Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Local and regional dominance of woody plants along an elevational gradient in a tropical montane forest of northwestern Bolivia

  • Published:
Plant Ecology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the dominance patterns of woody plants in a tropical montane forest of northwestern Bolivia and to understand underlying processes at the local and regional scales. We inventoried three elevation ranges: lower (1,200–1,500 m), intermediate (2,000–2,300 m), and upper montane forests (2,800–3,100 m). At each elevation, we inventoried two sites that were ~100 km apart. Specifically, we asked the following questions: (1) are dominant taxa distributed locally, or are they also dominant at larger scales? And (2) is the local importance of shared taxa congruent among sites at the same elevation range? We inventoried 18,876 woody plant individuals with a diameter at breast height ≥2.5 cm belonging to 877 species, 286 genera, and 100 families in 54 0.1-ha plots. A strong floristic congruence was found at the family and genus levels within and across elevations, but not at the species level. The pattern of species dominance for the whole study regions was similar to that reported for similar scales in the Amazonia (10–15 % of species accounted for 50–75 % of individuals), although dominant species were not oligarchic across the whole elevational gradient due to the high environmental heterogeneity. Dominant taxa were shared to a larger degree between sites at the same elevational range than non-dominant taxa, indicating that oligarchy does not mean uniformity. Finally, the shared taxa exhibited similar importance between sites at the lower elevation range but dissimilar importance at the higher elevation range, reflecting an increase in the relative importance of local processes versus regional processes with increasing elevation.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Araújo-Murakami A, Bascopé F, Cardona-Peña V et al (2005a) Composición florística y estructura del bosque amazónico preandino en el sector del Arroyo Negro, Parque Nacional Madidi, Bolivia. Ecología en Bolivia 40:281–303

    Google Scholar 

  • Araújo-Murakami A, Cardona-Peña V, la Quintana DD et al (2005b) Estructura y diversidad de plantas leñosas en un bosque amazónico preandino en el sector del Río Quendeque, Parque Nacional Madidi, Bolivia. Ecología en Bolivia 40:304–324

    Google Scholar 

  • Araújo-Murakami A, Jørgensen PM, Maldonado C, Paniagua-Zambrana N (2005c) Composición florística y estructura del bosque de ceja de monte en Yungas, sector de Tambo Quemado- Pelechuco, Bolivia. Ecología en Bolivia 40:325–338

    Google Scholar 

  • Bascopé SF, Jørgensen PM (2005) Caracterización de un bosque montano húmedo: Yungas, La Paz. Ecología en Bolivia 40:365–379

    Google Scholar 

  • Beck SG, Killeen TJ, García E (1993) Vegetación de Bolivia. In: Killeen TJ, E. G, Beck SG (eds) Guía árboles Boliv. Herbario Nacional de Bolivia and Missouri Botanical Garden, La Paz, pp 6–24

  • Bridgewater S, Ratter JA, Ribeiro JF (2004) Biogeographic patterns, beta-diversity and dominance in the cerrado biome of Brazil. Biodivers Conserv 13:2295–2318

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bruijnzeel LA, Scatena FN, Hamilton LS (2010) Tropical montane cloud forests: science for conservation and management. Cambridge University Press, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Cabrera-Condarco WH (2005) Diversidad florística de un bosque montano en los Andes tropicales del noroeste de Bolivia. Ecología en Bolivia 40:380–395

    Google Scholar 

  • Curtis JT, McIntosh RP (1951) An upland forest continuum in the prairie-forest border region of Wisconsin. Ecology 32:476–496

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Doumenge C, Gilmour D, Perez M, Blockhus J (1995) Tropical montane cloud forests. Conservation status and management issues. In: Hamilton L, Juvik J, Scatena F (eds) Tropical montane cloud forest. Springer, New York, pp 24–37

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Eilu G, Hafashimana DLN, Kasenene JM et al (2004) Tree species distribution in forests of the Albertine Rift, western Uganda. Afr J Ecol 42:100–110

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Feeley KJ, Silman MR, Bush MB et al (2011) Upslope migration of Andean trees. J Biogeogr 38:783–791

