Contrasting patterns in bryophyte and vascular plant species richness in relation to elevation, biomass and Soay sheep on St Kilda, Scotland

Research on St Kilda, Scotland, reveals that bryophyte and vascular plant species richness exhibit contrasting patterns in response to elevation, biomass, and sheep grazing pressure. Bryophytes peak in mid-to-high elevations, showing a negative relationship with sheep preference and standing litter, while their richness follows a curvilinear trend with biomass. In contrast, vascular plant richness decreases with elevation and displays a negative or unimodal association with sheep preference and biomass. These findings suggest that bryophyte and vascular plant richness cannot serve as adequate surrogates for each other in ecological models, highlighting the need for organism-specific adjustments to improve general species richness predictions.

Virtanen, R., & Crawley, M. J. (2010). Contrasting patterns in bryophyte and vascular plant species richness in relation to elevation, biomass and Soay sheep on St Kilda, Scotland. Plant Ecology & Diversity, 3(1), 77–85. https://doi.org/10.1080/17550874.2010.492403