Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Physical Structure of Forests in the Amazon Basin: a Review

  • Published:
The Botanical Review Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Here I review what we know about the physical structure of forests in the Amazon Basin. Although the forests in the Amazon basin are among the most important ecosystems on Earth, they are little sampled, described or understood. This review is motivated by that lack of knowledge, and also attempts both to add a level of organization to what we do know and to suggest future avenues of research. I do this by first realizing that Amazon forests are fundamentally either unflooded or flooded. Within that context, (1) unflooded forests can be further defined by such characteristics as soil type, microtopological relief, and human-induced disturbance regime and (2) flooded forests can be further defined by water characteristics, degree of flooding and duration of flooding. After completing a review using these basic groupings, I suggest that our knowledge of the different kinds of forests in the Amazon basin is likely to grow substantially as we increase sampling in the future. I close with questions to help guide those future efforts, ideas on how forest communities could be defined quantitatively, and a call for more research funding of the Amazon.

Resumen

Aquí reviso lo que sabemos sobre la estructura física de los bosques en la cuenca del Amazonas. Aunque los bosques de la cuenca del Amazonas se encuentran entre los ecosistemas más importantes de la Tierra, que son poco muestreadas, descritos o conocidos. Esta opinión es motivado por la falta de conocimiento, y también intenta tanto para agregar un nivel de organización a lo que sí sabemos y sugerir futuras líneas de investigación. Hago esto por primera dando cuenta de que los bosques amazónicos son fundamentalmente ya sea o no inundado inundado. Dentro de ese contexto, (1) los bosques no inundables se pueden definir aún más por características tales como el tipo de suelo, el alivio microtopological y régimen de perturbaciones de origen humano y (2) bosques inundados se pueden definir aún más por las características del agua, el grado de inundaciones y la duración de las inundaciones . Después de completar una revisión mediante estos grupos básicos, sugiero que es probable que crezca sustancialmente a medida que aumentamos el muestreo en el futuro nuestro conocimiento de los diferentes tipos de bosques en la cuenca amazónica. Cierro con preguntas para ayudar a guiar los esfuerzos futuros, ideas sobre cómo las comunidades forestales podrían definirse cuantitativamente, y una llamada para obtener más fondos para la investigación de la Amazonía.

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

Literature Cited

  • Asner, G. P., Palace, M., Keller, M., Pereira, R. Jr., Silva, J. N. M., and J. C. Zweede. 2002. Estimating canopy structure in an Amazon forest from laser range finder and IKONOS satellite observations. Biotropica 34:483–492.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Balslev, H., J. Luteyn, B. Ollgaard & L. B. Holm-Nielsen. 1987. Composition and structure of adjacent unflooded and floodplain forest in Amazonian Ecuador. Opera Botanica 92: 37–57.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bazzaz, F. A. & S. T. A. Pickett. 1980. Physiological ecology of tropical succession: a comparative review. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 11: 287–310.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boom, B. M. 1986. A forest inventory in Amazonian Bolivia. Biotropica 18: 287–294.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Campbell, D. G., J. L. Stone & A. Rosas. 1992. A comparison of the phytosociology and dynamics of three fllodplain (varzea) forests of known ages, Rio Jurua Brazilian Amazon, Botanical journal of the Linnean Soceity 108:213–237.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Campbell, D. G., J. L. Stone & A. Rosas. 1994. Scale and patterns of community structure in Amazonian forests. Pp 179–197 in P. J. Edwards, R. M. May, & W. R. Wedd (eds) Large-scale ecology and conservation biology. Blackwell Scientific, Oxford.

    Google Scholar 

  • Choo, J. P. S.; Martinez, R. V.; Stiles, E. W. 2007. Diversity and abundance of plants with flowers and fruits from October 2001 to September 2002 in Paucarillo reserve, Northeastern Amazon, Peru Revisita Peru Biology, 14:25–31.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cintra, R., De Carvalho Ximenes, A, Gondim, A. and Kropf, M. 2005. Forest spatial heterogeneity and palm richness, abundance and community composition in Terra firme forest, Central Amazon. Revista Brasil. Bot. 28:75–84.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cochrane, M. A. and M. D. Schulze. 1999. Fire as a recurrent event in tropical forests of the eastern Amazon:effects on forest structure, biomass and species composition. Biotropica 31:2–16.

