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Stability of forest biodiversity.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Clark, JS; McLachlan, JS
Published in: Nature
June 2003

Two hypotheses to explain potentially high forest biodiversity have different implications for the number and kinds of species that can coexist and the potential loss of biodiversity in the absence of speciation. The first hypothesis involves stabilizing mechanisms, which include tradeoffs between species in terms of their capacities to disperse to sites where competition is weak, to exploit abundant resources effectively and to compete for scarce resources. Stabilization results because competitors thrive at different times and places. An alternative, 'neutral model' suggests that stabilizing mechanisms may be superfluous. This explanation emphasizes 'equalizing' mechanisms, because competitive exclusion of similar species is slow. Lack of ecologically relevant differences means that abundances experience random 'neutral drift', with slow extinction. The relative importance of these two mechanisms is unknown, because assumptions and predictions involve broad temporal and spatial scales. Here we demonstrate that predictions of neutral drift are testable using palaeodata. The results demonstrate strong stabilizing forces. By contrast with the neutral prediction of increasing variance among sites over time, we show that variances in post-Glacial tree abundances among sites stabilize rapidly, and abundances remain coherent over broad geographical scales.

Duke Scholars

Published In

Nature

DOI

EISSN

1476-4687

ISSN

0028-0836

Publication Date

June 2003

Volume

423

Issue

6940

Start / End Page

635 / 638

Related Subject Headings

  • Trees
  • Stochastic Processes
  • Species Specificity
  • Population Dynamics
  • Pollen
  • North America
  • Models, Biological
  • General Science & Technology
  • Fossils
  • Ecosystem
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
NLM
Clark, J. S., & McLachlan, J. S. (2003). Stability of forest biodiversity. Nature, 423(6940), 635–638. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature01632
Clark, James S., and Jason S. McLachlan. “Stability of forest biodiversity.Nature 423, no. 6940 (June 2003): 635–38. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature01632.
Clark JS, McLachlan JS. Stability of forest biodiversity. Nature. 2003 Jun;423(6940):635–8.
Clark, James S., and Jason S. McLachlan. “Stability of forest biodiversity.Nature, vol. 423, no. 6940, June 2003, pp. 635–38. Epmc, doi:10.1038/nature01632.
Clark JS, McLachlan JS. Stability of forest biodiversity. Nature. 2003 Jun;423(6940):635–638.
Journal cover image

Published In

Nature

DOI

EISSN

1476-4687

ISSN

0028-0836

Publication Date

June 2003

Volume

423

Issue

6940

Start / End Page

635 / 638

Related Subject Headings

  • Trees
  • Stochastic Processes
  • Species Specificity
  • Population Dynamics
  • Pollen
  • North America
  • Models, Biological
  • General Science & Technology
  • Fossils
  • Ecosystem