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fjeldsa J, Lovett JC (1997) Geographical patterns of old and young species in African forest biota: the significance of specific montane areas as evolutionary centres. Biodivers Conserv 6:325–346

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Foster P (2001) The potential negative impacts of global climate change on tropical montane cloud forests. Earth-Sci Rev 55:73–106

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fuentes A (2005) Una introducción a la vegetación de la región de Madidi. Ecol en Boliv 40:1–31

    Google Scholar 

  • Gaston KJ (2010) Valuing common species. Science 327:154–155

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gaston KJ (2012) The importance of being rare. Nature 487:46–47

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gentry AH (1995) Patterns of diversity and floristic composition in neotropical montane forests. In: Churchill SP, Balslev H, Forero E, Luteyn JL (eds) Biodiversity and conservation of neotropical montane forests. The New York Botanical Garden, New York, pp 103–126

    Google Scholar 

  • Gerold G (2008) Soil, climate and vegetation of tropical montane forests—a case study from the Yungas, Bolivia. Biodivers Ecol Ser 2:137–162

    Google Scholar 

  • Graham CH, Fine PVA (2008) Phylogenetic beta diversity: linking ecological and evolutionary processes across space in time. Ecol Lett 11:1265–1277

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Graves GR (1988) Linearity of geographic range and its possible effect on the population structure of Andean birds. Auk 105:47–52

    Google Scholar 

  • Guevara Andino JE (2006) Variación florística en 23 parcelas de 1 hectárea en bosques de tierra firme de la Amazonía norte ecuatoriana y asociaciones edáficas en las familias Chrysobalanaceae, Lecythidaceae y el género Inga. Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador

  • Honorio Coronado EN, Baker TR, Phillips OL et al (2009) Multi-scale comparisons of tree composition in Amazonian terra firme forests. Biogeosciences 6:2719–2731

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hubbell SP, Foster RB (1986) Commonness and rarity in a neotropical forest: implications for tropical tree conservation. In: Soulé ME (ed) Conservation biology—the science of scarcity and diversity. Sinauer Associates Inc., Sunderland, pp 205–231

    Google Scholar 

  • Jabot F, Chave J (2011) Analyzing tropical forest tree species abundance distributions using a nonneutral model and through approximate Bayesian inference. Am Nat 178:E37–E47

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jetz W, Rahbek C, Colwell RK (2004) The coincidence of rarity and richness and the potential signature of history in centres of endemism. Ecol Lett 7:1180–1191

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jones MM, Szyska B, Kessler M (2011) Microhabitat partitioning promotes plant diversity in a tropical montane forest. Glob Ecol Biogeogr 20:558–569

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Keppel G, Tuiwawa MV, Naikatini A, Rounds IA (2011) Microhabitat specialization of tropical rain-forest canopy trees in the Sovi Basin, Viti Levu, Fiji Islands. J Trop Ecol 27:491–501

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kessler M, Bach K (1999) Using indicator families for vegetation classification in species-rich neotropical forest. Phytocoenologia 29:485–502

    Google Scholar 

  • Kozak KH, Wiens JJ (2006) Does niche conservatism promote speciation? A case study in North American salamanders. Evolution 60:2604–2621

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kristiansen T, Svenning J-C, Grández C et al (2009) Commonness of Amazonian palm (Arecaceae) species: cross-scale links and potential determinants. Acta Oecologica 35:554–562

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kristiansen T, Svenning J-C, Pedersen D et al (2011) Local and regional palm (Arecaceae) species richness patterns and their cross-scale determinants in the western Amazon. J Ecol 99:1001–1015

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • La Torre-Cuadros MDLA, Herrando-Pérez S, Young KR (2007) Diversity and structural patterns for tropical montane and premontane forests of central Peru, with an assessment of the use of higher-taxon surrogacy. Biodivers Conserv 16:2965–2988

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Larsen TH, Brehm G, Navarrete H et al (2012) Range shifts and extinctions driven by climate change in the tropical Andes: synthesis and directions. In: Herzog SK, Martinez R, Jørgensen PM, Tiessen H (eds) Climatic change and biodiversity in the tropical Andes. MacArthur Foundation, IAI, Scope, Chicago, pp 47–67

