One sixth of Amazonian tree diversity is dependent on river floodplains

Amazonia's floodplain system is the largest and most biodiverse on Earth. Although forests are crucial to the ecological integrity of floodplains, our understanding of their species composition and how this may differ from surrounding forest types is still far too limited, particularly as changing inundation regimes begin to reshape floodplain tree communities and the critical ecosystem functions they underpin. Here we address this gap by taking a spatially explicit look at Amazonia-wide patterns of tree-species turnover and ecological specialization of the region's floodplain forests. We show that the majority of Amazonian tree species can inhabit floodplains, and about a sixth of Amazonian tree diversity is ecologically specialized on floodplains. The degree of specialization in floodplain communities is driven by regional flood patterns, with the most compositionally differentiated floodplain forests located centrally within the fluvial network and contingent on the most extraordinary flood magnitudes regionally. Our results provide a spatially explicit view of ecological specialization of floodplain forest communities and expose the need for whole-basin hydrological integrity to protect the Amazon's tree diversity and its function.Naturali

Mapping density, diversity and species-richness of the Amazon tree flora

Using 2.046 botanically-inventoried tree plots across the largest tropical forest on Earth, we mapped tree species-diversity and tree species-richness at 0.1-degree resolution, and investigated drivers for diversity and richness. Using only location, stratified by forest type, as predictor, our spatial model, to the best of our knowledge, provides the most accurate map of tree diversity in Amazonia to date, explaining approximately 70% of the tree diversity and species-richness. Large soil-forest combinations determine a significant percentage of the variation in tree species-richness and tree alpha-diversity in Amazonian forest-plots. We suggest that the size and fragmentation of these systems drive their large-scale diversity patterns and hence local diversity. A model not using location but cumulative water deficit, tree density, and temperature seasonality explains 47% of the tree species-richness in the terra-firme forest in Amazonia. Over large areas across Amazonia, residuals of this relationship are small and poorly spatially structured, suggesting that much of the residual variation may be local. The Guyana Shield area has consistently negative residuals, showing that this area has lower tree species-richness than expected by our models. We provide extensive plot meta-data, including tree density, tree alpha-diversity and tree species-richness results and gridded maps at 0.1-degree resolution

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time, and attempts to address it require a clear understanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space. While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes, vast areas of the tropics remain understudied. In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world's most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity, but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepresented in biodiversity databases. To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications may eliminate pieces of the Amazon's biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological communities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge, it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple organism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region's vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most neglected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lost

Consistent patterns of common species across tropical tree communities

Trees structure the Earth’s most biodiverse ecosystem, tropical forests. The vast number of tree species presents a formidable challenge to understanding these forests, including their response to environmental change, as very little is known about most tropical tree species. A focus on the common species may circumvent this challenge. Here we investigate abundance patterns of common tree species using inventory data on 1,003,805 trees with trunk diameters of at least 10 cm across 1,568 locations1,2,3,4,5,6 in closed-canopy, structurally intact old-growth tropical forests in Africa, Amazonia and Southeast Asia. We estimate that 2.2%, 2.2% and 2.3% of species comprise 50% of the tropical trees in these regions, respectively. Extrapolating across all closed-canopy tropical forests, we estimate that just 1,053 species comprise half of Earth’s 800 billion tropical trees with trunk diameters of at least 10 cm. Despite differing biogeographic, climatic and anthropogenic histories7, we find notably consistent patterns of common species and species abundance distributions across the continents. This suggests that fundamental mechanisms of tree community assembly may apply to all tropical forests. Resampling analyses show that the most common species are likely to belong to a manageable list of known species, enabling targeted efforts to understand their ecology. Although they do not detract from the importance of rare species, our results open new opportunities to understand the world’s most diverse forests, including modelling their response to environmental change, by focusing on the common species that constitute the majority of their trees

Emissão de fluxos foliares, floração e ciclagem de nutrientes em clones de copa de Hevea pauciflora Fluxes emission of leaves, flowering and nutrient cycling in crown clones of Hevea pauciflora

