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Statistical patterns in tropical tree cover explained by the different water demand of individual trees and grasses.

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Title: Statistical patterns in tropical tree cover explained by the different water demand of individual trees and grasses.
Authors: Bertram, Jason1 jason.bertram@anu.edu.au, Dewar, Roderick C.1
Source: Ecology. Oct2013, Vol. 94 Issue 10, p2138-2144. 7p.
Subjects: Biotic communities, Ecological research, Tropical plants, Trees, Grass research, Plant-water relationships
Abstract: Tree cover varies enormously across tropical ecosystems--from arid savannas to closed rain forests--and yet a general predictive theory of tropical tree cover remains elusive. Here we use the maximum-entropy method to predict the most likely sample frequency distribution of ecosystems with different tree and grass fractional cover if balance between water supply and demand were the dominant constraint on community assembly. Assuming a hierarchy of individual plant water demand in which trees require more water than grasses, we reproduce observed trends in the means and the upper and lower limits of tropical tree and grass cover across the entire spectrum of tropical ecosystem water supply. Finer details not captured by our predictions indicate the influence of additional factors, such as disturbance. Our results challenge the view that tropical tree-grass coexistence is largely sustained by disturbances in moist environments ("unstable" coexistence) with water supply playing a dominant role only in arid conditions ("stable" coexistence). More generally, they suggest that macroecological patterns can be understood and predicted as the most likely outcome of a large number of stochastic processes being played out within a relatively small number of ecological constraints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Ecology is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Engineering Source
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DbLabel: Engineering Source
An: 91863421
AccessLevel: 6
PubType: Academic Journal
PubTypeId: academicJournal
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  Data: Statistical patterns in tropical tree cover explained by the different water demand of individual trees and grasses.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Bertram%2C+Jason%22">Bertram, Jason</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><i> jason.bertram@anu.edu.au</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Dewar%2C+Roderick+C%2E%22">Dewar, Roderick C.</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Ecology%22">Ecology</searchLink>. Oct2013, Vol. 94 Issue 10, p2138-2144. 7p.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Biotic+communities%22">Biotic communities</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Ecological+research%22">Ecological research</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Tropical+plants%22">Tropical plants</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Trees%22">Trees</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Grass+research%22">Grass research</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Plant-water+relationships%22">Plant-water relationships</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Tree cover varies enormously across tropical ecosystems--from arid savannas to closed rain forests--and yet a general predictive theory of tropical tree cover remains elusive. Here we use the maximum-entropy method to predict the most likely sample frequency distribution of ecosystems with different tree and grass fractional cover if balance between water supply and demand were the dominant constraint on community assembly. Assuming a hierarchy of individual plant water demand in which trees require more water than grasses, we reproduce observed trends in the means and the upper and lower limits of tropical tree and grass cover across the entire spectrum of tropical ecosystem water supply. Finer details not captured by our predictions indicate the influence of additional factors, such as disturbance. Our results challenge the view that tropical tree-grass coexistence is largely sustained by disturbances in moist environments ("unstable" coexistence) with water supply playing a dominant role only in arid conditions ("stable" coexistence). More generally, they suggest that macroecological patterns can be understood and predicted as the most likely outcome of a large number of stochastic processes being played out within a relatively small number of ecological constraints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of Ecology is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1890/13-0379.1
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      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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        PageCount: 7
        StartPage: 2138
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Biotic communities
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Ecological research
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Tropical plants
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Trees
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Grass research
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Plant-water relationships
        Type: general
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      – TitleFull: Statistical patterns in tropical tree cover explained by the different water demand of individual trees and grasses.
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              Text: Oct2013
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              Y: 2013
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