The biogeography of the Amazonian tree flora

Luize, Bruno Garcia; Tuomisto, Hanna; Ekelschot, Robin; Dexter, Kyle G.; Amaral, Iêda L.do; Coelho, Luiz de Souza; Matos, Francisca Dionízia de Almeida; Lima Filho, Diógenes de Andrade; Salomão, Rafael P.; Wittmann, Florian; Castilho, Carolina V.; Carim, Marcelo de Jesus Veiga; Guevara, Juan Ernesto; Phillips, Oliver L.; Magnusson, William E.; Sabatier, Daniel; Cardenas Revilla, Juan David; Molino, Jean François; Irume, Mariana Victória; Martins, Maria Pires; Guimarães, José Renan da Silva; Ramos, José Ferreira; Bánki, Olaf S.; Piedade, Maria Teresa Fernandez; Cárdenas López, Dairon; Pitman, Nigel C.A.; Demarchi, Layon O.; Schöngart, Jochen; de Leão Novo, Evlyn Márcia Moraes; Núñez Vargas, Percy; Silva, Thiago Sanna Freire; Venticinque, Eduardo Martins; Manzatto, Angelo Gilberto; Reis, Neidiane Farias Costa; Terborgh, John; Casula, Katia Regina; Honorio Coronado, Euridice N.; Mendoza, Abel Monteagudo; Montero, Juan Carlos; Costa, Flávia R.C.; Feldpausch, Ted R.; Quaresma, Adriano Costa...

Abstract

We describe the geographical variation in tree species composition across Amazonian forests and show how environmental conditions are associated with species turnover. Our analyses are based on 2023 forest inventory plots (1 ha) that provide abundance data for a total of 5188 tree species. Within-plot species composition reflected both local environmental conditions (especially soil nutrients and hydrology) and geographical regions. A broader-scale view of species turnover was obtained by interpolating the relative tree species abundances over Amazonia into 47,441 0.1-degree grid cells. Two main dimensions of spatial change in tree species composition were identified. The first was a gradient between western Amazonia at the Andean forelands (with young geology and relatively nutrient-rich soils) and central–eastern Amazonia associated with the Guiana and Brazilian Shields (with more ancient geology and poor soils). The second gradient was between the wet forests of the northwest and the drier forests in southern Amazonia. Isolines linking cells of similar composition crossed major Amazonian rivers, suggesting that tree species distributions are not limited by rivers. Even though some areas of relatively sharp species turnover were identified, mostly the tree species composition changed gradually over large extents, which does not support delimiting clear discrete biogeographic regions within Amazonia.

Citation

Luize, B. G., Tuomisto, H., Ekelschot, R., Dexter, K. G., Amaral, I. L., Coelho, L. D. S., Matos, F. D. D. A., Lima Filho, D. D. A., Salomão, R. P., Wittmann, F., Castilho, C. V., Carim, M. D. J. V., Guevara, J. E., Phillips, O. L., Magnusson, W. E., Sabatier, D., Cardenas Revilla, J. D., Molino, J. F., Irume, M. V., Martins, M. P., …ter Steege, H. (2024). The biogeography of the Amazonian tree flora. Communications Biology, 7(1), Article 1240. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-024-06937-5

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Sep 23, 2024
• Online Publication Date: Oct 2, 2024
• Publication Date: Dec 1, 2024
• Deposit Date: Dec 9, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Dec 18, 2024
• Journal: Communications Biology
• Electronic ISSN: 2399-3642
• Publisher: Nature Publishing Group
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 7
• Issue: 1
• Article Number: 1240
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-024-06937-5
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/40544142