Changes in floristic composition and physiognomy are decoupled along elevation gradients in central Argentina

Question(s) Most vegetation descriptions tacitly assume that floristic composition and physiognomy are tightly linked. However, both vegetation properties may not respond in a similar way to environmental and disturbance gradients, leading to uninformed management planning and difficulties when attempting to restore degraded ecosystems. In this context, we addressed two main questions: how close are relations between floristic and physiognomic types as defined by numerical vegetation classification in mountain ecosystems? How are floristic and physiognomic types distributed along the elevation gradient?. Location Central mountains of Argentina, 31° 27′, 64° 54′, between 500 and 1700 m a.s. l. Methods We selected 437 sites where we performed complete floristic and physiognomic releves. We classified eight physiognomic and eight floristic types. We tested the relationship between both classifications through a chi2 analysis. We tested the association between elevation and each physiognomic and floristic type performing random permutations. Results In general, floristic types were significantly and positively associated with more than one physiognomic type and vice versa. Physiognomic and floristic types responded differently to the elevation gradient. Floristic types were restricted to different sections of the gradient, though having large overlap among them. In contrast, seven out of the eight physiognomic types did not show elevation restriction, being distributed along the complete elevation gradient. The open low woodland with shrubs was the only restricted physiognomy, significantly absent from the upper part of the gradient. Conclusions We highlight the importance of considering both vegetation properties independently when characterizing vegetation patterns in heterogeneous systems, since they show decoupled responses to environmental gradients. We notice that the assumption of a direct link between floristic composition and physiognomy may induce bias into the understanding of vegetation patterns and processes. For that reason, we encourage managers and restoration practitioners to consider the complete range of possible physiognomic types under each floristic type. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.