Many species are expanding their distributions to higher latitudes due global warming. Understanding the mechanisms underlying these distribution shifts is critical for better understanding impacts of climate changes. The envelope approach widely used model and predict with changing climates. Biotic interactions between species, however, may also influence distributions, a biotic could improve predictions based solely on models. Along northern Gulf Mexico coast, USA, subtropical black...

Abstract Global changes are causing broad‐scale shifts in vegetation communities worldwide, including coastal habitats where the borders between mangroves and salt marsh flux. Coastal provide numerous ecosystem services of high economic value, but consequences variation mangrove cover poorly known. We experimentally manipulated large plots to test a set linked hypotheses regarding effects cover. found that had strong on microclimate, plant community, sediment accretion, soil organic content,...

Understanding of how plant communities are organized and will respond to global changes requires an understanding species multiple environmental gradients. We examined the mechanisms mediating distribution patterns tidal marsh plants along estuarine gradient in Georgia (USA) using a combination field transplant experiments monitoring. Our results could not be fully explained by “competition‐to‐stress hypothesis” (the current paradigm explaining distributions across landscapes). This...

Abstract Despite overall global declines, mangroves are expanding into and within many subtropical wetlands, leading to heterogeneous cover of marsh–mangrove coastal vegetation communities near the poleward edge mangroves’ ranges. Coastal wetlands globally important carbon sinks, yet effects shifts in mangrove on organic‐carbon ( OC ) storage remains uncertain. We experimentally maintained black Avicennia germinans or marsh patches n = 1,120, 3 × m) along a gradient (0–100%) wetland plots 10...

In the order C. microphylla - intermedia korshinskii, compensation irradiance, saturation and optimum temperature for photosynthesis increased, net photosynthetic rate (PN) at low irradiance decreased, air humidity PN increased. Daily cumulative value of increased while daily transpiration (E) hence water use efficiency (WUE =PN/E) Diurnal course was a double-peak curve, but second peak in curves korshinskii not visible. These physiological characteristics are biological basis geographical...

Understanding the processes determining community structure is one of major goals ecological research. Both deterministic and stochastic may shape structure. The challenge to understand relative influence each type process across different environmental conditions. We investigated on plant assembly in tidal marshes a strong abiotic (salinity) gradient three estuaries Georgia, USA using probabilistic Raup–Crick dissimilarity. Our results indicated that had an increasingly important...

The reasons that clonal plants shift between sexual and reproduction have persisted as a knowledge gap in ecological literature. We hypothesized plants' shifts different environments are driven by the relative costs of reproduction. Moreover, we prioritize over To test these hypotheses, determined reproduction, proportions Caragana stenophylla along climatic aridity gradient (semi-arid, arid, very arid intensively zones) Inner Mongolia Steppe using several complementary field experiments.The...

In self-supervised contrastive learning, a widely-adopted objective function is InfoNCE, which uses the heuristic cosine similarity for representation comparison, and closely related to maximizing Kullback-Leibler (KL)-based mutual information. this paper, we aim at answering two intriguing questions: (1) Can go beyond KL-based objective? (2) Besides popular similarity, can design better function? We provide answers both questions by generalizing information $f$-Mutual Information in...

In general, community similarity is thought to decay with distance; however, this view may be complicated by the relative roles of different ecological processes at geographical scales, and compositional perspective (e.g. species, functional group phylogenetic lineage) used. Coastal salt marshes are widely distributed worldwide, but no studies have explicitly examined variation in marsh plant composition across from perspectives. Based on other ecosystems, we hypothesized that, coastal...

Few studies have investigated the influence of water availability on plant population spatial patterns. We studied changes in patterns Caragana stenophylla along a climatic drought gradient within Inner Mongolian Plateau, China. examined patterns, seed density, "nurse effects" shrubs seedlings, transpiration rates and use efficiency (WUE) C. across semi-arid, arid, intensively arid zones. Our results showed that patches populations shifted from random to clumped pattern towards drier...

Abstract Plant can alter reproductive strategies for adaptation to different environments. However, alterations in flowering and sexual allocation the same species growing environments still remain unclear. We examined reproduction parameters of Caragana stenophylla across four climatic zones from semi-arid, arid, very intensively arid Inner Mongolia Steppe, China. Under relatively favorable conditions semi-arid zone, C. took a K -strategy (fewer but bigger flowers higher seed set). In...

Caragana species are commonly distributed in desert regions. We hypothesized that the photosynthetic traits of could acclimated well to environments, which characterized by high temperature, intense radiation, and low moisture. To test our hypothesis, we studied responses photosynthesis light, temperature humidity, fluorescence parameters four from region one steppe Inner Mongolian Plateau. The had higher light compensation point, saturation optimum for photosynthesis, lower relative air...

Woody encroachment in grasslands has become increasingly problematic globally. Grazing by domestic animals can facilitate woody reducing competition from herbaceous plants and fire frequency. Herbivorous insects parasitic each exert forces that result the natural biological control of encroaching through seeding their host plants. Whereas, interplay grazing dynamics herbivorous or plants, its effects on potential remain unclear. We investigated flower pod damage infection rates a plant shrub...

Shrubs tended to increase their abundance as climatic aridity and grazing intensity increased in the Inner Mongolian grassland. Increasing shrub was believed be due enhanced reproduction. However, effects of on sexual reproduction shrubs grassland remain largely unclear. In this study, we conducted field experiments with Caragana microphylla examine variation aspects (seed production, seed vigor, sapling establishment) along a gradient (subhumid, semiarid, arid, dry arid zones) (fenced,...