3.5 Mid-domain effect
Species richness (alpha diversity) was predicted based on the mid-domain
effect to examine the applicability of this hypothesis to the sampling
site (Figure 1, Table S4). In all the plant groups, the correlations
between the observed species richness and those predicted with the
mid-domain effect were not significant (total: r = 0.160,p = 0.62; trees: r = −0.031, p = 0.92; shrubs:r = −0.738, p < 0.01; herbs: r = −0.074,p = 0.82; ferns: r = 0.110, p = 0.74; and
bryophytes: r = 0.276, p = 0.38). Thus, the elevational
patterns of alpha diversity in all the plant groups were different from
those predicted with the mid-domain effect.
3.6 Elevational range
The mean elevational range of each plant group was calculated and
plotted as a function of elevation (Figure 4, Table S5). The results
showed that none of the plant groups had a wider elevational range at
higher elevations.