    Google Scholar 

  • Daly, D. G. & G. T. Prance. 1989. Brazillian Amazon. Pp 401–426 In: D. G. Campbell, & H. D. Hammond (eds), Floristic inventory of tropical countries. New York Botanical Garden, Bronx.

  • Dolanc, C. R., D. L. Gorchov & F. Cornejo 2003. The effects of silvicultural thinning on trees regenerating in strip clear-cuts in the Peruvian Amazon. Forest Ecology and Management 182: 103–116.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Duivenvoorden, J. F. 1995. Tree species composition and rain forest-environment relationships in the middle Caquetá area, Colombia, NW Amazonia. Vegetatio 120: 91–113.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Duivenvoorden, J. F. 1996. Patterns of tree species richness in rainforests of the middle Caquetá area, Colombia, NW Amazonia. Biotropica 28: 142–158.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Duivenvoorden, J. F. & J. M. Lips. 1995. A land-ecological study of soils, vegetation, and plant diversity in Colombian Amazonia. The Tropenbos Foundation, Wageningen, The Netherlands.

    Google Scholar 

  • Duivenvoorden, J. F., H. Balslev, J. Caveilier, C. Grandez, H. Tuomisto & R. Valencia. 2001. Evaluacion de recursos vegetales no maderables en la Amazonia noroccidental. Institute for Biodivereity and Ecosystem dynamics, Universiteit van Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dumont, J. F., S. Lamotte & F. Kahn. 1990. Wetland and upland forest ecosystems in Peruvian Amazonia: plant species diversity in the light of some geological and botanical evidence. Forest Ecology and Management 33/34: P125–P139.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ferreira, L. V. 2000. Effects of flooding duration on species richness floristic composition and forest structure in river margin habitat in Amazonian Blackwater floodplain forests: implications for future design of protected areas. Biodiversity and Conservation 9: 1–14.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ferreira, L. V. & G. T. Prance. 1998. Species richness and floristic composition in four hectares in the Jau national park in upland forests in Central Amazonia. Biodiversity and conservation 7: 1349–1364.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ferreira, L. V. & T. J. Stohlgren. 1999. Effects of river level fluctuation on plant species richness, diversity, and distribution in a floodplain forest in Central Amazonia. Oecologia 120: 582–587.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Frederickson, M. E.; Greene, M. J.; Gordon, D. M. 2005. ‘Devil’s garden’ bedeviled by ants. Nature 437:495–496.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fujisaka, S., G. Escobar & E. Veneklaas. 1998. Plant community diversity relative to human land uses in an Amazon forest colony. Biodiversity and conservation 7: 41–57.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gentry, A. H. 1988. Tree species richness of upper Amazonian forests. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. 85: 156–159.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gerwing, J. J. 2002. Degradation of forests through logging and fire in the eastern Amazon. For. Ecol. Manage. 157:131–141.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gorchov, D. L., Cornejo, F., Ascorra, C. and M. Jaramilo. 1993. The role of seed dispersal in the natural regeneration of the rain forest after strip-cutting in the Peruvian Amazon. Vegetatio 107/108:339–349.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gottdenker N. & Bodmer R. E. (1998) Reproduction and productivity of white-lipped and collared peccaries in the Peruvian Amazon. Journal of Zoology, London 245:423–430.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haugaasen, T.; Peres, C. A. 2006. Floristic, edaphic and structural characteristics of flooded and unflooded forests in the lower Rio Purus region of Central Amazonia, Brazil. Acta Amazonica, 36:14–28.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hawes, J. E., Peres, C. A., Riley, L. B. and L. L. Hess. 2012. Landscape-scale variation in structure and biomass of Amazonian seasonally flooded unflooded forests. Forest Ecology and Management 281:163–176.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holdridge, L. R. 1967. Life zone Ecology. Tropical Science Center, San Jose Costa Rica.

    Google Scholar 

  • Holling, C. S. 1992. Cross-scale morphology, geometry, and dynamics of ecosystems. Ecological Monographs 62: 447–502.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Honorio, E. N. 2006. Floristic relationships of the tree flora of Jenaro Herrera, an unusual area of the Peruvian Amazon. M.S. thesis, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.

