Spatial, Geographical, Climatic, and Edaphic Influences on Moss Community Structure: A Case Study from Qinhuangdao, China
, Jiqi Gu 2,*, Wei Zhao 3, Yuhan Zhang 1, Zidan Guan 1, Ming Lei 1 and Chenyang He 1
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsThis article presents valuable findings about the moss community, making it particularly interesting to me. It is a well-conceived and executed piece of work that provides valuable information on a group of species that has been poorly studied.
The sole criticism, in my opinion, is that the article could have made a more substantial contribution to the conservation of the moss community by proposing strategies based on its results.
Hence, I provided only minor comments on the work, aiming to enhance it.
Abstract
P1, L25: Consider changing “have” to “has”
Introduction
P1, L41: Consider adding the article "the" -" … on the planet."
P2, L41: Consider adding the article "the" -" … into the complexity of..”
P2, L87-90: The use of questions in the study is formulated and written appropriately; however, including study objectives in the text would provide a broader and more general understanding of the research's purpose. It is recommended to consider including objectives to offer a more comprehensive and overarching perspective on the research aims.
P2, L82: The study focuses on analyzing an environmental gradient or environmental gradients?.
What type of environmental gradient did you use, and how was it classified? Please provide information on this in the methods section
Materials and Methods
2.2. Sampling and identification
It is recommended to provide greater detail of the sampling method. Please clarify how the sites were chosen, specify the total number of sites selected, and outline the number of quadrants established in each type of vegetation or ecosystem. Additionally, provide insights into the sampling system employed at each site for establishing the plots.
P3, L115-117: It is recommended to modify the sentence for a more precise and fluent wording. "A 0.5 m x 0.5 m sampling frame, divided into 100 grids, was utilized for detailed sample collection and analysis”.
P4, L156: Despite the sensitivity of Shannon-Wiener diversity index to the relative abundance of species, which can be valuable in studies of environmental gradients, it is crucial to acknowledge its limitations and consider them when interpreting the obtained results.
Discussion
P9, L288: Consider adding the article "a" -"For instance, a study observed ..”
P9, L313: Consider changing “analysis of data” to “data analysis”
P9, L345-347: In light of the information gathered, highlighting specific examples of local conservation strategies that align with the findings would be beneficial.
Conclusions
It is recommended to review the grammar and fluency of the conclusions.
Author Response
Please see the attachment.
Author Response File: 
Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 2 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsThe study was done in Qinhuangdao area, China within 30 plots and includes topographical, climatic, and soil factors. 84 moss species were identified. Precise study design and comprehensive data collection have to be noted. The results received were presented and discussed masterfully and important connections are drawn. Finally, I would like to share that such clear and precisely written manuscripts are rare.
Author Response
Please see the attachment.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 3 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsThe manuscript is well-written, and I am pleased to accept it. However, the author should provide more information in line with the following suggestions.
- Consistency of weather in the moss sampling area
- Does the weather in the moss sampling area exhibit consistency over an extended period?
- Frequency of environmental data collection
- How often was the environmental data for moss sampling collected?
- Was it collected only for a specific year, or did the study span multiple years to observe long-term weather changes?
- Fluctuation of environmental data and moss clusters correlation
- How did the author describe the fluctuations observed in the environmental data collected?
- Was there any correlation between these fluctuations and the different clusters of moss found?
- Climate Change Implications and Moss Clusturs Relationship
- Could the author provide suggestions or insights regarding the implications of climate change based on the data collected?
- Is there a discernible relationship between climate change and the distribution or behavior of different moss species?
In addressing these points, the manuscript will be more comprehensive and provide a clearer understanding of the research conducted. Additionally, the author should ensure grammatical correctness and coherence throughout the revised sections.
