Priority effects on plant community assembly and ecological restoration significance

doi:10.11686/cyxb2021393

Abstract

Abstract:

Plant community assembly is a key ecological process in the restoration of degraded ecosystems. However， how to reconstruct the plant community， so as to accelerate the restoration of ecosystem processes and functions， remains a key problem that is in urgent need of a solution. The ‘priority effect’ is defined by whether species that arrive early have positive， negative or neutral effect on establishment， growth， or reproduction of species that arrive later in plant community assembly. The priority effect plays an important role in regulating the process of community structure improvement， the functional maintenance and the community succession dynamics. To the present time， studies on the priority effect have been mainly focused on North America and some European countries to better understand the impact of alien species invasion and answer questions relating to grassland diversity conservation， artificial grassland construction and management， among others. However， such research has not been conducted in China. Based on a systematic literature review， this paper summarized the current status of research on priority effects in plant community assembly， identifying the driving factors， response mechanisms and quantitative methods used. It was found that the strength and direction of priority effects were influenced by species identity， community assembly order， environmental factors and interactions between community members. Niche preemption and niche modification have been proved to be the two major driving mechanisms for priority effects. Currently there are some knowledge gaps in this research field， such as the impact of choice of study area， the limitations of shorter experiment duration， and the effects of interactions between biotic and abiotic factors. We conclude by proposing future research directions in this area， taking account of the urgent needs for vegetation restoration in China. Thus， our study provides some new insights for future researchers and new ideas for ecological restoration practice.

Key words: historical arrival order, priority effect, community assembly, ecological restoration

Xiao-hong YAN, Jian-ming NIU, Yuan-heng LI, Feng-yan YI, Shi-xian SUN, Ke JIN, Xi-liang LI. Priority effects on plant community assembly and ecological restoration significance[J]. Acta Prataculturae Sinica, 2022, 31(10): 217-225.

Figures/Tables 3

References 59

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序号 NO.	主要创新点 Key innovations	文献 References
1	发现因萌发时间（到达时间）不同导致的优先效应对生物量贡献和相关的生态系统功能有持久的影响。It was found that priority effects due to different germination times （arrival） had lasting effects on biomass contributions and related ecosystem functioning.	［8］
2	发现物种到达的时间对群落聚集有很大的影响，但影响的大小取决于土壤肥力。This paper found that the timing of species arrival had a large impact on community assembly， but the size of the effect depended on soil fertility.	［10］
3	强调了物种到达顺序的优先效应是决定群落丰富度的关键因素。It was emphasized that the priority effect of species arrival order is the key factor to determine community richness.	［13］
4	发现植物到达顺序的优先效应对地下生产力的影响，与根系的空间位置有关。This paper found that the effect of priority effect of plant arrival order on underground productivity was related to the spatial position of root system.	［15］
5	将优先效应的驱动机制归纳为两类：生态位抢占和生态位修饰。This paper classified priority effect mechanisms into niche preemption and niche modification.	［16］
6	引入了优先效应指数来量化群落组装效应。Priority effect index was introduced to quantify community assembly effect.	［20］
7	发现不同植物类群都在相同程度上受益于早到，但外来物种晚到的代价更低。This paper found that， while different plant functinal groups benefited from arriving early to a similar extent， arriving late came at a lower cost for exotic species.	［22］
8	首次提出“优先效应”这个概念。This paper firstly defined “priority effects”.	［24］
9	提出物种优先效应主要是由于大小不对称竞争。This paper proposed that species priority effect is mainly due to size-asymmetry competition.	［29］
10	提出群落演化史中物种优先效应对群落组成和多样性有很大影响，但早期出现物种特性对群落结构没有显著影响。This paper found that altering timing and priority effects during assembly history had large effects on species composition and diversity， but identity of early-emerging species did not significantly affect community structure.	［30］
11	发现不同功能类型植物（豆科、禾本科和杂类草）的到达顺序对地上生产力的影响明显大于播种密度或播种时间间隔。This paper found that the order of arrival of different plant functional types had a much stronger influence on aboveground productivity than sowing density or interval between the sowing events.	［31］
12	发现物种的后期生长与早期出苗显著相关，幼苗间存在相互竞争作用。The paper found that subsequent growth of plant species was significantly associated with earlier emergence of seedlings， with competition among seedlings.	［32］
13	研究表明入侵植物比本地植物具有更强的竞争能力，由于其具有更迅速的占领能力或在相同季节可更早地生长。This study shown that invasive plants were more competitive than native plants， perhaps because they colonized sites more quickly than native plants or started growing earlier in the same season.	［33］
14	发现早播种豆科具有更高的地上生物量，但随着时间的推移，这种影响并不是持续的。 This paper found higher aboveground biomass when sowing legumes before the other plant functional groups， but this effect was not continuous over time.	［34］
15	将物种的生态位分解为3个组成部分：重叠、影响和需求，并通过对生态位组分的量化来衡量物种优先效应（历史偶然性）的大小。The paper decomposed species’ niches into three components： Overlap， impact and requirement， species priority effect （historical contingency） was measured by quantifying niche components.	［35］

