Amazon tree dominance across forest strata

The forests of Amazonia are among the most biodiverse plant communities on Earth. Given the immediate threats posed by climate and land-use change, an improved understanding of how this extraordinary biodiversity is spatially organized is urgently required to develop effective conservation strategie...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Nature ecology & evolution Vol. 5; no. 6; pp. 757 - 767
Main Authors:	Draper, Frederick C., Costa, Flavia R. C., Phillips, Oliver L., Duque, Alvaro, Asner, Gregory P., Schietti, Juliana, Socolar, Jacob B., de Souza, Fernanda Coelho, Jørgensen, Peter M., Tello, J. Sebastian, Magnusson, William E., Baker, Timothy R., Castilho, Carolina V., Monteagudo-Mendoza, Abel, Fine, Paul V. A., Ruokolainen, Kalle, Coronado, Euridice N. Honorio, Aymard, Gerardo, Dávila, Nállarett, Paredes, Marcos A. Rios, Goret, Jean-Yves, Dourdain, Aurelie, Allie, Elodie, Andino, Juan E. Guevara, Brienen, Roel J. W., Manzatto, Ângelo G., Zambrana, Narel Y. Paniagua, Sabatier, Daniel, Chave, Jerôme, Villacorta, Roosevelt Garcia, Réjou-Méchain, Maxime, Berry, Paul E., Melgaço, Karina, Sandoval, Elvis Valderamma, Martinez, Rodolfo Vasquez, Junqueira, André B., Roucoux, Katherine H., Camargo, José Luís, del Aguila Pasquel, Jhon, Santana, Flávia D., Laurance, William F., Laurance, Susan G., Lovejoy, Thomas E., Comiskey, James A., Galbraith, David R., Kalamandeen, Michelle, Aguilar, Gilberto E. Navarro, Arenas, Jim Vega, Guerra, Carlos A. Amasifuen, Flores, Manuel, Llampazo, Gerardo Flores, Montenegro, Luis A. Torres, Moscoso, Victor Chama, Barrantes, Oscar J. Valverde, de Sousa, Sidney Araújo, Arroyo, Luzmila, Marimon, Beatriz S., Junior, Ben Hur Marimon, Carvalho, Fernanda Antunes, Disney, Mathias, Diaz, Pablo R. Stevenson, Vicentini, Alberto, Nascimento, Henrique, Van Andel, Tinde, Malhi, Yadvinder, Ribeiro, Sabina Cerruto, Thomas, Raquel S., Prieto, Adriana, Hilário, Renato R., Casas, Luisa F., Vieira, Ima C. Guimarães, Arevalo, Fredy Ramirez, Ramírez-Angulo, Hirma, Torre, Emilio Vilanova, Killeen, Timothy J., Pardo, Guido, de Sousa, Thaiane Rodrigues, Silvera, Marcos, Vos, Vincent, Vargas, Percy Núñez, Vela, Dilys M., Aragão, Luiz E. O. C., Sierra, Rodrigo, Wang, Ophelia, Young, Kenneth R., Prestes, Nayane C. C. S., Massi, Klécia G., Aldana, Ana M., Alexiades, Miguel N., Baccaro, Fabrício, Céron, Carlos, Rios, Julio M. Grandez, Lloyd, Jonathan L., Pitman, Nigel C. A., Gamarra, Luis Valenzuela, Oroche, Cesar J. Cordova, Fuentes, Alfredo F., Patiño, Sandra, Torres-Lezama, Armando, Baraloto, Christopher
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	London Nature Publishing Group UK 01-06-2021 Nature Publishing Group Nature
Subjects:	631/158/2450 631/158/670 Biodiversity Biodiversity and Ecology Biological and Physical Anthropology Biomedical and Life Sciences Botanics Brazil Canopies Composition Dominant species Ecology Ecology, environment Ecosystems Environmental Sciences Evolutionary Biology Forests Geographical locations Herbivores Humans Land use Life Sciences Paleontology Phylogeny Plant communities Plant species Rare species Strata Systematics, Phylogenetics and taxonomy Trees Understory Vegetal Biology Wildlife conservation Zoology Brazil Biodiversity Tropical ecology
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Summary:	The forests of Amazonia are among the most biodiverse plant communities on Earth. Given the immediate threats posed by climate and land-use change, an improved understanding of how this extraordinary biodiversity is spatially organized is urgently required to develop effective conservation strategies. Most Amazonian tree species are extremely rare but a few are common across the region. Indeed, just 227 ‘hyperdominant’ species account for >50% of all individuals >10 cm diameter at 1.3 m in height. Yet, the degree to which the phenomenon of hyperdominance is sensitive to tree size, the extent to which the composition of dominant species changes with size class and how evolutionary history constrains tree hyperdominance, all remain unknown. Here, we use a large floristic dataset to show that, while hyperdominance is a universal phenomenon across forest strata, different species dominate the forest understory, midstory and canopy. We further find that, although species belonging to a range of phylogenetically dispersed lineages have become hyperdominant in small size classes, hyperdominants in large size classes are restricted to a few lineages. Our results demonstrate that it is essential to consider all forest strata to understand regional patterns of dominance and composition in Amazonia. More generally, through the lens of 654 hyperdominant species, we outline a tractable pathway for understanding the functioning of half of Amazonian forests across vertical strata and geographical locations. Most Amazon tree species are rare but a small proportion are common across the region. The authors show that different species are hyperdominant in different size classes and that hyperdominance is more phylogenetically restricted for larger canopy trees than for smaller understory ones.
ISSN:	2397-334X 2397-334X
DOI:	10.1038/s41559-021-01418-y