Maximum size distributions in tropical forest communities: relationships with rainfall and disturbance

Journal article

1. The diversity and structure of communities are partly determined by how species partition resource gradients. Plant size is an important indicator of species position along the vertical light gradient in the vegetation. 2. Here, we compared the size distribution of tree species in 44 Ghanaian tropical forest communities, using data from 880 one-hectare plots and over 118 000 trees belonging to more than 210 species. 3. The size distribution of forest species showed a continuous normal or l...

Expand abstract

Authors: Poorter, L; Hawthorne, W; Bongers, F; Sheil, D

• Publication status: Published
• Journal: JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY
• Volume: 96
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 495-504
• Publication date: 2008-05-01
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2745.2008.01366.x
• EISSN: 1365-2745
• ISSN: 0022-0477
• Keywords: tropical forest; rainfall; species packing; Ghana; potential height; light; disturbance; adult stature; coexistence; species richness