序号 NO.	主要创新点 Key innovations	文献 References
1	发现因萌发时间（到达时间）不同导致的优先效应对生物量贡献和相关的生态系统功能有持久的影响。It was found that priority effects due to different germination times （arrival） had lasting effects on biomass contributions and related ecosystem functioning.	［8］
2	发现物种到达的时间对群落聚集有很大的影响，但影响的大小取决于土壤肥力。This paper found that the timing of species arrival had a large impact on community assembly， but the size of the effect depended on soil fertility.	［10］
3	强调了物种到达顺序的优先效应是决定群落丰富度的关键因素。It was emphasized that the priority effect of species arrival order is the key factor to determine community richness.	［13］
4	发现植物到达顺序的优先效应对地下生产力的影响，与根系的空间位置有关。This paper found that the effect of priority effect of plant arrival order on underground productivity was related to the spatial position of root system.	［15］
5	将优先效应的驱动机制归纳为两类：生态位抢占和生态位修饰。This paper classified priority effect mechanisms into niche preemption and niche modification.	［16］
6	引入了优先效应指数来量化群落组装效应。Priority effect index was introduced to quantify community assembly effect.	［20］
7	发现不同植物类群都在相同程度上受益于早到，但外来物种晚到的代价更低。This paper found that， while different plant functinal groups benefited from arriving early to a similar extent， arriving late came at a lower cost for exotic species.	［22］
8	首次提出“优先效应”这个概念。This paper firstly defined “priority effects”.	［24］
9	提出物种优先效应主要是由于大小不对称竞争。This paper proposed that species priority effect is mainly due to size-asymmetry competition.	［29］
10	提出群落演化史中物种优先效应对群落组成和多样性有很大影响，但早期出现物种特性对群落结构没有显著影响。This paper found that altering timing and priority effects during assembly history had large effects on species composition and diversity， but identity of early-emerging species did not significantly affect community structure.	［30］
11	发现不同功能类型植物（豆科、禾本科和杂类草）的到达顺序对地上生产力的影响明显大于播种密度或播种时间间隔。This paper found that the order of arrival of different plant functional types had a much stronger influence on aboveground productivity than sowing density or interval between the sowing events.	［31］
12	发现物种的后期生长与早期出苗显著相关，幼苗间存在相互竞争作用。The paper found that subsequent growth of plant species was significantly associated with earlier emergence of seedlings， with competition among seedlings.	［32］
13	研究表明入侵植物比本地植物具有更强的竞争能力，由于其具有更迅速的占领能力或在相同季节可更早地生长。This study shown that invasive plants were more competitive than native plants， perhaps because they colonized sites more quickly than native plants or started growing earlier in the same season.	［33］
14	发现早播种豆科具有更高的地上生物量，但随着时间的推移，这种影响并不是持续的。 This paper found higher aboveground biomass when sowing legumes before the other plant functional groups， but this effect was not continuous over time.	［34］
15	将物种的生态位分解为3个组成部分：重叠、影响和需求，并通过对生态位组分的量化来衡量物种优先效应（历史偶然性）的大小。The paper decomposed species’ niches into three components： Overlap， impact and requirement， species priority effect （historical contingency） was measured by quantifying niche components.	［35］

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