Effect of spatial scale on taxonomic and functional components of beta diversity in grassland habitats.

Within this study, we aimed to investigate how the beta diversity components varied in a calcareous semi-natural grassland habitat (i) along a latitudinal gradient and (ii) across multiple spatial scales. We found that the nestedness component of beta diversity is higher in the taxonomic facet than in the functional one, while the turnover component tends to increase with scale for both facets of diversity. Moreover, we found no clear pattern of beta diversity along the latitudinal gradient considered, underlining the evidence that for this grassland habitat environmental variables, such as climate or edaphic characteristics, are more important as drivers for biodiversity.