Edaphic characteristics drive functional traits distribution in Amazonian floodplain forests
Understanding how environmental factors drive community assembly remains a major challenge in community ecology, especially in biodiverse tropical forests. We investigated how environmental filters affect functional trait distribution in two contrasting types of floodplain forest in the Brazilian Amazon: white-water forest (várzea) and black-water forest (igapó). We placed 40 plots of 625 m2 along a flooding gradient in Central Amazonia and measured for edaphic variables and 11 functional traits related to use of resources and flooding tolerance/avoidance. We assessed functional distribution by calculating community-trait mean values and trait kurtosis. Analysis of community mean trait values showed that nutrient-rich white-water forests favored trees with productive leaves and fast growth, whereas nutrient-poor black-water forests favored trees with nutrient conservation traits and slow growth. Functional diversity was not related to environmental gradients. Edaphic characteristics act, therefore, as a strong environmental filter leading to trait convergence in these floodplain tree communities.
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article/Letter to editor biblioteca |
| Language: | English |
| Subjects: | Central amazonia, Environmental gradients, Floodplains, Functional ecology, Tree communities, Tropical forests, |
| Online Access: | https://research.wur.nl/en/publications/edaphic-characteristics-drive-functional-traits-distribution-in-a |
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| Summary: | Understanding how environmental factors drive community assembly remains a major challenge in community ecology, especially in biodiverse tropical forests. We investigated how environmental filters affect functional trait distribution in two contrasting types of floodplain forest in the Brazilian Amazon: white-water forest (várzea) and black-water forest (igapó). We placed 40 plots of 625 m2 along a flooding gradient in Central Amazonia and measured for edaphic variables and 11 functional traits related to use of resources and flooding tolerance/avoidance. We assessed functional distribution by calculating community-trait mean values and trait kurtosis. Analysis of community mean trait values showed that nutrient-rich white-water forests favored trees with productive leaves and fast growth, whereas nutrient-poor black-water forests favored trees with nutrient conservation traits and slow growth. Functional diversity was not related to environmental gradients. Edaphic characteristics act, therefore, as a strong environmental filter leading to trait convergence in these floodplain tree communities. |
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