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Determinants of rain-forest floristic variation on an altitudinal gradient in southern Costa Rica

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 August 2012

Adina Chain-Guadarrama ,
Bryan Finegan ,
Sergio Vilchez  and
Fernando Casanoves
Adina Chain-Guadarrama*
Affiliation:
Graduate School, Mailbox 152, Tropical Agricultural Centre for Research and Higher Education (CATIE), Turrialba 30501, Costa Rica
Bryan Finegan
Affiliation:
Production and Conservation in Forests Program, Tropical Agricultural Centre for Research and Higher Education (CATIE), Turrialba 30501, Costa Rica
Sergio Vilchez
Affiliation:
Biostatistics Unit, Tropical Agricultural Centre for Research and Higher Education (CATIE), Turrialba 30501, Costa Rica
Fernando Casanoves
Affiliation:
Biostatistics Unit, Tropical Agricultural Centre for Research and Higher Education (CATIE), Turrialba 30501, Costa Rica
*
1Corresponding author. Email: achain@catie.ac.cr
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Abstract:

The degree to which geographical location rather than environment affects the maintenance of high tropical forest beta diversity on altitudinal gradients is not well understood. Forest composition and its relationship to climate, soil, altitude and geographical distance were determined across an 1114-km2 landscape in south Pacific Costa Rica spanning an altitudinal gradient (0–1500 m asl). In 37 0.25-ha plots, > 200 species of dicot trees (≥ 30 cm dbh) and canopy palms (≥ 10 cm dbh) were found. Ordination analysis showed strong species composition patterns related to altitude; plot coordinates on the main axis showed negative correlations to the abundance of lowland-forest species Iriartea deltoidea (r = −0.54) and Brosimum utile (r = −0.65), and positive correlations to higher-altitude species Alchornea glandulosa (r = 0.63), Quercus sp. (r = 0.50) and Ocotea sp. 2 (r = 0.48). Mantel correlations, correlograms and variation partitioning analysis of relationships between floristic composition and spatial and environmental factors indicated that spatial location of the plots – potentially, dispersal limitation – was the single most important (R2adj = 0.149) driver of beta diversity, but that environmental heterogeneity also plays an important role. In particular, palm species turnover was strongly related to soil chemical properties. The effects of dispersal limitation on floristic assembly could determine the future distribution of plant communities as a result of climate change.

Keywords

altitudebeta diversitycanopy treescanopy palmsclimate changedispersal assemblygeographical distanceniche assemblyvariation partitioning
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 28 , Issue 5 , September 2012 , pp. 463 - 481
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012

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References

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