Effects of urbanization on woody plant phylogenetic diversity and its associations with landscape features in the high latitude northern hemisphere region, Northeast China

Urbanization is one of the primary drivers of terrestrial modification, with marked biological homogenization worldwide but relatively poor knowledge of woody phylogenetic diversity. Here, we investigated 943 plots, about 93,000 woody plants from 130 species in Northeast China, and calculated six phylogenetic diversity indexes, and urbanization landscape metrics; the responses of phylogenetic diversity to urbanization and its coupling relationship with landscape features were explored at 25 km × 25 km, 50 km × 50 km and 75 km × 75 km grid scales. We found that urbanization had enhanced the evolutionary distinctiveness of woody plants, characterizing as increasing Faith phylogenetic diversity (FPD) and their mean pairwise distance (MPD) while decreasing the mean nearest taxon distance (MNTD); these trends were independent of landscape scales and gymnosperm inclusion or not. As indicated by increasing SesMPD (Standardized MPD), the dominant role of community assemblage changed from environmental filtering in low urbanization intensity (UI) to competitive exclusion in high UI regions. Artificial surface area (ASA) and its percentage, SHAPE_F (Shape index of forest), and PD_F (Patch density of forest) had a threshold effect on phylogenetic diversity. ASA%, GDP (gross domestic product), and population density were the most potent predictors for the variations of phylogenetic diversity, and GDP contributed the most (42.9%). A higher GDP accompanied a higher FPD, SesPD (Standardized FPD), and SesMNTD (Standardized MNTD); higher PD_F and lower SHAPE_F were associated with higher MNTD, MPD, and SesMPD. In conclusion, urbanization strongly modifies woody plant phylogenetic diversity. Identifying the threshold effects and significant factors for phylogenetic variations allows biodiversity assessment and conservation through proper landscape configuration under the urbanization context.