    Google Scholar 

  • Junk, W. J. 1984. Ecology of the varzea, floodplains of Amazonian white-water rivers. Pp. 215–243 in W. T. Junk (ed.) The Amazon: limnology and landscape ecology of a mighty tropical river and its basin. Kluwer, Dordrecht.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Junk, W. J. 1989. Flood tolerance and tree distribution in central Amazonian floodplains. Pp. 47–64 in L. B. Holm-Nielsen, I. C. Nielsen, & H. Balslev (eds), Tropical forests: botanical dynamics, speciation and diversity. Academic, New York.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Junk, W. J. 1997. The Central Amazon floodplain: ecology of a pulsing system. Springer-Verlag. Berlin.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Junk, W. J.;Ohly, J. J.;Piedade, M. T. F.;Soares, M. G. M. 2000. The central Amazon floodplain: actual use and options for a sustainable management. Backhuys Publishers, Leiden.

    Google Scholar 

  • Junk, W. J., Piedade, M. T. F., Parolin, P., Wittman, F. & Schongart, J. 2010. Amazonian floodplain forests: ecophysiology, biodiversity and sustainable management. Ecological Studies, Springer-Verlag, Berlin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Junk, W. J., Piedade, M. T. F., Schongart, J., Cohn-Haft, M., Adency, J. M. and F. Wittmann. 2011. A classification of major naturally-occurring Amazonian lowland wetlands. Wetlands doi:10.1007/s13157-011-0190-7.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kahn, F. & K. Mejia. 1990. Palm communities in wetland forest ecosystems of Peruvian Amazonia. Forest Ecology and Management 33/34: 169–179.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kalliola, R. S., M. Jukka, M. Puhakka & M. Rajasilta. 1991. New site formation and colonizing vegetation in primary succession on the western Amazon floodplains. Journal of Ecology 79: 877–901.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Keller, M., A. Alencar, G. P. Asner, B. Braswell, M. Bustamante, E. Davidson, T. Feldpausch, E. Fernandes, M. Goulden, P. Kabat, B. Kruijt, F. Luizao, S. Miller, D. Markewitz, A. D. Nobre, C. A. Nobre, N. P. Filho, H. Da Rocha, P. S. Dias, C. Von Randow & G. L. Vourlitiis. 2004. Ecological research in the large-scale biosphere atmosphere experiment in Amazonia: early results. Ecological Applications 14: S3-S16.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Klinge, H., W. J. Junk & C. J. Revilla. 1990. Status and distribution of forested wetlands in tropical South America. Forest Ecology and Management 33/34: 81–101.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Korning, J. & H. Balslev. 1994. Growth and mortality of trees in Amazonian tropical rain forest in Ecuador. Journal of Vegetation Science 4: 77–86.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Korning, J., K. Thomsen & B. Ollgaard. 1990. Composition and structure of a species rich Amazonian rain forest obtained by two different sample methods. Nordic Journal of Botany 11: 103–110.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kvist, L. P. & G. Nebel. 2001. A review of Peruvian flood plain forests: ecosystems, inhabitants and resource use. Forest Ecology and Mnaagement 150: 3–26.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lamotte, S. 1990. Fluvial dynamics and succession in the lower Ucayali River basin, Peruvian Amazonia. Forest Ecology and Management 33: 141–156.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leimbeck, R. M. & H. Balslev. 2001. Species richness and abundance of epiphytic Araceae on adjacent floodplain and upland forest in Amazonia Ecuador. Biodiversity and Conservation 10: 1579–1593.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lopez, O. R. & Kursar, T. A. 1999. Flood tolerance of four tropical tree species. Tree Physiology 19:925–932.

  • Losos, E. C. & Leigh, E. C. 2004. Forest diversity and dynamism: findings from a network of largescale tropical forest plots. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Ill.

  • Luize, B. G., Silva, T. S. F., Wittmann, F., Assis, R. L. and E. M. Venticinque. 2015. Effects of the flooding gradient on tree community diversity in varzea forest of the Purus river, central amazon, Brazil. Biotropica 0:1–6.

