DOI: 10.5061/dryad.m63xsj4f5
title: How does species rarity influence the functional diversity and resilience along the successional pathway in heterogeneous karst forests?

description: Global climate change and human activities have increased the risk of rare
 species loss due to their sensitivity to disturbances. Considering their
 dominance in hyper-diverse communities, the contribution pathways and
 extent of rare species loss to functional diversity and resilience should
 be clarified. Therefore, we established 30 forest dynamic plots in
 heterogeneous degraded karst forests and measured the plant functional
 traits along the successional pathway. The correlations between trait
 uniqueness and species rarity were quantified, and the effects of rare and
 common species losses on functional diversity and trait networks were
 simulated. The correlations between trait uniqueness and species rarity
 showed rare species tended to occupy marginal functional space positions
 in the mid and late successional stages. In addition, rare species mainly
 supported functional redundancy in the early successional stage and
 significantly impacted functional resilience. In contrast, the unique
 traits supported by rare species increased along the successional pathway,
 thus increasing functional diversity and resilience in the late
 successional stage. This study highlights the crucial role of rare species
 in the functional diversity and resilience of degraded karst forests,
 warranting increased attention to rare species during biodiversity
 conservation and ecological management in heterogeneous, vulnerable
 ecosystems.
description: # How does species rarity influence the functional diversity and
 resilience along the successional pathway in heterogeneous karst forests?
 **Authors:** Longchenxi Meng, Scott Jarvie, Mingzhen Sui, Danmei Chen,
 Guangqi Zhang, Qingfu Liu, Yi Ding, Han Xu, Lipeng Zang **Corresponding
 Author:** Lipeng Zang, [cafzanglp@163.com](mailto:cafzanglp@163.com)
 **Journal name:** Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
 **Dataset DOI:** [10.5061/dryad.m63xsj4f5](10.5061/dryad.m63xsj4f5) ##
 Description of the data and file structure We have submitted our datasets
 from karst forest, including: raw data of plant species abundance
 (SC_abundance.csv, SG_abundance.csv, OG_abundance.csv) and plant leaf
 trait (SC_traits.csv, SG_traits.csv, OG_traits.csv) for early, mid, and
 late successional stages respectively; R script for analyses (01_FUZZYQ.R,
 02_FUNSPACE.R, 03_FUNDIVERSITY.R, 04_FUNNETWORK.R); and a species code
 file (Species_name.csv). ### **File list:** 01_FUZZYQ.R 02_FUNSPACE.R
 03_FUNDIVERSITY.R 04_FUNNETWORK.R OG_abundance.csv OG_traits.csv
 SC_abundance.csv SC_traits.csv SG_abundance.csv SG_traits.csv Species
 name.csv ### **File descriptions:** #### **SC\_abundance.csv,
 SG\_abundance.csv, OG\_abundance.csv** The row names represent the plots,
 and column names represent the species name code in the species abundance
 files. #### **SC\_traits.csv, SG\_traits.csv, OG\_traits.csv** * Species:
 species name code * SLA: specific leaf area (cm2/g) Specific leaf
 area=leaf area/Leaf dry weight * LDMC: leaf dry matter content (g/g) leaf
 dry matter content=Leaf dry weight/Leaf fresh weight * LT: leaf thickness
 (mm) * LCC: leaf carbon concentration (g/kg) * LNC: leaf nitrogen
 concentration (g/kg) * LPC: leaf phosphorus concentration (g/kg) *
 C:N: leaf carbon/nitrogen ratio * C:P: leaf carbon/phosphorus ratio *
 N:P: leaf nitrogen/phosphorus ratio #### **Species\_name.csv** This file
 contains the scientific names corresponding to the species codes in the
 raw data, where each species code is a combination of the first four
 letters of the genus and species names. ## Code/Software 01_FUZZYQ.R: This
 file contains R code to quantify the species rarity index .
 02_FUNSPACE.R:This file contains R code to construct a functional trait
 space based on kernel density probability. 03_FUNDIVERSITY.R:This file
 contains R code to calculate functional diversity, build species loss
 models, and draw graphs. 04_FUNNETWORK.R:This file contains R code to
 construct a functional trait network, calculate its topological
 coefficients, simulate the effects of species loss on the network, and
 visualize the impact of two species loss scenarios using a radar chart.
 \**We use R version 4.3.2 to process and analyse our data. **
 **Annotations are provided throughout the script.**