Open AccessDissecting the difference in tree species richness between Africa and South America
Author(s) -
Pedro Luiz Silva de Miranda,
Kyle G. Dexter,
Michael Swaine,
Ary Teixeira de OliveiraFilho,
Olivier J. Hardy,
Adeline Fayolle
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
proceedings of the national academy of sciences of the united states of america
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.011
H-Index - 771
eISSN - 1091-6490
pISSN - 0027-8424
DOI - 10.1073/pnas.2112336119
Subject(s) - species richness , tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests , ecology , tree (set theory) , geography , dry forest , tropics , biology , agroforestry , mathematical analysis , mathematics
Significance Our full-scale comparison of Africa and South America’s lowland tropical tree floras shows that both Africa and South America’s moist and dry tree floras are organized similarly: plant families that are rich in tree species on one continent are also rich in tree species on the other continent, and these patterns hold across moist and dry environments. Moreover, we confirm that there is an important difference in tree species richness between the two continents, which is linked to a few families that are exceptionally diverse in South American moist forests, although dry formations also contribute to this difference. Plant families only present on one of the two continents do not contribute substantially to differences in tree species richness.