| Title: |
Analogous Environments Across the Tropics Have Similar Levels of Tree Species Αlpha Diversity |
| Authors: |
Xiao, Shumei; Adams, Jonathan M.; Li, Shufeng; Slik, J. W. Ferry; Griffith, Daniel M.; Quaresma, Adriano Costa; Sultana, Aisha; Rozak, Andes Hamuraby; Muñoz, Antonio‐Román; Marshall, Andrew R.; Gabriel, André; Dar, Ashaq Ahmad; Mansor, Mashhor; Ayyappan, Narayanan; Hérault, Bruno; Joly, Carlos Alfredo; Piotto, Daniel; Harris, David J.; Drake, Donald R.; Sheil, Douglas; Rocha, Diogo Souza Bezerra; Oliveira, Eddie Lenza de; Nurtjahya, Eddy; van den Berg, Eduardo; Webb, Edward Layman; Ibrahim, Faridah; Saiter, Felipe Zamborlini; Wittmann, Florian; Mora, Francisco; Durigan, Giselda; Shukla, Gopal; Ibarra-Manríquez, Guillermo; Nagamasu, Hidetoshi; Theilade, Ida; Zo‐Bi, Irié C.; Huamantupa‐Chuquimaco, Isau; Rangel, Orlando; Grogan, James; Dar, Javid Ahmad; Schöngart, Jochen; Herbohn, John; Poulsen, John R.; Williams, John V.; Lovett, Jon C.; De Alban, Jose Don T.; Lozada, José Rafael; Pinto, José Roberto Rodrigues; Guevara-Andino, Juan Ernesto; Cristóbal‐Azkarate, Jurgi; Homeier, Jürgen; Böhning‐Gaese, Katrin; Hakeem, Khalid Rehman; Feeley, Kenneth J.; Tomlinson, Kyle W.; Rasingam, L.; Demarchi, Layon Oreste; Laumonier, Yves; Alves, Luciana F.; Montenegro, Luis Torres; Satdichanh, Manichanh; Macía, Manuel J; Tabarelli, Marcelo; Suganuma, Márcio Seiji; Paredes, Marcos Antonio Ríos; Piedade, María Teresa Fernández; Schulze, Mark; van de Bult, Mattheas; Bastian, Meredith L.; Khan, Mohammed Latif; Hussain, Mohammad Shah; Kessler, Michael; Lawes, Michael J; Munguía‐Rosas, Miguel A.; Parthasarathy, Narayanaswamy; Seuaturian, Naret; Babu, Kanda Naveen; Pitman, Nigel C. A.; Onrizal, Onrizal; Vetaas, Ole R.; Munishi, Pantaleo K. T.; Chhang, Phourin; Bispo, Polyanna da Conceição; Zakaria, Rahmad; Sukri, Rahayu Sukmaria; Rajkumar, Raj; Prasad, Rama Chandra; Ramachandran, Vasan S.; Harrison, Rhett D.; Veridiano, Rizza Karen A.; Steinmetz, Robert; Chazdon, Robin L.; Tumaneng, R.; Rolim, Samir; Garkoti, Satish Chandra; Báez, Selene; Wich, Serge; Mukul, Sharif A.; Joseph, Shijo; Vieira, Simone Aparecida |
| Contributors: |
Department of Forest Sciences; Helsinki Institute of Sustainability Science (HELSUS); Viikki Tropical Resources Institute (VITRI) |
| Publisher Information: |
Oxford University Press |
| Publication Year: |
2026 |
| Collection: |
Helsingfors Universitet: HELDA – Helsingin yliopiston digitaalinen arkisto |
| Subject Terms: |
None; Forestry; Environmental sciences |
| Description: |
Different regions of the tropics vary in overall tree species diversity, with the tropical Americas exhibiting strikingly higher regional tree species richness than Africa and Southeast Asia. We investigated whether these differences also occur at the local scale, and whether the environmental conditions associated with tree species richness are consistent across tropical regions despite highly dissimilar species pools. A spatial random forest (RF) model was trained using a network of 429 one-hectare plots across the tropics, together with 24 environmental variables, to predict plot-level tree α diversity. A combination of climatic, soil and topographical variables explained around 86% of variation in richness. Despite differences in regional species pools and potentially disruptive effects of different geological, climatic and evolutionary histories, the relationship between environmental variables and local scale tree species richness is closely similar across different continents. Our findings imply a pervasive role of niche-based mechanisms in structuring local tree species richness, regardless of regional species assemblages. This pantropical convergence in the richness-environment relationship poses a challenge for ecology to explain. ; Peer reviewed |
| Document Type: |
article in journal/newspaper |
| File Description: |
application/pdf |
| Language: |
English |
| Relation: |
https://hdl.handle.net/10138/627991 |
| Availability: |
https://hdl.handle.net/10138/627991 |
| Rights: |
cc_by ; info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess ; openAccess |
| Accession Number: |
edsbas.F2B29539 |
| Database: |
BASE |