1. Amazon tree dominance across forest strata.
- Author
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Draper FC, Costa FRC, Arellano G, Phillips OL, Duque A, Macía MJ, Ter Steege H, Asner GP, Berenguer E, Schietti J, Socolar JB, de Souza FC, Dexter KG, Jørgensen PM, Tello JS, Magnusson WE, Baker TR, Castilho CV, Monteagudo-Mendoza A, Fine PVA, Ruokolainen K, Coronado ENH, Aymard G, Dávila N, Sáenz MS, Paredes MAR, Engel J, Fortunel C, Paine CET, Goret JY, Dourdain A, Petronelli P, Allie E, Andino JEG, Brienen RJW, Pérez LC, Manzatto ÂG, Zambrana NYP, Molino JF, Sabatier D, Chave J, Fauset S, Villacorta RG, Réjou-Méchain M, Berry PE, Melgaço K, Feldpausch TR, Sandoval EV, Martinez RV, Mesones I, Junqueira AB, Roucoux KH, de Toledo JJ, Andrade AC, Camargo JL, Del Aguila Pasquel J, Santana FD, Laurance WF, Laurance SG, Lovejoy TE, Comiskey JA, Galbraith DR, Kalamandeen M, Aguilar GEN, Arenas JV, Guerra CAA, Flores M, Llampazo GF, Montenegro LAT, Gomez RZ, Pansonato MP, Moscoso VC, Vleminckx J, Barrantes OJV, Duivenvoorden JF, de Sousa SA, Arroyo L, Perdiz RO, Cravo JS, Marimon BS, Junior BHM, Carvalho FA, Damasco G, Disney M, Vital MS, Diaz PRS, Vicentini A, Nascimento H, Higuchi N, Van Andel T, Malhi Y, Ribeiro SC, Terborgh JW, Thomas RS, Dallmeier F, Prieto A, Hilário RR, Salomão RP, Silva RDC, Casas LF, Vieira ICG, Araujo-Murakami A, Arevalo FR, Ramírez-Angulo H, Torre EV, Peñuela MC, Killeen TJ, Pardo G, Jimenez-Rojas E, Castro W, Cabrera DG, Pipoly J, de Sousa TR, Silvera M, Vos V, Neill D, Vargas PN, Vela DM, Aragão LEOC, Umetsu RK, Sierra R, Wang O, Young KR, Prestes NCCS, Massi KG, Huaymacari JR, Gutierrez GAP, Aldana AM, Alexiades MN, Baccaro F, Céron C, Muelbert AE, Rios JMG, Lima AS, Lloyd JL, Pitman NCA, Gamarra LV, Oroche CJC, Fuentes AF, Palacios W, Patiño S, Torres-Lezama A, and Baraloto C
- Subjects
- Biodiversity, Brazil, Humans, Forests, Trees
- Abstract
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.
- Published
- 2021
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