Author Response
Please see the attachment.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 4 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsThis paper presents original data regarding moss community determinants in Qinhuangdao Province, China, and examines 84 species in 36 genera and 13 families. The study does provide sufficient background and descriptive references, and the design methods are clearly described and are adequate for purposes of the research conducted. The analysis uses appropriate tools, and the conclusions are supported by the data gathered. The paper does not address the broader distributions or endemism in the taxa examined, and so presumably there are no species included that are endemic to the study area or discussion as to why they would be limited to the study area in their overall distribution. Specific recommended wording and grammatical changes for consideration are provided below. I have high-lighted wording areas in red that need to be addressed prior to publishing the paper. Besides the editorial changes, the manuscript requires some re-writing to make it clearer in places. In the References section, number 42, Smith and Stark (2014), does not appear to be cited in the narrative, and it should be cited or deleted. It would have been useful to have representative herbarium specimen voucher collections of the bryophyte taxa placed in herbaria that are accessible to others. Ideally the collections could be georeferenced and digitized so that they are broadly available to the scientific community. The paper presents original data and analyses that are worthy of publication, incorporating the minor editing and re-writing recommendations indicated below.
Comments for author File: Comments.pdf
Suggested grammatical, spelling and wording changes for consideration:
Line 2 ..Geographical…
3 …Community Structure… Quinuangdao, China
17 …This…
18 …Qinhuangdao, Hubei Province, China
19 30 plots (delete in)
23 replace discerned… characterized
25 has - not have
27 has a great impact on the community
33 structure (not structures)
77 distributions
84 into the complexity
88 gradients
89 determining the moss community?
108 substrate habitats….lakes, and forest
112 for studying
152 moss species richness
183 moss species richnes
193 Index
194 The large,,,Interquatrile Range
202 and 0.020
208 Weiner Index
212 representation
233 The large….Interquartile Range
238 …on the moss community
239 …different clusters.
242 & 243 ….Compound Topographic Index; WVP, Water Vapor
Pressure; SWB, Site Water Balance; and…
246 ….moss communities.
253 GOF indicates the Goodness of Fit.
264 …affect…
265 …structure
271 …climate had 288 & 289 For instance, one study observed in its research on Chinese moss ecosystems that temperature fluctuations significantly affect moss distribution [32].
297 …factor affecting moss diversity in
318 …and Site Water Balance (SWB)
331 …that underscore…
356 ….are…
357 ….impact the moss community,
In the References section, number 42, Smith and Stark (2014), does not appear to be cited in the narrative, and appears only in References. It should be cited or deleted.
Author Response
Please see the attachment.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 5 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsThe manuscript brings is at most correctly presented although it needs some elaboration and changes. The mosses can be in the forest structure in many substrates (epiphytes, lithophytes, terrestrial...). Please explain niche limitation You followed and why?
The mosses are anchored to soil, but they receive most of the nutrients and water from the atmosphere not from the soil. Please, elaborate why did You chose soil type in Your studies as one of the factors? Soil relationship seems to be odd and relationship seems to be artificial.
I could not see the S1 document!
It is unclear how did You related soil properties to moss cover? Explain or omit these from the paper.
What forest ecosystems did You study? How did You chose Your sampling plots?
The introductory part is missing some contemporary references. E.g.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10342-023-01560-1
and references therein.
some minor notes:
- lines 150-151 belongs to results
line 183 moss richness is diverse? Do You mean moss flora is diverse.
lines 359-360 if it is secondary, it cannot be crucial. Please change
Comments on the Quality of English Language
Some improvement is needed. It is partly hard to follow.
Author Response
Please see the attachment.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Round 2
Reviewer 5 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsPlease, insert the scientific names of the forest communities or types not geographical names of the localities.
Author Response
Guochen Zheng
Hebei Engineering Research Center for Ecological Restoration of Seaward Rivers and Coastal Waters
Hebei University of Environmental Engineering
No. 8, Jingang Avenue
Beidaihe District
Qinhuangdao, Hebei Province, 066102, China
February 6th, 2024
Dear editor,
Subject: Revised Manuscript Submission “Spatial, Geographical, Climatic, and Edaphic Influences on Moss Community Structure: A Case Study from Qinhuangdao”
I am writing to resubmit the revised version of our manuscript entitled “Spatial, Geographical, Climatic, and Edaphic Influences on Moss Community Structure: A Case Study from Qinhuangdao” for consideration for publication in the “Forests” journal.
We sincerely appreciate the valuable comments and suggestions provided by you and the reviewers. Your insightful comments are invaluable in improving the quality of our manuscript. We have carefully read and actively responded to each comment. So, we revised the manuscript, including Figure 1-4, AppendixS1, and sentences, etc. We hope you find the revised manuscript satisfactory. Thank you for considering our work and for the opportunity to revise and resubmit.
Sincerely,
Guochen Zheng
