Hyperdominance in the Amazonian tree flora

The vast extent of the Amazon Basin has historically restricted the study of its tree communities to the local and regional scales. Here, we provide empirical data on the commonness, rarity, and richness of lowland tree species across the entire Amazon Basin and Guiana Shield (Amazonia), collected in 1170 tree plots in all major forest types. Extrapolations suggest that Amazonia harbors roughly 16,000 tree species, of which just 227 (1.4%) account for half of all trees. Most of these are habitat specialists and only dominant in one or two regions of the basin. We discuss some implications of the finding that a small group of species—less diverse than the North American tree flora—accounts for half of the world’s most diverse tree community.

TER STEEGE Hans;  PITMAN Nigel;  SABATIER Daniel;  BARALOTO Christopher;  SALOMÃO Rafael P.;  GUEVARA Juan Ernesto;  PHILLIPS Oliver L.;  CASTILHO Carolina V.;  MAGNUSSON William E.;  MOLINO Jean-Francois;  MONTEAGUDO Abel;  NÚÑEZ-VARGAS Mario P.;  MONTERO Juan Carlos;  FELDPAUSCH Ted;  CORONADO Euridice N. Honorio;  KILLEEN Tim J.;  MOSTACEDO Bonifacio;  VASQUEZ Rodolfo;  ASSIS Rafael L;  TERBORGH John;  WITTMANN Florian;  ANDRADE Ana;  LAURANCE William F;  LAURANCE Susan G. W.;  MARIMON JUNIOR Ben Hur;  MARIMON Beatriz S.;  VIEIRA Ima C. G.;  AMARAL I;  BRIENEN R;  CASTELLANOS Hernan;  CARDENAS LOPEZ Dairon;  DUIVENVOORDEN Joost F.;  MOGOLLON Hugo F;  DIONIZIA DE ALMEIDA MATOS Francisca;  DAVILA Nallarett;  GARCIA-VILLACORTA Roosevelt;  STEVENSON DIAZ Palo Roberto;  COSTA Flavia R. C.;  EMILIO Thaise;  LEVIS Carolina;  SCHIETTI Juliana;  DE SOUZA Priscila F.;  ALONSO Alfonso;  DALLMEIER Francisco;  DUQUE MONTOYA Alvaro Javier;  FERNANDEZ PIEDADE Maria Teresa;  ARAUJO-MURAKAMI Alejandro;  ARROYO Luzmila;  FINE Paul V. A.;  GRIBEL Rogerio;  PERES Carlos A.;  TOLEDO Marisol;  AYMARD G;  BAKER Timothy R.;  CERON Carlos;  ENGEL Julian;  MAAS Paul;  PETRONELLI Pascal;  STROPP CARNEIRO Juliana;  ZARTMAN Charles E.;  DALY Doug;  NEILL David;  SILVEIRA Marcos;  RIOS PAREDES Marcos;  CHAVE Jerome;  DE ANDRADE LIMA FILHO Diogenes;  MOLLER JORGENSEN Peter;  FUENTES Alfredo;  SCHONGART Jochen;  CORNEJO VALVERDE Fernando;  DI FIORE Anthony;  JIMENEZ Eliana M;  PENUELA MORA Maria Cristina;  PHILLIPS Juan Fernando;  RIVAS Gonzalo;  VAN ANDEL Tinde R.;  VON HILDEBRAND Patricio;  HOFFMAN Bruce;  ZENT Eglee;  MALHI Yadvinder;  PRIETO Adriana;  RUDAS Agustin;  RUSCHELL Ademir R.;  SILVA Natalino;  VOS Vincent A.;  ZENT Stanford;  OLIVEIRA Alexandre A..;  CANO SCHUTZ Angela;  GONZALES Therany;  NASCIMENTO Marcelo T.;  RAMIREZ-ANGULO Hirma;  SIERRA Rodrigo;  TIRADO Milton;  UMANA MEDINA Maria Natalia;  VAN DER HEIJDEN Geertje;  VELA Cesar I.A.;  VILANOVA-TORRE Emilio;  VRIESENDORP Croine;  WANG Ophelia;  YOUNG Kenneth R.;  BAIDER Claudia;  BALSLEV Henrik;  FERREIRA Cid;  MESONES Italo;  TORRES-LEZAMA Armando;  URREGO GIRALDO Ligia Estela;  ZAGT Roderick;  ALEXIADES Miguel N.;  HERNANDEZ Lionel;  HUAMANTUPA-CHUQUIMACO Isau;  MILLIKEN William;  PALACIOS CUENCA Walter;  PAULETTO Daniela;  VALDERRAMA SANDOVAL Elvis;  VALENZUELA GAMARRA Luis;  DEXTER Kyle G.;  FEELEY Ken;  LOPEZ_GONZALES Gabriela;  SILMAN M.; 

2017-01-17

AMER ASSOC ADVANCEMENT SCIENCE

JRC94036

0036-8075,   

http://science.sciencemag.org/content/342/6156/1243092,    https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC94036,   

10.1126/science.1243092,