    Google Scholar 

  • Laurance WF, Carolina Useche D, Shoo LP et al (2011) Global warming, elevational ranges and the vulnerability of tropical biota. Biol Conserv 144:548–557

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ledo A, Condés S, Alberdi I (2012) Forest biodiversity assessment in Peruvian Andean montane cloud forest. J Mt Sci 9:372–384

    Google Scholar 

  • Loza I, Moraes M, Jørgensen PM (2010) Variación de la diversidad y composición florística en relación a la elevación en un bosque montano boliviano (PNANMI Madidi). Ecología en Bolivia 45:87–100

  • Macía MJ (2008) Woody plants diversity, floristic composition and land use history in the Amazonian rain forests of Madidi National Park, Bolivia. Biodivers Conserv 17:2671–2690

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Macía MJ (2011) Spatial distribution and floristic composition of trees and lianas in different forest types of an Amazonian rainforest. Plant Ecol 212:1159–1177

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Macía MJ, Fuertes J (2008) Composicion floristica y estructura de los arboles en un bosque tropical montano de la Cordillera Mosetenes, Bolivia. Rev Boliv Ecol y Conserv Ambient 23:1–14

    Google Scholar 

  • Macía MJ, Svenning J-C (2005) Oligarchic dominance in western Amazonian plant communities. J Trop Ecol 21:613–626

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martin PH, Fahey TJ, Sherman RE (2011) Vegetation zonation in a neotropical montane forest: environment, disturbance and ecotones. Biotropica 43:533–543

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mori SA, Boom BM, De Carvalho AM, Dos Santos TS (1983) Ecological importance of Myrtaceae in an eastern Brazilian wet forest. Biotropica 15:68–70

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Navarro G, Ferreira W, Antezana C et al (2004) Bio-corredor Amboró Madidi, zonificación ecológica. Editorial FAN, Santa Cruz

    Google Scholar 

  • Norden N, Chazdon RL, Chao A et al (2009) Resilience of tropical rain forests: tree community reassembly in secondary forests. Ecol Lett 12:385–394

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Paoli GD, Curran LM, Zak DR (2006) Soil nutrients and beta diversity in the Bornean Dipterocarpaceae: evidence for niche partitioning by tropical rain forest trees. J Ecol 94:157–170

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Parra-Olea G, Windfield JC, Velo-Antón G, Zamudio KR (2012) Isolation in habitat refugia promotes rapid diversification in a montane tropical salamander. J Biogeogr 39:353–370

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pitman NCA, Terborgh JW, Silman MR, Núñez P (1999) Tree species distributions in an upper Amazonian forest. Ecology 80:2651–2661

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pitman NCA, Terborgh JW, Silman MR et al (2001) Dominance and distribution of tree species in upper Amazonian terra firme forests. Ecology 82:2101–2117

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pitman NCA, Silman MR, Terborgh JW (2013) Oligarchies in Amazonian tree communities: a ten-year review. Ecography 36:114–123

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pounds JA, Fogden MPL, Campbell JH (1999) Biological response to climate change on a tropical mountain. Nature 398:611–615

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • R Development Core Team R, R Core Team (2012) R: a language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna

  • Réjou-Méchain M, Pélissier R, Gourlet-Fleury S et al (2008) Regional variation in tropical forest tree species composition in the Central African Republic: an assessment based on inventories by forest companies. J Trop Ecol 24:663–674

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ribera M (1992) Regiones ecológicas. In: Marconi M (ed) Conservación de la diversidad biológica en Bolivia. Centro de datos para la conservación, La Paz, pp 9–71

    Google Scholar 

  • Ruokolainen K, Vormisto J (2000) The most widespread Amazonian palms tend to be tall and habitat generalists. Basic Appl Ecol 1:97–108

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Silman MR, Araujo-Murakami A, H.Urrego D, et al. (2005) Estructura de las comunidades de árboles en el límite sur de la Amazonía occidental: Manu y Madidi. Ecología en Bolivia 40:443–452

