Phylogenetic classification of the world's tropical forests

Knowledge about the biogeographic affinities of the world’s tropical forests helps to better understand regional differences in forest structure, diversity, composition, and dynamics. Such understanding will enable anticipation of region-specific responses to global environmental change. Modern phylogenies, in combination with broad coverage of species inventory data, now allow for global biogeographic analyses that take species evolutionary distance into account. Here we present a classification of the world’s tropical forests based on their phylogenetic similarity. We identify five principal floristic regions and their floristic relationships: (i) Indo-Pacific, (ii) Subtropical, (iii) African, (iv) American, and (v) Dry forests. Our results do not support the traditional neo- versus paleotropical forest division but instead separate the combined American and African forests from their Indo-Pacific counterparts. We also find indications for the existence of a global dry forest region, with representatives in America, Africa, Madagascar, and India. Additionally, a northern-hemisphere Subtropical forest region was identified with representatives in Asia and America, providing support for a link between Asian and American northern-hemisphere forests.</p

Breve histórico e classificação da vegetação capixaba

Resumo O estado do Espírito Santo apresenta grande variedade de ecossistemas num território relativamente pequeno. A exuberância de suas florestas vem despertando o interesse de muitos naturalistas e viajantes desde o século XIX, os quais deixaram registros valiosos dos primeiros anos da ocupação das "Areas Prohibidas" a leste de Minas Gerais. O cultivo do café, um dos alicerces econômicos do estado, deu início à perda dessas florestas. Tais perdas alavancaram o movimento conservacionista e a pesquisa científica no estado. A biogeografia, riqueza de espécies e de processos ecológicos nos fragmentos que restaram no Espírito Santo ainda revelam surpresas. Dentro do domínio da Floresta Atlântica, o estado abriga diferentes tipos de vegetação: Floresta Ombrófila Densa, Floresta Ombrófila Aberta, Floresta Estacional Semidecidual, Savanas, Formações Pioneiras e Refúgios Ecológicos. A descrição e classificação da vegetação do Espírito Santo ainda está inacabada tendo em vista as incertezas levantadas por alguns estudos. Também não existe um mapa da vegetação que contemple adequadamente a diversificada vegetação. A despeito de tais limitações, apresentamos descrições sucintas sobre os tipos de vegetação que vêm sendo reconhecidos na literatura moderna

Floristic units and their predictors unveiled in part of the Atlantic Forest hotspot: implications for conservation planning

ABSTRACT We submitted tree species occurrence and geoclimatic data from 59 sites in a river basin in the Atlantic Forest of southeastern Brazil to ordination, ANOVA, and cluster analyses with the goals of investigating the causes of phytogeographic patterns and determining whether the six recognized subregions represent distinct floristic units. We found that both climate and space were significantly (p &#8804; 0.05) important in the explanation of phytogeographic patterns. Floristic variations follow thermal gradients linked to elevation in both coastal and inland subregions. A gradient of precipitation seasonality was found to be related to floristic variation up to 100 km inland from the ocean. The temperature of the warmest quarter and the precipitation during the coldest quarter were the main predictors. The subregions Sandy Coastal Plain, Coastal Lowland, Coastal Highland, and Central Depression were recognized as distinct floristic units. Significant differences were not found between the Inland Highland and the Espinhaço Range, indicating that these subregions should compose a single floristic unit encompassing all interior highlands. Because of their ecological peculiarities, the ferric outcrops within the Espinhaço Range may constitute a special unit. The floristic units proposed here will provide important information for wiser conservation planning in the Atlantic Forest hotspot