The Contributions of Neotropical Tree Families to the Structure of Common Amazon Forest-Types
In order to investigate how familial biodiversity structures forests in the critically important Amazon, I combined past plot samplings to investigate the contributions of tree families in those samplings to the structure of common Amazon forest types. I found that the families Arecaceae, Fabaceae,...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-03-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Plant Biology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2037-0164/14/2/28 |
| _version_ | 1827737063989968896 |
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| author | Randall W. Myster |
| author_facet | Randall W. Myster |
| author_sort | Randall W. Myster |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In order to investigate how familial biodiversity structures forests in the critically important Amazon, I combined past plot samplings to investigate the contributions of tree families in those samplings to the structure of common Amazon forest types. I found that the families Arecaceae, Fabaceae, Clusiaceae, and Malvaceae had the most stems; Staphyleaceae, Caricaceae, and Anacardiaceae had the largest stems; Arecaceae, Fabaceae, Lecythidaceae, and Malvaceae had the largest basal area; Fabaceae, Malvaceae, and Sapotaceae had the most genera; Annonaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Fabaceae, Lauraceae, Malvaceae, Moraceae, and Sapotaceae had the most species, and the maximum Fisher’s α diversity index was found for many families. Together, results suggest that Fabaceae and Malvaceae are the most important families structuring these forests, but also that Arecaceae and Sapotaceae may be important. Thus, conservationists and managers may help sustain structure in these forests by propagating and maintaining species in these families. Finally, correlations between total number of stems and basal area, and between total number of genera and total number of species, suggest a causal relationship between them as they structure these forests, but the lack of correlations with Fisher’s α suggest it has little structural utility for these forests. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T02:20:48Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-dc76edf293574ee6a89692a75a221418 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2037-0164 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T02:20:48Z |
| publishDate | 2023-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Journal of Plant Biology |
| spelling | doaj.art-dc76edf293574ee6a89692a75a2214182023-11-18T10:53:25ZengMDPI AGInternational Journal of Plant Biology2037-01642023-03-0114233934610.3390/ijpb14020028The Contributions of Neotropical Tree Families to the Structure of Common Amazon Forest-TypesRandall W. Myster0Biology Department, Oklahoma State University, Oklahoma City, OK 73107, USAIn order to investigate how familial biodiversity structures forests in the critically important Amazon, I combined past plot samplings to investigate the contributions of tree families in those samplings to the structure of common Amazon forest types. I found that the families Arecaceae, Fabaceae, Clusiaceae, and Malvaceae had the most stems; Staphyleaceae, Caricaceae, and Anacardiaceae had the largest stems; Arecaceae, Fabaceae, Lecythidaceae, and Malvaceae had the largest basal area; Fabaceae, Malvaceae, and Sapotaceae had the most genera; Annonaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Fabaceae, Lauraceae, Malvaceae, Moraceae, and Sapotaceae had the most species, and the maximum Fisher’s α diversity index was found for many families. Together, results suggest that Fabaceae and Malvaceae are the most important families structuring these forests, but also that Arecaceae and Sapotaceae may be important. Thus, conservationists and managers may help sustain structure in these forests by propagating and maintaining species in these families. Finally, correlations between total number of stems and basal area, and between total number of genera and total number of species, suggest a causal relationship between them as they structure these forests, but the lack of correlations with Fisher’s α suggest it has little structural utility for these forests.https://www.mdpi.com/2037-0164/14/2/28EcuadorigapóLTERpalmPeru<i>terra firme</i> |
| spellingShingle | Randall W. Myster The Contributions of Neotropical Tree Families to the Structure of Common Amazon Forest-Types International Journal of Plant Biology Ecuador igapó LTER palm Peru <i>terra firme</i> |
| title | The Contributions of Neotropical Tree Families to the Structure of Common Amazon Forest-Types |
| title_full | The Contributions of Neotropical Tree Families to the Structure of Common Amazon Forest-Types |
| title_fullStr | The Contributions of Neotropical Tree Families to the Structure of Common Amazon Forest-Types |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Contributions of Neotropical Tree Families to the Structure of Common Amazon Forest-Types |
| title_short | The Contributions of Neotropical Tree Families to the Structure of Common Amazon Forest-Types |
| title_sort | contributions of neotropical tree families to the structure of common amazon forest types |
| topic | Ecuador igapó LTER palm Peru <i>terra firme</i> |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2037-0164/14/2/28 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT randallwmyster thecontributionsofneotropicaltreefamiliestothestructureofcommonamazonforesttypes AT randallwmyster contributionsofneotropicaltreefamiliestothestructureofcommonamazonforesttypes |