Low-diversity tropical rain forests: Some possible mechanisms for their existence
- Univ. of California, Santa Barbara (USA)
- Univ. of New England, Armidale New South Wales (Australia)
The occurrence and characteristics of low-diversity forests are described, and compared with high-diversity ones and some hypotheses about possible mechanisms for their existence are discussed. The author suggest that after a single (EM) ectomycorrhizal tree species achieves dominance in a type-I forest, other species in the same family are more likely to invade than are those of a different family. Thus, a many-species (VAM) vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal rain forest might gradually shift to one with a single EM species dominant, leading to a forest of higher diversity dominated by several species from a few families that associate with EM fungi (e.g., as found in dipterocarp forests in southeastern Asia). The latter forests should tend to maintain their diversity because, like VAM forests, EM species in the same family may be nearly equivalent in competitive ability.
- OSTI ID:
- 6942838
- Journal Information:
- American Naturalist; (USA), Vol. 134:1; ISSN 0003-0147
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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