Hyperdominance in the Amazonian Tree Flora

Introduction Recent decades have seen a major international effort to inventory tree communities in the Amazon Basin and Guiana Shield (Amazonia), but the vast extent and record diversity of these forests have hampered an understanding of basinwide patterns. To overcome this obstacle, we compiled and standardized species-level data on more than half a million trees in 1170 plots sampling all major lowland forest types to explore patterns of commonness, rarity, and richness. Methods The ~6-million-km 2 Amazonian lowlands were divided into 1° cells, and mean tree density was estimated for each cell by using a loess regression model that included no environmental data but had its basis exclusively in the…

• NS
  National Science Foundation
• SI
  Smithsonian Institution
• US
  United States Agency for International Development
• GA
  Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation
• PC
  Primate Conservation
• NG
  National Geographic Society
• DA
  Departamento Administrativo de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación (COLCIENCIAS)
• AM
  Alberta Mennega Stichting
• SR
  Sight Research UK

  Awards: NE/I027797/1, NE/I021160/1
• EC
  European Commission
• AN
  Agence Nationale de la Recherche
• FD
  Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo
• CD
  Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior
• CN
  Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico
• FD
  Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Amazonas
• IN
  Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia
• E
  Ecopetrol
• NE
  Natural Environment Research Council

  Awards: NE/I021160/1, NE/I027797/1