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Temporal variability of forest communities: empirical estimates of population change in 4000 tree species
Author(s) -
Chisholm Ryan A.,
Condit Richard,
Rahman K. Abd.,
Baker Patrick J.,
Bunyavejchewin Sarayudh,
Chen YuYun,
Chuyong George,
Dattaraja H. S.,
Davies Stuart,
Ewango Corneille E. N.,
Gunatilleke C. V. S.,
Nimal Gunatilleke I. A. U.,
Hubbell Stephen,
Kenfack David,
Kiratiprayoon Somboon,
Lin Yiching,
Makana JeanRemy,
Pongpattananurak Nantachai,
Pulla Sandeep,
PunchiManage Ruwan,
Sukumar Raman,
Su ShengHsin,
Sun IFang,
Suresh H. S.,
Tan Sylvester,
Thomas Duncan,
Yap Sandra
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
ecology letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.852
H-Index - 265
eISSN - 1461-0248
pISSN - 1461-023X
DOI - 10.1111/ele.12296
Subject(s) - abundance (ecology) , ecology , environmental change , niche , population , geography , community , forest dynamics , variance (accounting) , relative species abundance , biology , climate change , habitat , demography , accounting , sociology , business
Long‐term surveys of entire communities of species are needed to measure fluctuations in natural populations and elucidate the mechanisms driving population dynamics and community assembly. We analysed changes in abundance of over 4000 tree species in 12 forests across the world over periods of 6–28 years. Abundance fluctuations in all forests are large and consistent with population dynamics models in which temporal environmental variance plays a central role. At some sites we identify clear environmental drivers, such as fire and drought, that could underlie these patterns, but at other sites there is a need for further research to identify drivers. In addition, cross‐site comparisons showed that abundance fluctuations were smaller at species‐rich sites, consistent with the idea that stable environmental conditions promote higher diversity. Much community ecology theory emphasises demographic variance and niche stabilisation; we encourage the development of theory in which temporal environmental variance plays a central role.