Environmental Heterogeneity and Plant Species Diversity: A Hypothesis
- 1 March 1977
- journal article
- letter
- Published by University of Chicago Press in The American Naturalist
- Vol. 111 (978) , 376-381
- https://doi.org/10.1086/283169
Abstract
It is suggested that local heterogeneity in soil properties and surface microenvironment, caused by the influence of physical factors within gaps in the forest canopy, may underlie part of the geographical differences in tree species diversity. The hypothesis is based on latitudinal trends in the angle and intensity of solar radiation, precipitation, temperature and the distribution of nutrients between soil and vegetation. It is argued that the temporary environmental gradients in such openings are much broader in the tropics than in the temperate regions.This publication has 4 references indexed in Scilit:
- Structure of Avian Communities in Selected Panama and Illinois HabitatsEcological Monographs, 1971
- Vegetation of the Olokemeji Forest Reserve, Nigeria: IV. The Litter and Soil with Special Reference to Their Seasonal ChangesJournal of Ecology, 1966
- Vegetation of the Olokemeji Forest Reserve, Nigeria: I. General Features of the Reserve and the Research SitesJournal of Ecology, 1962
- La foret coloniale: les forets de l'Afrique Occidentale FrancaiseThe Geographical Journal, 1938