A fenologia foliar tem sido utilizada como uma característica importante na seleção dos clones de Hevea spp., enquanto o teor de nutrientes na serapilheira é um bom indicador da ciclagem de nutrientes. O objetivo deste trabalho foi verificar o efeito da periodicidade de emissão de fluxos foliares na floração de copa de Hevea pauciflora, estado nutricional e qualidade da serapilheira. Foram avaliadas 15 plantas de 10 anos de idade dos clones de copa CNS G 112, CNS G 124 e CBA 2. Nas condições edafoclimáticas da Amazônia tropical úmida, a emissão de folhas e de floração de H. pauciflora ocorre com maior intensidade no segundo semestre (início do período chuvoso). A H. pauciflora apresenta maior acúmulo de serapilheira que a floresta primária e os teores foliares de 22,18 g kg-1 de N, 1,47 g kg-1 de P, 5,77 g kg-1 de K, 3,79 g kg-1 de Ca, 2,09 g kg-1 de Mg, 16,15 mg kg-1 de B, 6,14 mg kg-1 de Cu, 53,87 mg kg-1 de Fe, 66,20 mg kg-1 de Mn e 48,44 mg kg-1 de Zn podem ser utilizados como referência para essa espécie de seringueira.<br>The leaf phenology has been used as an important characteristic in the selection of Hevea spp. clones, while the nutrient content in litter is a good indicator of nutrient cycling. The objective of this study was to verify the effect of frequency of emission of fluxes of leaves and flowers in crown of Hevea pauciflora, nutritional status and quality of litter. Fifteen plants of ten-year-old of each clones (CNS G 112, CNS G 124 and CBA 2) were evaluated. In tropical Amazonia edaphoclimatic conditions, the leaf emergence and flowering of H. pauciflora occurs with higher intensity in the second semester (beginning of rainy season). The H. pauciflora has higher quantity of litter than the primary forest, and the foliar concentrations of 22.18 g kg-1 of N, 1.47 g kg-1 of P, 5.77 g kg-1 of K, 3.79 g kg-1 de Ca, 2.09 g kg-1 of Mg, 16.15 mg kg-1 of B, 6.14 mg kg-1 of Cu, 53.87 mg kg-1 of Fe, 66.20 mg kg-1 of Mn e 48.44 mg kg-1 of Zn can be utilized as reference for this specie of rubber tree

Desempenho de cinco clones jovens de seringueira na região do Planalto Ocidental Paulista Performance of five young clones of rubber tree in the São Paulo Occidental plateau region

A Região do Planalto Ocidental Paulista tem se destacado como pólo produtor de borracha natural. Visando fornecer informações sobre a adaptação dos clones de seringueira [Hevea brasiliensis (Wildd. ex. Adr. de Juss) Müell. Arg.] RRIM 600, GT 1, RRIM 701, IAN 873 e PB 235, em São José do Rio Preto (SP), realizaram-se avaliações de alguns caracteres de sua biologia, pelo acompanhamento das trocas gasosas e mensuração do desenvolvimento vegetativo durante os primeiros 18 meses após o enxerto sobre Tjir 16. A altura de RRIM 600 atingiu, em média, 3,74 m e o diâmetro do caule de IAN 873 e RRIM 600, 2,50 cm. PB 235 apresentou o menor índice relativo de crescimento durante o período. No período úmido, os valores das trocas gasosas não diferiram significativamente entre os clones, com valores médios da taxa fotossintética de 9,45 mmol.m-2.s-1; para a taxa de transpiração, 3,84 mmol.m-2.s-1, e para a condutância estomática, de 0,096 mol.m-2.s-1. Diferenças entre os valores de trocas gasosas ocorreram apenas no período seco, com redução mais acentuada para PB 235. Considerando o conjunto dos caracteres analisados, o desempenho dos clones IAN 873 e RRIM 600 foi superior, e do clone PB 235, inferior.<br>The region of São Paulo Occidental Plateau is well known for its part as a major producer of natural rubber. In order to obtain information about adaptation of rubber tree clones [Hevea brasiliensis (Wildd. ex. Adr. de Juss) Müell. Arg.] RRIM 600, RRIM 701, IAN 873, PB 235 and GT 1, in the city of São José do Rio Preto some biologic characteristics were evaluated. Analysis were performed by monitoring gas exchanges and by measuring vegetative development, during the 18 months after engraft on the Tjir 16 clonal rootstocks. The height of RRIM 600 reached a mean of 3,74 m, and the diameter of the stem of IAN 873 and RRIM 600 reached the mean of 2,50 cm. Clone PB 235 presented the lowest relative growth during the period. During the wet period, the values of the gas exchange did not show significant variation among the clones; the mean value of photosynthetic rates was 9,45 mmol.m-2.s-1; of transpiration rates was 3,84 mmol.m-2 s-1, and of stomatic conductance was 0,096 mol.m-2 s-1. Differences in values of gas exchanges were observed only during the dry period, with notably large reduction for clone PB 235. The characteristics analyzed lead to the conclusion that performances of clones IAN 873 and RRIM 600 were superior, and that of clone PB 235 were inferior