  • Smith DN, Killeen TJ (1995) A comparison of the structure and composition of montane and lowland tropical forest in the Serranía Pilón Lajas, Beni, Bolivia. In: Dallmeier F, Comiskey JA (eds) Forest biodiversity in North, Central and South America, and the Caribbean: research and monitoring. Taylor & Francis, London, pp 681–700

    Google Scholar 

  • Thiers B (2012) Index Herbariorum: a global directory of public herbaria and associated staff. New York Botanical Garden Virtual Herbarium. http://sweetgum.nybg.org/ih/

  • Toledo M, Poorter L, Peña-Claros M et al (2011) Patterns and determinants of floristic variation across lowland forests of Bolivia. Biotropica 43:405–413

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Toledo M, Peña-Claros M, Bongers F et al (2012) Distribution patterns of tropical woody species in response to climatic and edaphic gradients. J Ecol 100:253–263

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tuomisto H, Ruokolainen K, Aguilar M, Sarmiento A (2003a) Floristic patterns along a 43-km long transect in an Amazonian rain forest. J Ecol 91:743–756

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tuomisto H, Ruokolainen K, Yli-Halla M (2003b) Dispersal, environment, and floristic variation of western Amazonian forests. Science 299:241–244

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Vázquez L-B, Gaston KJ (2004) Rarity, commonness, and patterns of species richness: the mammals of Mexico. Glob Ecol Biogeogr 13:535–542

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vitousek PPM (1998) The structure and functioning of montane tropical forests: control by climate, soils, and disturbance. Ecology 79:1–2

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vormisto J, Svenning J-CC, Hall P, Balslev H (2004) Diversity and dominance in palm (Arecaceae) communities in terra firme forests in the western Amazon basin. J Ecol 92:577–588

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Warren RJ, Skelly DK, Schmitz OJ, Bradford M (2011) Universal ecological patterns in college basketball communities. PLoS ONE 6:e17342

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Webster GL (1995) The panorama of Neotropical cloud forests. In: Churchill SP, Balslev H, Forero E, Luteyn JL (eds) Biodiversity and conservation of neotropical montane forests. The New York Botanical Garden, New York, pp 53–77

    Google Scholar 

  • Wiens JJ (2004) Speciation and ecology revisited: phylogenetic niche conservatism and the origin of species. Evolution 58:193–197

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Williams JN, Viers JH, Schwartz MW (2010) Tropical dry forest trees and the relationship between local abundance and geographic range. J Biogeogr 37:951–959

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Young KR (1995) Biogeographical paradigms useful for the study of tropical montane forests and their biota. In: Churchill SP, Balslev H, Forero E, Luteyn JL (eds) Biodiversity and conservation of neotropical montane forests. The New York Botanical Garden, New York, pp 79–87

    Google Scholar 

  • Young KR (2012) Introduction to Andean geographies. In: Herzog SK, Martinez R, Jørgensen PM, Tiessen H (eds) Climatic change and biodiversity in the tropical Andes. MacArthur Foundation, IAI, Scope, Chicago, pp 128–140

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We are grateful to P. Solíz for his collaboration during data collection and herbarium processing. We acknowledge the communities of Pelechuco, Sorata, Lambramani, and Quilapituni for allowing us to work on their lands and the Ministerio de Medio Ambiente y Agua of Bolivia for providing the necessary permits for the fieldwork. The authors would like to thank S. G. Beck, M. Moraes, and the staff of the Herbario Nacional de Bolivia as well as P. M. Jørgensen, A. F. Fuentes, L. E. Cayola, and the staff of the Madidi Project for their cooperation in facilitating this research. Three anonymous reviewers provided very useful comments to the manuscript, for which we are grateful. This work was made possible by economic support from the Centro de Estudios de América Latina (Banco Santander and Universidad Autónoma de Madrid).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Biología, Área de Botánica, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, C/Darwin 2, 28049, Madrid, Spain

    Gabriel Arellano & Manuel J. Macía

Authors
  1. Gabriel Arellano
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Manuel J. Macía
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Gabriel Arellano.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Arellano, G., Macía, M.J. Local and regional dominance of woody plants along an elevational gradient in a tropical montane forest of northwestern Bolivia. Plant Ecol 215, 39–54 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-013-0277-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-013-0277-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation