Contrasting effects of biotic interactions on richness and distribution of vascular plants, bryophytes and lichens in an arctic–alpine landscape

Abstract

Biotic interactions may strongly affect the distribution of individual species and the resulting patterns of species richness. However, the impacts can vary depending on the species or taxa examined, suggesting that the influences of interactions on species distributions and diversity are not always straightforward and can be taxon-contingent. The aim of this study was therefore to examine how the importance of biotic interactions varies within a community. We incorporated three biotic predictors (cover of the dominant vascular species) into two correlative species richness modelling frameworks to predict spatial variation in the number of vascular plants, bryophytes and lichens in arctic-alpine Fennoscandia, in N Europe. In addition, predictions based on single-species distribution models were used to determine the nature of the impact (negative vs. positive outcome) of the three dominant species on individual vascular plant, bryophyte and lichen species. Our results suggest that biotic variables can be as important as abiotic variables, but their relative contributions in explaining the richness of sub-dominant species varies among dominant species, species group and the modelling framework implemented. Similarly, the impacts of biotic interactions on individual species varied among the three species groups and dominant species, with the observed patterns partly reflecting species’ biogeographic range. Our study provides additional support for the importance of biotic interactions in modifying arctic-alpine biodiversity patterns, and highlights that the impacts of interactions are not constant across taxa or biotic drivers. The influence of biotic interactions, including the taxon-contingency and range-based impacts, should therefore be accounted for when developing biodiversity forecasts.