Limited evidence of local phylogenetic clustering in the urban flora of Brussels

As species functioning is not randomly distributed with respect to phylogeny, we should expect that species assemblages,which are subject to the same environmental filters, often possess a clustered phylogenetic structure. This locally clusteredphylogenetic structure is usually detected with randomization tests. In this paper we apply a test of community phylogeneticclustering that takes into account the non-random distribution of species frequency across the phylogeny of the urban flora ofBrussels (Belgium). Our results provide only moderate support to the idea that a locally clustered phylogenetic structure iscentral to the coarse-scale patterns of species co-occurrence of this urban area. The abiotic drivers that promote a locallyclustered phylogeny in cities like Brussels are also shortly discussed.