Disturbances, elevation, topography and spatial proximity drive vegetation patterns along an altitudinal gradient of a top biodiversity hotspot |
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Authors: | Pedro V Eisenlohr Luciana F Alves Luís Carlos Bernacci Maíra C G Padgurschi Roseli B Torres Eduardo M B Prata Flavio Antonio M dos Santos Marco Antônio Assis Eliana Ramos André Luís C Rochelle Fernando R Martins Mariana C R Campos Fernando Pedroni Maryland Sanchez Larissa S Pereira Simone A Vieira José Ataliba M A Gomes Jorge Y Tamashiro Marcos A S Scaranello Cora J Caron Carlos Alfredo Joly |
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Institution: | 1. Departamento de Biologia Vegetal, Instituto de Biologia, CP 6109, Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, SP, 13083-970, Brazil 8. Departamento de Botanica, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, 31270-901, Brazil 2. Centro de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento de Recursos Genéticos Vegetais, Instituto Agron?mico de Campinas (IAC) CP 28, Campinas, SP, 13012-970, Brazil 3. Programa de Pós-Gradua??o em Botanica, CP 478, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amaz?nia (INPA), Manaus, AM, 69060-001, Brazil 4. Departamento de Botanica, Instituto de Biociências de Rio Claro, CP 199, Universidade Estadual Paulista Júlio de Mesquita Filho, Rio Claro, SP, 13506-900, Brazil 5. School of Plant Biology, University of Western Australia, M089 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia 6. Departamento de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso, Pontal do Araguaia, MT, 78698-000, Brazil 7. Núcleo de Estudos e Pesquisas Ambientais (NEPAM), Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, SP, 13083-867, Brazil
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Abstract: | The correlation between vegetation patterns (species distribution and richness) and altitudinal variation has been widely reported for tropical forests, thereby providing theoretical basis for biodiversity conservation. However, this relationship may have been oversimplified, as many other factors may influence vegetation patterns, such as disturbances, topography and geographic distance. Considering these other factors, our primary question was: is there a vegetation pattern associated with substantial altitudinal variation (10–1,093 m a.s.l.) in the Atlantic Rainforest—a top hotspot for biodiversity conservation—and, if so, what are the main factors driving this pattern? We addressed this question by sampling 11 1-ha plots, applying multivariate methods, correlations and variance partitioning. The Restinga (forest on sandbanks along the coastal plains of Brazil) and a lowland area that was selectively logged 40 years ago were floristically isolated from the other plots. The maximum species richness (>200 spp. per hectare) occurred at approximately 350 m a.s.l. (submontane forest). Gaps, multiple stemmed trees, average elevation and the standard deviation of the slope significantly affected the vegetation pattern. Spatial proximity also influenced the vegetation pattern as a structuring environmental variable or via dispersal constraints. Our results clarify, for the first time, the key variables that drive species distribution and richness across a large altitudinal range within the Atlantic Rainforest. |
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