Tropical forests are non-equilibrium ecosystems governed by interspecific competition based on universal 1/6 niche width.

ABSTRACT: Tropical forests are mega-diverse ecosystems that display complex and non-equilibrium dynamics. However, theoretical approaches have largely focused on explaining steady-state behaviour and fitting snapshots of data. Here we show that local and niche interspecific competition can realistically and parsimoniously explain the observed non-equilibrium regime of permanent plots of nine tropical forests, in eight different countries. Our spatially-explicit model, besides predicting with accuracy the main biodiversity metrics for these plots, can also reproduce their dynamics. A central finding is that tropical tree species have a universal niche width of approximately 1/6 of the niche axis that echoes the observed widespread convergence in their functional traits enabling them to exploit simila

SUBMITTER: Fort H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3875416 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature