Evolutionary diversity is associated with wood productivity in Amazonian forests

Fernanda Coelho de Souza; Kyle G. Dexter; Oliver L. Phillips; R. Toby Pennington; Danilo Neves; Martin J.P. Sullivan; Esteban Alvarez-Davila; Átila Alves; Ieda Amaral; Ana Andrade; Luis E.O.C. Aragao; Alejandro Araujo-Murakami; Eric J.M.M. Arets; Luzmilla Arroyo; Gerardo A. Aymard C; Olaf Bánki; Christopher Baraloto; Jorcely G. Barroso; Rene G.A. Boot; Roel J.W. Brienen; Foster Brown; José Luís C. Camargo; Wendeson Castro; Jerome Chave; Alvaro Cogollo; James A. Comiskey; Fernando Cornejo-Valverde; Antonio Lola da Costa; Plínio B. de Camargo; Anthony Di Fiore; Ted R. Feldpausch; David R. Galbraith; Emanuel Gloor; Rosa C. Goodman; Martin Gilpin; Rafael Herrera; Niro Higuchi; Eurídice N. Honorio Coronado; Eliana Jimenez-Rojas; Timothy J. Killeen; Susan Laurance; William F. Laurance; Gabriela Lopez-Gonzalez; Thomas E. Lovejoy; Yadvinder Malhi; Beatriz S. Marimon; Ben Hur Marimon-Junior; Casimiro Mendoza; Abel Monteagudo-Mendoza; David A. Neill; Percy Núñez Vargas; Maria C. Peñuela Mora; Georgia C. Pickavance; John J. Pipoly; Nigel C.A. Pitman; Lourens Poorter; Adriana Prieto; Freddy Ramirez; Anand Roopsind; Agustin Rudas; Rafael P. Salomão; Natalino Silva; Marcos Silveira; James Singh; Juliana Stropp; Hans ter Steege; John Terborgh; Raquel Thomas-Caesar; Ricardo K. Umetsu; Rodolfo V. Vasquez; Ima Célia-Vieira; Simone A. Vieira; Vincent A. Vos; Roderick J. Zagt; Timothy R. Baker

doi:10.1038/s41559-019-1007-y

Evolutionary diversity is associated with wood productivity in Amazonian forests

Fernanda Coelho de Souza^*, Kyle G. Dexter, Oliver L. Phillips, R. Toby Pennington, Danilo Neves, Martin J.P. Sullivan, Esteban Alvarez-Davila, Átila Alves, Ieda Amaral, Ana Andrade, Luis E.O.C. Aragao, Alejandro Araujo-Murakami, Eric J.M.M. Arets, Luzmilla Arroyo, Gerardo A. Aymard C, Olaf Bánki, Christopher Baraloto, Jorcely G. Barroso, Rene G.A. Boot, Roel J.W. BrienenFoster Brown, José Luís C. Camargo, Wendeson Castro, Jerome Chave, Alvaro Cogollo, James A. Comiskey, Fernando Cornejo-Valverde, Antonio Lola da Costa, Plínio B. de Camargo, Anthony Di Fiore, Ted R. Feldpausch, David R. Galbraith, Emanuel Gloor, Rosa C. Goodman, Martin Gilpin, Rafael Herrera, Niro Higuchi, Eurídice N. Honorio Coronado, Eliana Jimenez-Rojas, Timothy J. Killeen, Susan Laurance, William F. Laurance, Gabriela Lopez-Gonzalez, Thomas E. Lovejoy, Yadvinder Malhi, Beatriz S. Marimon, Ben Hur Marimon-Junior, Casimiro Mendoza, Abel Monteagudo-Mendoza, David A. Neill, Percy Núñez Vargas, Maria C. Peñuela Mora, Georgia C. Pickavance, John J. Pipoly, Nigel C.A. Pitman, Lourens Poorter, Adriana Prieto, Freddy Ramirez, Anand Roopsind, Agustin Rudas, Rafael P. Salomão, Natalino Silva, Marcos Silveira, James Singh, Juliana Stropp, Hans ter Steege, John Terborgh, Raquel Thomas-Caesar, Ricardo K. Umetsu, Rodolfo V. Vasquez, Ima Célia-Vieira, Simone A. Vieira, Vincent A. Vos, Roderick J. Zagt, Timothy R. Baker

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

Abstract

Higher levels of taxonomic and evolutionary diversity are expected to maximize ecosystem function, yet their relative importance in driving variation in ecosystem function at large scales in diverse forests is unknown. Using 90 inventory plots across intact, lowland, terra firme, Amazonian forests and a new phylogeny including 526 angiosperm genera, we investigated the association between taxonomic and evolutionary metrics of diversity and two key measures of ecosystem function: aboveground wood productivity and biomass storage. While taxonomic and phylogenetic diversity were not important predictors of variation in biomass, both emerged as independent predictors of wood productivity. Amazon forests that contain greater evolutionary diversity and a higher proportion of rare species have higher productivity. While climatic and edaphic variables are together the strongest predictors of productivity, our results show that the evolutionary diversity of tree species in diverse forest stands also influences productivity. As our models accounted for wood density and tree size, they also suggest that additional, unstudied, evolutionarily correlated traits have significant effects on ecosystem function in tropical forests. Overall, our pan-Amazonian analysis shows that greater phylogenetic diversity translates into higher levels of ecosystem function: tropical forest communities with more distantly related taxa have greater wood productivity.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1754-1761
Number of pages	8
Journal	Nature Ecology and Evolution
Volume	3
Issue number	12
Early online date	11 Nov 2019
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-019-1007-y
Publication status	Published - Dec 2019

Funding

This paper is a product of the project ‘Niche Evolution of South American Trees’ (funded by NERC; NE/I028122/1), RAINFOR (the Amazon Forest Inventory Network) and ForestPlots.net (www.ForestPlots.net). Phylogenetic data were generated by the Niche Evolution of South American Trees project; forest inventory data were generated by the RAINFOR network and curated by ForestPlots.net. RAINFOR and ForestPlots. net have been supported by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme projects 283080 (GEOCARBON) and 282664 (AMAZALERT), ERC grant ‘Tropical Forests in the Changing Earth System’, Natural Environment Research Council Urgency, Consortium and Standard grants ‘AMAZONICA’ (NE/F005806/1), ‘TROBIT’ (NE/D005590/1) and ‘Niche Evolution of South American Trees’ (NE/I028122/1), and ‘BIO-RED’ (NE/N012542/1). F.C.d.S. was supported by a PhD scholarship from the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (Brazil; 117913-6). K.G.D. was supported by a Leverhulme International Academic Fellowship. O.L.P. was supported by an ERC Advanced Grant and is a Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award holder. R.T.B. acknowledges support from a Leverhulme Trust Research Fellowship (RF-2015-653). This paper is 772 in the Technical Series of the Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project (BDFFP-INPA/STRI). We thank J. Lloyd and C. A. Quesada for comments on the manuscript. J. Lloyd helped conceived the RAINFOR forest census plot network. We also acknowledge A. Clark for laboratory work to generate new DNA sequences. Fieldwork in Amazonia has been conducted by, and in collaboration with, many South American institutions over many years to generate the long-term inventory record, in compliance with appropriate national laws. Permits for fieldwork iclude: Peru, from the Peruvian Protected Areas Authorithy (SERNANP), permits 001-2011, 008-2013, 021-2014; from the Peruvian Forest Service (SERFOR) permits 0198-2011, 0148-2012, 383-2012, 077-2014; Bolivia, from Ministerio de Medio Ambiente y Agua (MMAyA) permit (026/2009); and Brazil, from the Brazilian Research Council (CNPq) permit (00048/2013-5).

Funders	Funder number
Brazilian Research Council
Leverhulme International
Ministerio de Medio Ambiente y Agua	026/2009
Peruvian Forest Service
Peruvian Protected Areas Authorithy
SERFOR	0148-2012, 077-2014, 383-2012
SERNANP	008-2013, 001-2011
Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation
Seventh Framework Programme	283080, 282664
Natural Environment Research Council	NE/D005590/1, NE/I028122/1, NE/N012542/1, NE/F005806/1
Leverhulme Trust	RF-2015-653
Royal Society
European Research Council
Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior	117913-6
Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico	00048/2013-5

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1038/s41559-019-1007-y

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Coelho de Souza, F., Dexter, K. G., Phillips, O. L., Pennington, R. T., Neves, D., Sullivan, M. J. P., Alvarez-Davila, E., Alves, Á., Amaral, I., Andrade, A., Aragao, L. E. O. C., Araujo-Murakami, A., Arets, E. J. M. M., Arroyo, L., Aymard C, G. A., Bánki, O., Baraloto, C., Barroso, J. G., Boot, R. G. A., ... Baker, T. R. (2019). Evolutionary diversity is associated with wood productivity in Amazonian forests. Nature Ecology and Evolution, 3(12), 1754-1761. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-019-1007-y

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abstract = "Higher levels of taxonomic and evolutionary diversity are expected to maximize ecosystem function, yet their relative importance in driving variation in ecosystem function at large scales in diverse forests is unknown. Using 90 inventory plots across intact, lowland, terra firme, Amazonian forests and a new phylogeny including 526 angiosperm genera, we investigated the association between taxonomic and evolutionary metrics of diversity and two key measures of ecosystem function: aboveground wood productivity and biomass storage. While taxonomic and phylogenetic diversity were not important predictors of variation in biomass, both emerged as independent predictors of wood productivity. Amazon forests that contain greater evolutionary diversity and a higher proportion of rare species have higher productivity. While climatic and edaphic variables are together the strongest predictors of productivity, our results show that the evolutionary diversity of tree species in diverse forest stands also influences productivity. As our models accounted for wood density and tree size, they also suggest that additional, unstudied, evolutionarily correlated traits have significant effects on ecosystem function in tropical forests. Overall, our pan-Amazonian analysis shows that greater phylogenetic diversity translates into higher levels of ecosystem function: tropical forest communities with more distantly related taxa have greater wood productivity.",

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year = "2019",

month = dec,

doi = "10.1038/s41559-019-1007-y",

language = "English",

volume = "3",

pages = "1754--1761",

journal = "Nature Ecology and Evolution",

issn = "2397-334X",

publisher = "Nature Publishing Group",

number = "12",

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Coelho de Souza, F, Dexter, KG, Phillips, OL, Pennington, RT, Neves, D, Sullivan, MJP, Alvarez-Davila, E, Alves, Á, Amaral, I, Andrade, A, Aragao, LEOC, Araujo-Murakami, A, Arets, EJMM, Arroyo, L, Aymard C, GA, Bánki, O, Baraloto, C, Barroso, JG, Boot, RGA, Brienen, RJW, Brown, F, Camargo, JLC, Castro, W, Chave, J, Cogollo, A, Comiskey, JA, Cornejo-Valverde, F, da Costa, AL, de Camargo, PB, Di Fiore, A, Feldpausch, TR, Galbraith, DR, Gloor, E, Goodman, RC, Gilpin, M, Herrera, R, Higuchi, N, Honorio Coronado, EN, Jimenez-Rojas, E, Killeen, TJ, Laurance, S, Laurance, WF, Lopez-Gonzalez, G, Lovejoy, TE, Malhi, Y, Marimon, BS, Marimon-Junior, BH, Mendoza, C, Monteagudo-Mendoza, A, Neill, DA, Vargas, PN, Peñuela Mora, MC, Pickavance, GC, Pipoly, JJ, Pitman, NCA, Poorter, L, Prieto, A, Ramirez, F, Roopsind, A, Rudas, A, Salomão, RP, Silva, N, Silveira, M, Singh, J, Stropp, J, ter Steege, H, Terborgh, J, Thomas-Caesar, R, Umetsu, RK, Vasquez, RV, Célia-Vieira, I, Vieira, SA, Vos, VA, Zagt, RJ & Baker, TR 2019, 'Evolutionary diversity is associated with wood productivity in Amazonian forests', Nature Ecology and Evolution, vol. 3, no. 12, pp. 1754-1761. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-019-1007-y

TY - JOUR

T1 - Evolutionary diversity is associated with wood productivity in Amazonian forests

AU - Coelho de Souza, Fernanda

AU - Dexter, Kyle G.

AU - Phillips, Oliver L.

AU - Pennington, R. Toby

AU - Neves, Danilo

AU - Sullivan, Martin J.P.

AU - Alvarez-Davila, Esteban

AU - Alves, Átila

AU - Amaral, Ieda

AU - Andrade, Ana

AU - Aragao, Luis E.O.C.

AU - Araujo-Murakami, Alejandro

AU - Arets, Eric J.M.M.

AU - Arroyo, Luzmilla

AU - Aymard C, Gerardo A.

AU - Bánki, Olaf

AU - Baraloto, Christopher

AU - Barroso, Jorcely G.

AU - Boot, Rene G.A.

AU - Brienen, Roel J.W.

AU - Brown, Foster

AU - Camargo, José Luís C.

AU - Castro, Wendeson

AU - Chave, Jerome

AU - Cogollo, Alvaro

AU - Comiskey, James A.

AU - Cornejo-Valverde, Fernando

AU - da Costa, Antonio Lola

AU - de Camargo, Plínio B.

AU - Di Fiore, Anthony

AU - Feldpausch, Ted R.

AU - Galbraith, David R.

AU - Gloor, Emanuel

AU - Goodman, Rosa C.

AU - Gilpin, Martin

AU - Herrera, Rafael

AU - Higuchi, Niro

AU - Honorio Coronado, Eurídice N.

AU - Jimenez-Rojas, Eliana

AU - Killeen, Timothy J.

AU - Laurance, Susan

AU - Laurance, William F.

AU - Lopez-Gonzalez, Gabriela

AU - Lovejoy, Thomas E.

AU - Malhi, Yadvinder

AU - Marimon, Beatriz S.

AU - Marimon-Junior, Ben Hur

AU - Mendoza, Casimiro

AU - Monteagudo-Mendoza, Abel

AU - Neill, David A.

AU - Vargas, Percy Núñez

AU - Peñuela Mora, Maria C.

AU - Pickavance, Georgia C.

AU - Pipoly, John J.

AU - Pitman, Nigel C.A.

AU - Poorter, Lourens

AU - Prieto, Adriana

AU - Ramirez, Freddy

AU - Roopsind, Anand

AU - Rudas, Agustin

AU - Salomão, Rafael P.

AU - Silva, Natalino

AU - Silveira, Marcos

AU - Singh, James

AU - Stropp, Juliana

AU - ter Steege, Hans

AU - Terborgh, John

AU - Thomas-Caesar, Raquel

AU - Umetsu, Ricardo K.

AU - Vasquez, Rodolfo V.

AU - Célia-Vieira, Ima

AU - Vieira, Simone A.

AU - Vos, Vincent A.

AU - Zagt, Roderick J.

AU - Baker, Timothy R.

PY - 2019/12

Y1 - 2019/12

N2 - Higher levels of taxonomic and evolutionary diversity are expected to maximize ecosystem function, yet their relative importance in driving variation in ecosystem function at large scales in diverse forests is unknown. Using 90 inventory plots across intact, lowland, terra firme, Amazonian forests and a new phylogeny including 526 angiosperm genera, we investigated the association between taxonomic and evolutionary metrics of diversity and two key measures of ecosystem function: aboveground wood productivity and biomass storage. While taxonomic and phylogenetic diversity were not important predictors of variation in biomass, both emerged as independent predictors of wood productivity. Amazon forests that contain greater evolutionary diversity and a higher proportion of rare species have higher productivity. While climatic and edaphic variables are together the strongest predictors of productivity, our results show that the evolutionary diversity of tree species in diverse forest stands also influences productivity. As our models accounted for wood density and tree size, they also suggest that additional, unstudied, evolutionarily correlated traits have significant effects on ecosystem function in tropical forests. Overall, our pan-Amazonian analysis shows that greater phylogenetic diversity translates into higher levels of ecosystem function: tropical forest communities with more distantly related taxa have greater wood productivity.

AB - Higher levels of taxonomic and evolutionary diversity are expected to maximize ecosystem function, yet their relative importance in driving variation in ecosystem function at large scales in diverse forests is unknown. Using 90 inventory plots across intact, lowland, terra firme, Amazonian forests and a new phylogeny including 526 angiosperm genera, we investigated the association between taxonomic and evolutionary metrics of diversity and two key measures of ecosystem function: aboveground wood productivity and biomass storage. While taxonomic and phylogenetic diversity were not important predictors of variation in biomass, both emerged as independent predictors of wood productivity. Amazon forests that contain greater evolutionary diversity and a higher proportion of rare species have higher productivity. While climatic and edaphic variables are together the strongest predictors of productivity, our results show that the evolutionary diversity of tree species in diverse forest stands also influences productivity. As our models accounted for wood density and tree size, they also suggest that additional, unstudied, evolutionarily correlated traits have significant effects on ecosystem function in tropical forests. Overall, our pan-Amazonian analysis shows that greater phylogenetic diversity translates into higher levels of ecosystem function: tropical forest communities with more distantly related taxa have greater wood productivity.

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UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85075156118&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1038/s41559-019-1007-y

DO - 10.1038/s41559-019-1007-y

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SN - 2397-334X

VL - 3

SP - 1754

EP - 1761

JO - Nature Ecology and Evolution

JF - Nature Ecology and Evolution

IS - 12

ER -

Evolutionary diversity is associated with wood productivity in Amazonian forests

Abstract

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