Strong floristic distinctiveness across Neotropical successional forests

Jakovac, C.C. and Meave, J.A. and Bongers, F. and Letcher, S.G. and Dupuy, J.M. and Piotto, D. and Rozendaal, D.M.A. and Peña-Claros, M. and Craven, D. and Santos, B.A. and Siminski, A. and Fantini, A.C. and Hernández-Jaramillo, A. and Idárraga, A. and Junqueira, A.B. and Zambrano, A.M.A. and De Jong, B.H.J. and Pinho, B.X. and Finegan, B. and Castellano-Castro, C. and Zambiazi, D.C. and Dent, D.H. and García, D.H. and Kennard, D. and Delgado, D. and Broadbent, E.N. and Ortiz-Malavassi, E. and Pérez-García, E.A. and Lebrija-Trejos, E. and Berenguer, E. and Marín-Spiotta, E. and Alvarez-Davila, E. and De Sá Sampaio, E.V. and Melo, F. and Elias, F. and França, F. and Oberleitner, F. and Mora, F. and Williamson, G.B. and Dalla Colletta, G. and Cabral, G.A.L. and Derroire, G. and Fernandes, G.W. and Van Der Wal, H. and Teixeira, H.M. and Vester, H.F.M. and García, H. and Vieira, I.C.G. and Jiménez-Montoya, J. and De Almeida-Cortez, J.S. and Hall, J.S. and Chave, J. and Zimmerman, J.K. and Nieto, J.E. and Ferreira, J. and Rodríguez-Velázquez, J. and Ruíz, J. and Barlow, J. and Aguilar-Cano, J. and Hernández-Stefanoni, J.L. and Engel, J. and Becknell, J.M. and Zanini, K. and Lohbeck, M. and Tabarelli, M. and Romero-Romero, M.A. and Uriarte, M. and Veloso, M.D.M. and Espírito-Santo, M.M. and Van Der Sande, M.T. and Van Breugel, M. and Martínez-Ramos, M. and Schwartz, N.B. and Norden, N. and Pérez-Cárdenas, N. and González-Valdivia, N. and Petronelli, P. and Balvanera, P. and Massoca, P. and Brancalion, P.H.S. and Villa, P.M. and Hietz, P. and Ostertag, R. and López-Camacho, R. and César, R.G. and Mesquita, R. and Chazdon, R.L. and Muñoz, R. and DeWalt, S.J. and Müller, S.C. and Durán, S.M. and Martins, S.V. and Ochoa-Gaona, S. and Rodríguez-Buritica, S. and Aide, T.M. and Bentos, T.V. and Moreno, V.D.S. and Granda, V. and Thomas, W. and Silver, W.L. and Nunes, Y.R.F. and Poorter, L. (2022) Strong floristic distinctiveness across Neotropical successional forests. Science Advances, 8 (26): eabn1767. ISSN 2375-2548

Abstract

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.