RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Dispersal, Environment, and Floristic Variation of Western Amazonian Forests
JF Science
JO Science
FD American Association for the Advancement of Science
SP 241
OP 244
DO 10.1126/science.1078037
VO 299
IS 5604
A1 Tuomisto, Hanna
A1 Ruokolainen, Kalle
A1 Yli-Halla, Markku
YR 2003
UL http://science.sciencemag.org/content/299/5604/241.abstract
AB The distribution of plant species, the species compositions of different sites, and the factors that affect them in tropical rain forests are not well understood. The main hypotheses are that species composition is either (i) uniform over large areas, (ii) random but spatially autocorrelated because of dispersal limitation, or (iii) patchy and environmentally determined. Here we test these hypotheses, using a large data set from western Amazonia. The uniformity hypothesis gains no support, but the other hypotheses do. Environmental determinism explains a larger proportion of the variation in floristic differences between sites than does dispersal limitation; together, these processes explain 70 to 75% of the variation. Consequently, it is important that management planning for conservation and resource use take into account both habitat heterogeneity and biogeographic differences.