Dynamics and species richness of tropical rain forests

We present a worldwide analysis of humid tropical forest dynamics and tree species richness. New tree mortality, recruitment, and species richness data include the most dynamic and diverse mature tropical forests known. Twenty-five sites show a strong tendency for the most species-rich forests to be...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS 1994-03, Vol.91 (7), p.2805-2809
Main Authors: Phillips, O.L, Hall, P, Gentry, A.H, Sawyer, S.A, Vasquez, R
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal and plant ecology
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
ARBOLES FORESTALES
ARBRE FORESTIER
BIODIVERSIDAD
BIODIVERSITE
Biological and medical sciences
BOSQUE TROPICAL HUMEDO
Climate models
DEGRADACION
DEGRADATION
ECOLOGIA
ECOLOGIA FORESTAL
ECOLOGIA VEGETAL
ECOLOGIE
ECOLOGIE FORESTIERE
Ecosystems
EVOLUCION DE LA POBLACION
EVOLUTION DE LA POPULATION
Forest ecology
Forest soils
FORET TROPICALE HUMIDE
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Highlands
Mortality
PEROU
PERU
PHYTOECOLOGIE
Principal components analysis
Rainforests
SARAWAK
Species
Species diversity
Synecology
TERRE
Terrestrial ecosystems
TIERRAS
Trees
Tropical forests
ZONA TROPICAL
ZONE TROPICALE
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Description
Summary:We present a worldwide analysis of humid tropical forest dynamics and tree species richness. New tree mortality, recruitment, and species richness data include the most dynamic and diverse mature tropical forests known. Twenty-five sites show a strong tendency for the most species-rich forests to be dynamic and aseasonal. Mean annual tree mortality and recruitment-turnover-is the most predictive factor of species richness, implying that small-scale disturbance helps regulate tropical forest diversity. Turnover rates are also closely related to the amount of basal area turnover in mature tropical forests. Therefore the contribution of small-scale disturbance to maintaining tropical forest diversity may ultimately be driven by ecosystem productivity.
ISSN:0027-8424
1091-6490
DOI:10.1073/pnas.91.7.2805