An estimate of the number of tropical tree species.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
; 112(24): 7472-7, 2015 Jun 16.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-26034279
ABSTRACT
The high species richness of tropical forests has long been recognized, yet there remains substantial uncertainty regarding the actual number of tropical tree species. Using a pantropical tree inventory database from closed canopy forests, consisting of 657,630 trees belonging to 11,371 species, we use a fitted value of Fisher's alpha and an approximate pantropical stem total to estimate the minimum number of tropical forest tree species to fall between â¼ 40,000 and â¼ 53,000, i.e., at the high end of previous estimates. Contrary to common assumption, the Indo-Pacific region was found to be as species-rich as the Neotropics, with both regions having a minimum of â¼ 19,000-25,000 tree species. Continental Africa is relatively depauperate with a minimum of â¼ 4,500-6,000 tree species. Very few species are shared among the African, American, and the Indo-Pacific regions. We provide a methodological framework for estimating species richness in trees that may help refine species richness estimates of tree-dependent taxa.
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Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Árvores
/
Clima Tropical
/
Florestas
/
Biodiversidade
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2015
Tipo de documento:
Article