title: Effects of land use on taxonomic and functional diversity: a cross-taxon analysis in a Mediterranean landscape.
abstract: Land-use change is the major driver of biodiversity loss. However, taxonomic diversity (TD) and functional diversity (FD) might respond differently to land-use change, and this response might also vary depending on the biotic group being analysed. In this study, we compare the TD and FD of four biotic groups (ants, birds, herbaceous, woody vegetation) among four land-use types that represent a gradient of land-use intensity in a Mediterranean landscape (Mediterranean shrublands, dehesas, mixed-pine forests, olive groves). Analyses were performed separately at two different spatial scales: the sampling unit scale and the site scale. Land-use intensity effects on TD and FD were quite different and highly varied among the four biotic groups, with no single clear pattern emerging that could be considered general for all organisms. Additive partitioning of species diversity revealed clear contrasting patterns between TD and FD in the percentage of variability observed at each spatial scale. While most variability in TD was found at the larger scales, irregardless of organism group and land-use type, most variability in FD was found at the smallest scale, indicating that species turnover among communities is much greater than functional trait turnover. Finally, we found that TD and FD did not vary consistently, but rather followed different trajectories that largely depended on the biotic group and the intensity of land-use transformation. Our results highlight that the relationship of land use with TD and FD is highly complex and context-dependent.
authors.affiliation: Social-Ecological Systems Laboratory, Department of Ecology, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Darwin 2, 28049, Madrid, Spain. violeta.hevia@uam.es.
authors.forename: Violeta
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-1623-4082
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Hevia
authors.affiliation: Terrestrial Ecology Group, Department of Ecology, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Darwin 2, 28049, Madrid, Spain.|Department of Botany, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, 37005, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Carlos P
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Carmona
authors.affiliation: Terrestrial Ecology Group, Department of Ecology, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Darwin 2, 28049, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Francisco M
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Azcárate
authors.affiliation: Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, Rolighedsvej 23, 1958, Frederiksberg C, Denmark.
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Torralba
authors.affiliation: Social-Ecological Systems Laboratory, Department of Ecology, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Darwin 2, 28049, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Paloma
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Alcorlo
authors.affiliation: Social-Ecological Systems Laboratory, Department of Ecology, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Darwin 2, 28049, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Rubén
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ariño
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Ciencias Naturales, Sección de Biología Básica y Aplicada, Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja, San Cayetano Alto, C/París s/n., 1101608, Loja, Ecuador.
authors.forename: Jorge
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lozano
authors.affiliation: Estación Biológica de Doñana, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Avda. Américo Vespucio s/n, 41092, Seville, Spain.
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Castro-Cobo
authors.affiliation: Social-Ecological Systems Laboratory, Department of Ecology, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Darwin 2, 28049, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: José A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: González
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D044822:Biodiversity; D001717:Birds; D065928:Forests; D028223:Pinus
keywords: Biodiversity; Diversity partitioning; Functional traits; Land-use intensity; Spatial scale