  • Moreau, C. S. 2008. Unraveling the evolutionary history of the hyperdiverse ant genus Pheidole (hymenoptera: Formicidae). Moleular Physiology Evolution, 48:224–239.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Myster, R. W. 2001. Mechanisms of plant response to gradients and after disturbances. The Botanical Review 67: 441–452.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Myster, R. W. 2007a. Post-agricultural succession in the Neotropics. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Myster, R. W. 2007b. Interactive effects of flooding and forest gap formation on composition and abundance in the Peruvian Amazon. Folia Geobotanica 42: 1–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Myster R. W. 2009. Plant communities of western Amazonia. The Botanical Review 75:271–291.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Myster, R. W. 2010. Flooding duration and treefall interactive effects on plant community richness, structure and alpha diversity in the Peruvian Amazon. Ecotropica 16: 43–49.

    Google Scholar 

  • Myster, R. W. 2012a. Spatial and temporal heterogeneity of light and soil water along a terra firma transect in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Canadian journal of forest research 42:1–4.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Myster, R. W. 2012b. Plants replacing plants: the future of community modeling and research. The Botanical Review 78:2–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Myster, R. W. 2012c. A refined methodology for defining plant communities using data after Sugarcane, Banana and pasture cultivation in the Neotropics. The Scientific World Journal, vol. 2012, Article ID 365409, 9 pages, 2012. doi:10.1100/2012/365409 .

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Myster, R. W. 2013. The effects of flooding on forest floristics and physical structure in the Amazon: results from two permanent plots. Forest research 2:112.doi:10.4172/2168-9776.1000112.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Myster, R. W. 2014. Interactive effects of flooding and treefall gap formation on terre firme forest seed and seedling mechanisms and tolerances in the Amazon. Community ecology 15:212–221.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Myster, R. W. 2015a. Várzea forest vs. terra firme forest floristics and physical structure in the Ecuadorean Amazon. Ecotropica 20:35–44.

    Google Scholar 

  • Myster, R. W. 2015b. Flooding x tree fall gap interactive effects on black-water forest floristics and physical structure in the Peruvian Amazon. Journal of plant interactions 10:126–131.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Myster, R. W. 2015c. Comparing and contrasting flooded and unflooded forests in the Peruvian Amazon: seed rain. New Zealand Journal of Forestry Science 45:5. doi:10.1186/s40490-015-0033-2.

  • Myster, R. W. 2016. Black-water forests (igapo) vs. white-water forests (varzea) in the Amazon: Floristics and physical structure. The Biologist (Lima) 13:391–406.

  • Myster, R. W. in press. Forest structure, function and dynamics in western Amazonia. Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford University, UK.

  • Myster, R. W. and M. P. Malahy. 2008. Is there a middle-way between permanent plots and chronosequences? Canadian Journal of Forest Research 38:3133–3138

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Myster, R. W. and N. Fetcher. 2005. Ecotypic differentiation and plant growth in the Luquillo Mountains of Puerto Rico. Journal of Tropical Forest Science 170:202–211.

  • Myster, R. W. & S. T. A. Pickett. 1988. Individualistic patterns of annuals and biennials in early successional old fields. Vegetatio 78: 53–60.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Myster, R. W. & P. G. Santacruz, 2005. Una comparación de campo de insectos de suelo-morar de Amazonas: Tierra firme y bosques de tierras inundadas vs. espacios abiertos en el Parque Nacional Yasuní, Ecuador. Revista de la Pontificia Universidad Católica. 76:111–124.

    Google Scholar 

  • Myster, R. W. & D. A. Schaefer. 2003. Species and microsite effects on litter decomposition in a Puerto Rican landslide. Community Ecology 4: 157–162.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nascimento, H. E. M. & W. F. Laurance. 2002. Total aboveground biomass in central Amazonian rainforests: a landscape-scale study. Forest ecology and management 168: 311–321.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nebel, G., J. Dragstead & J. K. Vanclay. 2001. Structure and floristic composition of flood plain forests in the Peruvian Amazon II. The understorey of restinga forests. Forest ecology and Management 150: 59–77.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Normand, S., J. Vormisto, J. Svenning, C. Grandez & H. Balslev. 2006. Geographical and environmental controls of palm beta diversity in paleo-riverine terrace forests in Amazonian Peru. Plant Ecology 186: 161–176.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Notman, E. and D. L. Gorchov. 2001. Variation in post-dispersal seed predation in mature Peruvian lowland tropical forest and fallow agricultural sites. Biotropica 33:621–636.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parodi, J. L. & D. Freitas. 1990. Geographical aspects of forested wetlands in the lower Ucayali, Peruvian Amazonia. Forest Ecology and Management 33/34: 157–168.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parolin, P. 2002. Life history and environment of Cecropia Latiloba in Amazonian floodplains. Rev. Biol. Trop. 50: 531–545.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Parolin, P., J. Adis, M. F. Da-Silva, L. I. Do-Amaral, L. Schmidt & M. T. F. Piedade. 2003. Floristic composition of a floodplain forest in teh Anavilhanas archipelago, Brazilian Amazonia. Amazoniana 17: 399–411.

