One sixth of Amazonian tree diversity is dependent on river floodplains.
John Ethan HouseholderFlorian WittmannJochen SchöngartMaria Teresa Fernandez PiedadeWolfgang J JunkEdgardo Manuel LatrubesseAdriano Costa QuaresmaLayon O DemarchiGuilherme de S LoboDaniel P P de AguiarRafael L AssisAline LopesPia ParolinIêda Leão do AmaralLuiz de Souza CoelhoFrancisca Dionízia de Almeida MatosDiógenes de Andrade Lima FilhoRafael P SalomãoCarolina V CastilhoJuan Ernesto Guevara-AndinoMarcelo de Jesus Veiga CarimOliver L PhillipsDairon Cárdenas LópezWilliam E MagnussonDaniel SabatierJuan David Cardenas RevillaJean-François MolinoMariana Victória IrumeMaria Pires MartinsJosé Renan da Silva GuimarãesJosé Ferreira RamosDomingos de Jesus RodriguesOlaf S BánkiCarlos Augusto PeresNigel C A PitmanJoseph E HawesEverton José AlmeidaLuciane Ferreira BarbosaLarissa CavalheiroMárcia Cléia Vilela Dos SantosBruno Garcia LuizeEvlyn Márcia Moraes de Leão NovoPercy Núñez VargasThiago Sanna Freire SilvaEduardo Martins VenticinqueÂngelo Gilberto ManzattoNeidiane Farias Costa ReisJohn TerborghKatia Regina CasulaFlavia R C CostaEuridice N Honorio CoronadoAbel Monteagudo MendozaJuan Carlos MonteroTed R FeldpauschGerardo A Aymard CorredorChristopher BaralotoNicolás Castaño ArboledaJulien EngelPascal PetronelliCharles Eugene ZartmanTimothy J KilleenLorena Maniguaje RincónBeatriz S MarimonBen Hur Marimon JuniorJuliana SchiettiThaiane Rodrigues de SousaRodolfo Vasquez MartinezBonifacio MostacedoDário Dantas do AmaralHernán CastellanosMarcelo Brilhante de MedeirosMarcelo Fragomeni SimonAna C AndradeJosé Luís Campana CamargoWilliam F LauranceSusan G W LauranceEmanuelle de Sousa FariasMaria Aparecida LopesJosé Leonardo Lima MagalhãesHenrique Eduardo Mendonça NascimentoHelder Lima de QueirozRoel J W BrienenPablo Roberto Stevenson DiazAlejandro Araujo-MurakamiTimothy R BakerBruno Barçante Ladvocat CintraYuri Oliveira FeitosaHugo F MogollónJanaína Costa NoronhaFlávia Rodrigues BarbosaRainiellen de Sá CarpanedoJoost F DuivenvoordenMiles R SilmanLeandro Valle FerreiraCarolina LevisJosé Rafael LozadaJames A ComiskeyFrederick C DraperJosé Julio de ToledoGabriel DamascoNállarett DávilaRoosevelt García-VillacortaAlberto VicentiniFernando Cornejo ValverdeAlfonso AlonsoLuzmila ArroyoFrancisco DallmeierVitor H F GomesEliana M JimenezDavid A NeillMaria Cristina Peñuela MoraFernanda Antunes CarvalhoFernanda Coelho de SouzaKenneth J FeeleyRogerio GribelMarcelo Petratti PansonatoMarcos A Rios ParedesJos BarlowErika BerenguerKyle G DexterJoice FerreiraPaul V A FineMarcelino Carneiro GuedesIsau Huamantupa-ChuquimacoJuan Carlos LiconaToby PenningtonBoris Eduardo Villa ZegarraVincent Antoine VosCarlos CerónÉmile FontyTerry W HenkelPaul MaasEdwin PosMarcos SilveiraJuliana StroppRaquel ThomasDoug DalyWilliam MillikenGuido Pardo MolinaIma Célia Guimarães VieiraBianca Weiss AlbuquerqueWegliane CampeloThaise EmilioAlfredo FuentesBente KlitgaardJosé Luis Marcelo PenaPriscila F SouzaJ Sebastián TelloCorine VriesendorpJerome ChaveAnthony Di FioreRenato Richard HilárioLuciana de Oliveira PereiraJuan Fernando PhillipsGonzalo Rivas TorresTinde R van AndelPatricio von HildebrandWilliam BaleeEdelcilio Marques BarbosaLuiz Carlos de Matos BonatesHilda Paulette Dávila DozaRicardo Zárate GómezTherany GonzalesGeorge Pepe Gallardo GonzalesBruce HoffmanAndré Braga JunqueiraYadvinder MalhiIres Paula de Andrade MirandaLinder Felipe Mozombite PintoAdriana PrietoAgustín RudasAdemir R RuschelNatalino SilvaCésar I A VelaStanford ZentEgleé L ZentÁngela CanoYrma Andreina Carrero MárquezDiego F CorreaJanaina Barbosa Pedrosa CostaBernardo Monteiro FloresDavid R GalbraithMilena HolmgrenMichelle KalamandeenMarcelo Trindade NascimentoAlexandre A de OliveiraHirma Ramirez-AnguloMaira RochaVeridiana Vizoni ScudellerRodrigo SierraMilton TiradoMaría Natalia UmañaGeertje M F van der HeijdenEsteban Alvarez DávilaManuel Augusto Ahuite ReateguiClaudia BaiderHenrik BalslevSasha CárdenasLuisa Fernanda CasasWilliam Farfan-RiosCid FerreiraReynaldo Linares-PalominoCasimiro MendozaItalo MesonesGermaine Alexander ParadaArmando Torres-LezamaLigia Estela Urrego GiraldoDaniel VillarroelRoderick ZagtMiguel N AlexiadesEdmar Almeida de OliveiraKarina Garcia-CabreraLionel HernandezWalter Palacios CuencaSusamar PansiniDaniela PaulettoFreddy Ramirez ArevaloAdeilza Felipe SampaioElvis H Valderrama SandovalLuis Valenzuela GamarraHans Ter SteegePublished in: Nature ecology & evolution (2024)
Amazonia's floodplain system is the largest and most biodiverse on Earth. Although forests are crucial to the ecological integrity of floodplains, our understanding of their species composition and how this may differ from surrounding forest types is still far too limited, particularly as changing inundation regimes begin to reshape floodplain tree communities and the critical ecosystem functions they underpin. Here we address this gap by taking a spatially explicit look at Amazonia-wide patterns of tree-species turnover and ecological specialization of the region's floodplain forests. We show that the majority of Amazonian tree species can inhabit floodplains, and about a sixth of Amazonian tree diversity is ecologically specialized on floodplains. The degree of specialization in floodplain communities is driven by regional flood patterns, with the most compositionally differentiated floodplain forests located centrally within the fluvial network and contingent on the most extraordinary flood magnitudes regionally. Our results provide a spatially explicit view of ecological specialization of floodplain forest communities and expose the need for whole-basin hydrological integrity to protect the Amazon's tree diversity and its function.