Strong floristic distinctiveness across Neotropical successional forests

Forests that regrow naturally on abandoned fields are important for restoring biodiversity and ecosystem services, but can they also preserve the distinct regional tree floras? Using the floristic composition of 1215 early successional forests (≤20 years) in 75 human-modified landscapes across the Neotropic realm, we identified 14 distinct floristic groups, with a between-group dissimilarity of 0.97. Floristic groups were associated with location, bioregions, soil pH, temperature seasonality, and water availability. Hence, there is large continental-scale variation in the species composition of early successional forests, which is mainly associated with biogeographic and environmental factors but not with human disturbance indicators. This floristic distinctiveness is partially driven by regionally restricted species belonging to widespread genera. Early secondary forests contribute therefore to restoring and conserving the distinctiveness of bioregions across the Neotropical realm, and forest restoration initiatives should use local species to assure that these distinct floras are maintained.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Jakovac, Catarina C., Meave, Jorge A., Bongers, Frans, Letcher, Susan G., Dupuy, Juan Manuel, Piotto, Daniel, Rozendaal, Danaë M. A., Peña-Claros, Marielos, Craven, Dylan, Santos, Braulio A., Siminski, Alexandre, Fantini, Alfredo C., Rodrigues, Alice C., Hernández-Jaramillo, Alma, Idárraga, Alvaro, Junqueira, André B., Almeyda Zambrano, Angélica María, De Jong, Ben H.J., Ximenes Pinho, Bruno, Finegan, Bryan, Castellanos-Castro, Carolina, Zambiazi, Daisy Christiane, Dent, Daisy H., Hernán García, Daniel, Kennard, Deborah K., Delgado, Diego, Broadbent, Eben North, Ortiz-Malavasi, Edgar, Pérez-Garcia, Eudardo A., Lebrija-Trejos, Edwin, Berenguer, Erika, Marin-Spiotta, Erika, Álvarez-Dávila, Esteban, Valadares de Sá Barretto, Everardo, Melo, Felipe P.L., Elias, Fernando, França, Filipe, Oberleitner, Florian, Mora, Francisco, Williamson, G. Bruce, Dalla Colletta, Gabriel, Cabral, George A. L., Derroire, Géraldine, et al.
Format:	article biblioteca
Language:	eng
Subjects:	F40 - Écologie végétale, K70 - Dégâts causés aux forêts et leur protection, flore, biodiversité forestière, succession végétale, composition botanique, région néotropicale, reconstitution forestière, http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_2983, http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_0a269dfe, http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_36348, http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_15945, http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_5123, http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_13802,
Online Access:	http://agritrop.cirad.fr/601453/ http://agritrop.cirad.fr/601453/1/sciadv.abn1767.pdf
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