Scale dependence of plant species richness in a network of protected areas

Despite the widely recognised importance of reserve networks, their effectiveness in encompassing and maintaining biodiversity is still debated. Species diversity is one of the most affordable measures of biodiversity, but it is difficult to survey such data over large scales. This research aimed to perform a sample-based assessment of species richness of groups of plants with different conservation value (alien species, protected species, and all species) within a reserve network, testing the use of partitioning as a tool for assessing diversity at different spatial scales, from the plot to the entire network. Plant diversity patterns differed for the groups of species for most of the investigated spatial scales. Despite these patterns assumed divergent tendencies when different species groups were considered, most of the species richness within the network was given by larger scale β-diversity for both alien and protected species, as well for all species. Diversity partitioning proved an effective tool to quantify the role of spatial scales in structuring the total species richness of the network, and is helpful in planning reserve networks. © 2011 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.