One sixth of Amazonian tree diversity is dependent on river floodplains

Amazonia’s floodplain system is the largest and most biodiverse on Earth. Although forests are crucial to the ecological integrity of floodplains, our understanding of their species composition and how this may differ from surrounding forest types is still far too limited, particularly as changing inundation regimes begin to reshape floodplain tree communities and the critical ecosystem functions they underpin. Here we address this gap by taking a spatially explicit look at Amazonia-wide patterns of tree-species turnover and ecological specialization of the region’s floodplain forests. We show that the majority of Amazonian tree species can inhabit floodplains, and about a sixth of Amazonian tree diversity is ecologically specialized on floodplains. The degree of specialization in floodplain communities is driven by regional flood patterns, with the most compositionally differentiated floodplain forests located centrally within the fluvial network and contingent on the most extraordinary flood magnitudes regionally. Our results provide a spatially explicit view of ecological specialization of floodplain forest communities and expose the need for whole-basin hydrological integrity to protect the Amazon’s tree diversity and its function

Geography and ecology shape the phylogenetic composition of Amazonian tree communities

Aim Amazonia hosts more tree species from numerous evolutionary lineages, both young and ancient, than any other biogeographic region. Previous studies have shown that tree lineages colonized multiple edaphic environments and dispersed widely across Amazonia, leading to a hypothesis, which we test, that lineages should not be strongly associated with either geographic regions or edaphic forest types. Location Amazonia. Taxon Angiosperms (Magnoliids; Monocots; Eudicots). Methods Data for the abundance of 5082 tree species in 1989 plots were combined with a mega-phylogeny. We applied evolutionary ordination to assess how phylogenetic composition varies across Amazonia. We used variation partitioning and Moran's eigenvector maps (MEM) to test and quantify the separate and joint contributions of spatial and environmental variables to explain the phylogenetic composition of plots. We tested the indicator value of lineages for geographic regions and edaphic forest types and mapped associations onto the phylogeny. Results In the terra firme and várzea forest types, the phylogenetic composition varies by geographic region, but the igapó and white-sand forest types retain a unique evolutionary signature regardless of region. Overall, we find that soil chemistry, climate and topography explain 24% of the variation in phylogenetic composition, with 79% of that variation being spatially structured (R2 = 19% overall for combined spatial/environmental effects). The phylogenetic composition also shows substantial spatial patterns not related to the environmental variables we quantified (R2 = 28%). A greater number of lineages were significant indicators of geographic regions than forest types. Main Conclusion Numerous tree lineages, including some ancient ones (>66 Ma), show strong associations with geographic regions and edaphic forest types of Amazonia. This shows that specialization in specific edaphic environments has played a long-standing role in the evolutionary assembly of Amazonian forests. Furthermore, many lineages, even those that have dispersed across Amazonia, dominate within a specific region, likely because of phylogenetically conserved niches for environmental conditions that are prevalent within regions