Pervasive Local-Scale Tree-Soil Habitat Association in a Tropical Forest Community.

ABSTRACT: We examined tree-soil habitat associations in lowland forest communities at Paracou, French Guiana. We analyzed a large dataset assembling six permanent plots totaling 37.5 ha, in which extensive LIDAR-derived topographical data and soil chemical and physical data have been integrated with precise botanical determinations. Map of relative elevation from the nearest stream summarized both soil fertility and hydromorphic characteristics, with seasonally inundated bottomlands having higher soil phosphate content and base saturation, and plateaus having higher soil carbon, nitrogen and aluminum contents. We employed a statistical test of correlations between tree species density and environmental maps, by generating Monte Carlo simulations of random raster images that preserve autocorrelation

SUBMITTER: Allie E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4633048 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature