Biogeography is the major determinant of plant diversity in European forests

Europe forests are the result of biogeography, ecology and human transformation. This study compares the effects of biogeography and ecology to determine the plant diversity of European forests using a representative sample of 3100 plots all over Europe (BIOSOIL project). The general aim is to compare the effects of ecology and management with respect to biogeography. Total plant diversity was divided into different spatial components: plot, site, forest type (a proxy for ecological factors) and biogeographical region. Three hypotheses were tested: H1: The diversity accounted by the biogeographical region is higher that the diversity accounted by the lower scale components; H2: Beta nestedness is higher within than across biogeographical regions, while Beta complementarity is lower within than across biogeographical regions (after correction for extent). H3: Distance decay rate across biogeographical regions is higher than distance decay rate within biogeographical regions (after correction for extent). The results are used to understand how the different factors contribute to determine the forest plant diversity patterns and to get indication for future forest management.