    Google Scholar 

  • Parolin, P., O. DeSimone, K. Haase, D. Waldhoff, S. Rottenberger, U. Kuhn, J. Kesselmeier, B. Kleiss, W. Schmidt, M. T. F. Piedade & W. J. Junk. 2004. Central Amazonian floodplain forests: tree adaptations in a pulsing system. The Botanical Review 70: 357–380.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peres, C. A. 1994. Composition, density and fruiting phenology of arborescent palms in an Amazonian terra firme forest. Biotropica 26: 285–294.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pires, J. M. & G. T. Prance. 1985. The vegetation types of the Brazilian Amazon. Pp 109–145. In: G. T. Prance, and T. E. Lovejoy, eds. Amazonia. Pergamon press, Oxford.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pitman, N. C. A., J. Terborgh, M. R. Silman, & P. Nunez. 1999. Tree species distributions in an upper Amazonian forest. Ecology 80: 2651–2661.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pitman, N. C. A., J. W. Terborgh, M. R. Silman, P. V. Nunez, D. A. Neill, C. E. Ceron, W. A. Palacios, & M. Aulestia. 2001. Dominance and distribution of tree species in upper Amazonian terra firme forests. Ecology 82: 2101–2117.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Poulsen, A. D. & H. Balslev. 1991. Abundance and cover of ground herbs in an Amazonian rain forest. Journal of Vegetation Science 2: 315–322.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Prance, G. T. 1979. Notes on the vegetation of Amazonia III. The terminology of Amazonian forest types subject to inundation. Brittonia 31: 26–38.

    Google Scholar 

  • Quesada, C. A., Phillips, O.L., Schwarz, M., Czimczik, C.I., Baker, T.R., Patiño, S,. Fyllas, N.M., Hodnett, M.G., Herrera, R., Almeida, S., Alvarez Dávila, E., Arneth, A., Arroyo, L., Chao, K.L., Dezzeo, N., Erwin, T., di Fiore, A., Higuchi, N., Honorio Coronado, E., Jimenez, E.M., Killeen, T., Lezama, A. T., Lloyd, G., López-González, G., Luizão, F. G., Malhi, Y., Monteagudo, A., Neill, D. A., Núñez Vargas, P., Paiva, R., Peacock, J., Peñuela, M. C., Peña Cruz, A., Pitman, N., Priante Filho, N., Prieto, A., Ramírez, H., Rudas, A., Salomão, R., Santos, A. J. B., Schmerler, J., Silva, N., Silveira, M., Vásquez, R., Vieira, I., Terborgh, J., and J. Lloyd. 2012. Basin-wide variations in Amazon forest structure and function are mediated by both soils and climate. Biogeosciences 9:2203–2246.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rice, A. H., F. H. Pyle, S. R. Saleska, L. Hutyra, M. Palace, M. Keller, P. B. De-Camargo, K. Portilho, D. F. Marques, & S. C. Wofsy. 2004. Carbon balance and vegetation dynamics in an oldgrowth Amazonian forest. Ecological Applications 14: S55-S77.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rondon, X. J., D. L. Gorchov and F. Cornejo. 2009. Tree species richness and composition 15 years after strip clear-cutting in the Peruvian Amazon. Plant ecology 201:23–37.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ruokolainen, K., H. Tuomisto, M. J. Macia, M. A. Higgins, and M. Yli-Halla. 2007. Are floristic and edaphic patterns in Amazonian rain forests congruent for trees, pteridophytes and Melastomataceae? Journal of Tropical Ecology 23: 13–25.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Saldarriaga, J. G., D. C. West, M. L. Tharp, & C. Uhl. 1988. Long-term chronosequence of forest succession in the upper Rio Negro of Colombia and Venezuela. Journal of Ecology 76: 938–958.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sanford, R. L. 1989. Root systems of three adjacent old growth Amazon forests and associated transition zones. Journal of Tropical Forest Science 3: 268–279.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shukla, J., C. Nobre, & P. Sellers. 1990. Amazon deforestation and climate change. Science 247 (4948):1322–1325.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Spichiger, R., P. Loizeau, C. Latour & G. Barriera. 1996. Tree species richness of a south-western Amazonian forest (Jenaro Herrera, Peru, 73o40’W/4o54’S). Candollea 51: 559–577.

    Google Scholar 

  • Svenning, J. 1999. Microhabitat specialization in a species-rich palm community in Amazonian Ecuador. Journal of Ecology 87: 55–65.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ter Steege, H., Pitman, N. C. A., Sabatier, D., Baraloto, C., Salomão, R. P., Guevara, J. E., Phillips, O. L. Castilho, C. V., Magnusson, W. E., Molino, J., Monteagudo, A., Vargas, P. N., Montero, J. C., Feldpausch, T. R., Honorio Coronado, E. N., Killeen, T. J., Mostacedo, B., Vasquez, R., Assis, R. L., Terborgh, J., Wittmann, F., Andrade, A., Laurance, W. F., Laurance, S. G. W., Marimon, B. S., Marimon, B. H., Vieira, I. C. G., Amara, I. L., Brienen, R., Castellanos, H., López, D.C., Duivenvoorden, J. F., Mogollón, H. F., de Almeida Matos, F. D., Dávila, N., García-Villacorta, R., Diaz, P. R., Costa, F., Emilio, T., Levis, C., Schietti, J., Souza, P., Alonso, A., Dallmeier, F., Montoya, A. J. D., Piedade, M. T. F., Araujo-Murakami, A., Arroyo, L., Gribel, R., Fine, P. V. A., Peres, C.A., Toledo, M., Aymard, G. A., Baker, T. R., Cerón, C., Engel, J., Henkel, T. W., Maas, P., Petronelli, P., Stropp, J., Zartman, C. E., Daly, D., Neill, D., Silveira, M., Paredes, M. R., Chave, J., de Andrade Lima Filho, D., Jørgensen, P. M., Fuentes, A., Schöngart, J., Valverde, F. C., Di Fiore, A., Jimenez, E. M., Peñuela Mora, M. C., Phillips, J.F., Rivas, G., van Andell, T. R., von Hildebrand, P., Hoffman, B., Zent, E. L., Malhi, Y., Prieto, A., Rudas, A., Ruschell, A. R., Silva, N., Vos, V., Zent, S., Oliveira, A. A., Schutz, A. C., Gonzales, T., Nascimento, M. T., Ramirez-Angulo, H., Sierra, R., Tirado, M., Medina, M. N. U., van der Heijden, G., Vela, C. I. A., Torre, E. V., Vriesendorp, C., Wang, O., Young, K. R., Baider, C., Balslev, H., Ferreira, C., Mesones, I., Torres-Lezama, A., Giraldo, L. E. U., Zagt, R., Alexiades, M. N., Hernandez, L., Huamantupa-Chuquimaco, I., Milliken, W., Cuenca, W. P., Pauletto, D., Sandova, E. V., Gamarra, L. V., Dexter, K. G., Feeley, K., Lopez-Gonzalez, G. & M. R. Silman. 2013. Hyperdominance in the Amazonian tree flora. Science 342:325–334.

    Google Scholar 

  • Terborgh, J. & E. Andresen. 1998. The composition of Amazonian forests: patterns at local and regional scales. Journal of Tropical Ecology 14: 645–664.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tuomisto, H., K. Ruokolainen, A. D. Poulsen, R. C. Moran, C. Quintana,G. Canas, & J. Cell. 2002. Distribution and diversity of pteridophytes and Melastomataceae along edaphic gradients in Yasuni National Park, Ecuadorian Amazonia. Biotropica 34: 516–533.

