Urbanization Reshapes Ecological Strategies and Evolutionary Trajectories of Remnant Vegetation: Evidence from Leaf Traits and Phylogenetic Signals

Urbanization Reshapes Ecological Strategies and Evolutionary Trajectories of Remnant Vegetation: Evidence from Leaf Traits and Phylogenetic Signals | Authorea try { document.documentElement.classList.add('js'); } catch (e) { } var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'G-8VDV14Y67G']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); Skip to main content Preprints Collections Wiley Open Research IET Open Research Ecological Society of Japan All Collections About About Authorea FAQs Contact Us Quick Search anywhere Search for preprint articles, keywords, etc. Search Search ADVANCED SEARCH SCROLL This is a preprint and has not been peer reviewed. Data may be preliminary. 4 March 2026 V1 Latest version Share on Urbanization Reshapes Ecological Strategies and Evolutionary Trajectories of Remnant Vegetation: Evidence from Leaf Traits and Phylogenetic Signals Authors : Yuanchao Cai 0009-0001-2966-0278 , Jianxiong Yang , Zehong Wang , Linfang Gong , Ao Li , Qiaoxin Chen , and Liujing Huang [email protected] Authors Info & Affiliations https://doi.org/10.22541/au.177260051.12000170/v1 165 views 90 downloads Contents Abstract Supplementary Material Information & Authors Metrics & Citations View Options References Figures Tables Media Share Abstract Leaf functional traits are key indicators for studying urban habitat and vegetation adaptation. This study examined how remnant vegetation in Guangzhou adapts to the combined effects of environmental filtering and phylogenetic constraints across low, medium, and high levels of urbanization. Six key traits — leaf area (LA), specific leaf area (SLA), leaf dry weight (LDW), leaf total nitrogen (LTN), leaf total phosphorus (LTP), and the N:P ratio-were measured in 19 dominant species across 16 representative sites. Analyses included One-way ANOVA, Principal Component Analysis (PCA), Phylogenetic signal analysis and Phylogenetic Independent Contrast (PIC). Results showed that with increasing urbanization, LA and SLA declined, LDW and LTP increased significantly, and LTN and N:P showed non-linear patterns. Trait correlations aligned with the leaf economics spectrum (e.g., positive LA-LDW, negative LTP-N:P). However, PIC correction revealed a significant positive SLA-LTN correlation, indicating that phylogeny partially masked adaptive trait coupling. Phylogenetic signal analysis showed significant conservatism only for SLA under high urbanization (K=1.399, P=0.049). K values for other traits decreased or showed U-shaped trends with urbanization, indicating environmental filtering and competition weakened evolutionary history’s influence in medium urbanization, while extreme filtering in high urbanization reinforced phylogenetic conservatism for key traits. PCA indicated a shift from structural dominance (LA, LDW) in low urbanization to nutrient regulation (LTP, N:P) in high urbanization. Urbanization drives a shift from ”fast resource acquisition” to ”conservative resource use” strategies in remnant vegetation, involving trait synergy decoupling and dynamic phylogenetic signal changes, providing a theoretical basis for optimizing urban green space and enhancing ecosystem services. Title: Urbanization Reshapes Ecological Strategies and Evolutionary Trajectories of Remnant Vegetation: Evidence from Leaf Traits and Phylogenetic Signals Authors: Yuanchao Cai 1 , Jianxiong Yang 1 , Zehong Wang 1 , Linfang Gong 1 , Ao Li 1 , Qiaoxin Chen 1 , Liujing Huang 1 11 * Corresponding author. mail address: [email protected] 1 College of Landscape Architecture and Art, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, China *Corresponding author: Liujing Huang Email: [email protected] CRediT authorship contribution statement Yuanchao Cai: Conceptualization, Methodology, Investigation, Software, Visualization, Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing. Jianxiong Yang: Investigation, Formal analysis, Validation, Writing - review & editing. Zehong Wang: Investigation, Validation, Data curation, Writing - review & editing. Linfang Gong: Investigation, Writing - review & editing. Ao Li: Investigation, Writing - review & editing. Qiaoxin Chen: Investigation, Writing - review & editing. Liujing Huang: Funding acquisition, Project administration, Resources, Supervision, Writing - review & editing. Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no competing interests. Data availability The data that support the findings of this study are available in the Supporting Information of this article. Funding sources This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (32071578). Acknowledgements This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (32071578). The authors express appreciation to the institutions and field personnel who assisted with site access and data collection. AI-based tools were used for language polishing and coding assistance, with all academic interpretations, logical frameworks, and final decisions remaining the sole responsibility of the authors. Gratitude is also extended to the anonymous reviewers for constructive comments that improved the manuscript. Supplementary Material File (manuscript.docx) Download 1.09 MB Information & Authors Information Version history V1 Version 1 04 March 2026 Copyright This work is licensed under a Non Exclusive No Reuse License. Keywords community ecology description ecological experiment ecosystem plants terrestrial theoretical theory Authors Affiliations Yuanchao Cai 0009-0001-2966-0278 Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University View all articles by this author Jianxiong Yang Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University View all articles by this author Zehong Wang Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University View all articles by this author Linfang Gong Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University View all articles by this author Ao Li Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University View all articles by this author Qiaoxin Chen Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University View all articles by this author Liujing Huang [email protected] Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University View all articles by this author Metrics & Citations Metrics Article Usage 165 views 90 downloads .FvxKWukQNSOunydq8rnd { width: 100px; } Citations Download citation Yuanchao Cai, Jianxiong Yang, Zehong Wang, et al. Urbanization Reshapes Ecological Strategies and Evolutionary Trajectories of Remnant Vegetation: Evidence from Leaf Traits and Phylogenetic Signals. Authorea . 04 March 2026. DOI: https://doi.org/10.22541/au.177260051.12000170/v1 If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download. For more information or tips please see 'Downloading to a citation manager' in the Help menu . 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