biodiversity. The TOP predictor (http://epc.agroinformatica.cl/) is useful in the context of environmental risk assessment. An up‐to‐date vascular flora database system was connected to new databases, including pollinator agent, climate, and geographic aspect databases. These datasets were organized and linked in a Web site in which the development of an outcrossing potential predictor was formulated. The total outcrossing potential (TOP) tool is the engine in Web application and models the effect of agriculture on agriculture (coexistence calculation mode) and agriculture on biodiversity (biodiversity calculation mode). TOP may be used by the surveillance agencies of the Ministry of Agriculture in order to predict outcrossing potentials due to the release of genetically modified plants into the environment.

Darwin’s Naturalization Conundrum (DNC) states that non-native species closely related to the native community are either more likely to succeed because shared adaptations help them overcome environmental filtering, or less likely to succeed because of strong competition with their native relatives. Despite extensive research, no general patterns have so far emerged. One reason may be that the relative importance of competition and environmental filtering depends on environmental conditions. To test this hypothesis, we conducted a global assessment of DNC examining patterns of phylogenetic relatedness of non-native plant species to the native community along gradients of elevation and anthropogenic disturbance in mountains. Phylogenetic distance of non-native to native species decreased with increasing elevation and in disturbed plant communities. Our results help resolve DNC by showing that the environmental context sets expectations for patterns of relatedness between non-native and native species and helps illuminate the ecological and evolutionary processes generating these patterns.