    Google Scholar 

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

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Uhl, C. & P. G. Murphy. 1981. Composition, structure and regeneration of a terra firme forest in the Amazon basin of Venezuela. 1981. Tropical ecology 22: 219–237.

    Google Scholar 

  • Valencia, R., H. Balslev, G. Paz & C. Mino. 1994. High tree alpha-diversity in Amazonian Ecuador. Biodiversity and Conservation 3: 21–28.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Valencia, R., Condit, R., Romoleroux, K., Foster, R.B., Munoz, G.V., Losos, E.C., Balslev, H., Svenning, J.C. & E. Magard. 2004a. Tree species diversity and distribution in a forest plot at Yasuni national park. Pp. 107–118 in Losos EC, LeighEG (eds) Forest diversity and dynamism: findings from a network of large-scale tropical forests plots. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Il.

  • Valencia, R., Condit, R., Foster, R.B., Romoleroux, K., Munoz, G.V., Svenning, J.C., Magard, E., Bass, M., Losos, E.C. & H. Balslev. 2004b. Yasuni forest dynamics plot, Ecuador. Pp 609–620 in Losos EC, Leigh EG (eds) Forest diversity and dynamism: findings from a network of large-scale tropical forests plots. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Il.

    Google Scholar 

  • Valencia, R., Foster, R.B., Villa, G., Condit, R., Svenning, J., Hernandez, C., Romoleroux, K., Losos, E., Magard, E., Balslev, H. 2004c. Tree species distributions and local habitat variation in the Amazon: large forest plot in eastern Ecuador. Journal of Ecology, 92:214–229.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Valencia, R., Condit, R., Muller-Landau, H.C., Hernandez, C. & H. Navarrette. 2009. Dissecting biomass dynamics in a large Amazonian forest plot. Journal of Tropical Ecology, 25:473–482.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vormisto, J., J. Svenning, P. Hall, & H. Balslev. 2004. Diversiy and dominance in palm (Arecaeae) communities in terra firme forests in the western Amazon basin. J. Ecology 92:577–588.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walter, H. 1973. Vegetation of the earth and the ecological systems of the geo -biosphere. Springer-Verlag. Berlin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Whittaker, R. H. 1975. Communities and ecosystems. MacMillian, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, J. B. 1991. Does vegetation science exist? Journal of Vegetation Science 2: 289–290.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wittmann, F. & W. J. Junk. 2002. Sapling communities in Amazonian white-water forests. Journal of Biogeography 30: 1533–1544.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wittmann, F., D. Anhuf, & W. J. Junk. 2002. Tree species distribution and community structure of central Amazonian varzea forests by remote-sensing techniques. Journal of Tropical Ecology 18: 805–820.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wittmann, F., W. J. Junk, & M. T. F. Piedade. 2004. The varzea forests in Amazonia: flooding and the highly dynamic geomorphology interact with natural forest succession. Forest ecology and Management 196:199–212.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Worbes, M. 1997. The forest ecosystem of the floodplains. Pp 223–265 in W. J. Junk (ed) The Central Amazon floodplains: ecology of a pulsing system, ecological studies 126. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Worbes, M., H. Klinge, J. D. Revilla, & C. Martius. 1992. On the dynamics, floristic subdividion and geographical distribution of varzea forests in Central Amazonia. Journal of Vegetation Science 3: 553–564.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank Dr. Hugo Naverette and the staff of the Yasuni Research station (Ecuador), Dr. Devon Michaels and the staff at the Sabalillo Forest Reserve (Peru), and Dr. Paul Beaver and the staff at the Area de Conservación Regional Comunal de Tamshiyacu-Tahuayo (Peru) for their help in facilitating my research in the Amazon. I also thank H. Balslev and F. Wittmann for commenting on a past draft of the manuscript. This research was assisted by three awards from the Fulbright Foundation.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Biology Department, Oklahoma State University, Oklahoma City, OK, 73107, USA

    Randall W. Myster

Authors
  1. Randall W. Myster
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Randall W. Myster.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Myster, R.W. The Physical Structure of Forests in the Amazon Basin: a Review. Bot. Rev. 82, 407–427 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12229-016-9174-x

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12229-016-9174-x

Keywords

Search

Navigation