An estimate of the number of tropical tree species

J. W.Ferry Slik; Víctor Arroyo-Rodríguez; Shin Ichiro Aiba; Patricia Alvarez-Loayza; Luciana F. Alves; Peter Ashton; Patricia Balvanera; Meredith L. Bastian; Peter J. Bellingham; Eduardo Van Den Berg; Luis Bernacci; Polyanna Da Conceição Bispo; Lilian Blanc; Katrin Böhning-Gaese; Pascal Boeckx; Frans Bongers; Brad Boyle; Matt Bradford; Francis Q. Brearley; Mireille Breuer Ndoundou Hockemba; Sarayudh Bunyavejchewin; Darley Calderado Leal Matos; Miguel Castillo-Santiago; Eduardo L.M. Catharino; Shauna Lee Chai; Yukai Chen; Robert K. Colwell; Chazdon L. Robin; Connie Clark; David B. Clark; Deborah A. Clark; Heike Culmsee; Kipiro Damas; Handanakere S. Dattaraja; Gilles Dauby; Priya Davidar; Saara J. DeWalt; Jean Louis Doucet; Alvaro Duque; Giselda Durigan; Karl A.O. Eichhorn; Pedro V. Eisenlohr; Eduardo Eler; Corneille Ewango; Nina Farwig; Kenneth J. Feeley; Leandro Ferreira; Richard Field; Ary T. De Oliveira Filho; Christine Fletcher; Olle Forshed; Geraldo Franco; Gabriella Fredriksson; Thomas Gillespie; Jean François Gillet; Giriraj Amarnath; Daniel M. Griffith; James Grogan; Nimal Gunatilleke; David Harris; Rhett Harrison; Andy Hector; Jürgen Homeier; Nobuo Imai; Akira Itoh; Patrick A. Jansen; Carlos A. Joly; Bernardus H.J. De Jong; Kuswata Kartawinata; Elizabeth Kearsley; Daniel L. Kelly; David Kenfack; Michael Kessler; Kanehiro Kitayama; Robert Kooyman; Eileen Larney; Yves Laumonier; Susan Laurance; William F. Laurance; Michael J. Lawes; Ieda Leao Do Amaral; Susan G. Letche; Jeremy Lindsell; Xinghui Lu; Asyraf Mansor; Antti Marjokorpi; Emanuel H. Martin; Henrik Meilby; Felipe P.L. Melo; Daniel J. Metcalfe; Vincent P. Medjibe; Jean Paul Metzger; Jerome Millet; D. Mohandass; Juan C. Montero; Márcio De Morisson Valeriano; Badru Mugerwa; Hidetoshi Nagamasu; Reuben Nilus; Susana Ochoa-Gaona; Onrizal; Navendu Page; Pia Parolin; Marc Parren; Narayanaswamy Parthasarathy; Ekananda Paudel; Andrea Permana; Maria T.F. Piedade; Nigel C.A. Pitman; Lourens Poorter; Axel D. Poulsen; John Poulsen; Jennifer Powers; Rama C. Prasad; Jean Philippe Puyravaud; Jean Claude Razafimahaimodison; Jan Reitsma; João Roberto Dos Santos; Wilson Roberto Spironello; Hugo Romero-Saltos; Francesco Rovero; Andes Hamuraby Rozak; Kalle Ruokolainen; Ervan Rutishauser; Felipe Saiter; Philippe Saner; Braulio A. Santos; Fernanda Santos; Swapan K. Sarker; Manichanh Satdichanh; Christine B. Schmitt; Jochen Schöngart; Mark Schulze; Marcio S. Suganuma; Douglas Sheil; Eduardo Da Silva Pinheiro; Plinio Sist; Tariq Stevart; Raman Sukumar; I. Fang Sun; Terry Sunderand; H. S. Suresh; Eizi Suzuki; Marcelo Tabarelli; Jangwei Tang; Natália Targhetta; Ida Theilade; Duncan W. Thomas; Peguy Tchouto; Johanna Hurtado; Renato Valencia; Johan L.C.H. Van Valkenburg; Tran Van Do; Rodolfo Vasquez; Hans Verbeeck; Victor Adekunle; Simone A. Vieira; Campbell O. Webb; Timothy Whitfeld; Serge A. Wich; John Williams; Florian Wittmann; Hannsjoerg Wöll; Xiaobo Yang; C. Yves Adou Yao; Sandra L. Yap; Tsuyoshi Yoneda; Rakan A. Zahawi; Rahmad Zakaria; Runguo Zang; Rafael L. De Assis; Bruno Garcia Luize; Eduardo M. Venticinque

doi:10.1073/pnas.1423147112

An estimate of the number of tropical tree species

J. W.Ferry Slik^*, Víctor Arroyo-Rodríguez, Shin Ichiro Aiba, Patricia Alvarez-Loayza, Luciana F. Alves, Peter Ashton, Patricia Balvanera, Meredith L. Bastian, Peter J. Bellingham, Eduardo Van Den Berg, Luis Bernacci, Polyanna Da Conceição Bispo, Lilian Blanc, Katrin Böhning-Gaese, Pascal Boeckx, Frans Bongers, Brad Boyle, Matt Bradford, Francis Q. Brearley, Mireille Breuer Ndoundou HockembaSarayudh Bunyavejchewin, Darley Calderado Leal Matos, Miguel Castillo-Santiago, Eduardo L.M. Catharino, Shauna Lee Chai, Yukai Chen, Robert K. Colwell, Chazdon L. Robin, Connie Clark, David B. Clark, Deborah A. Clark, Heike Culmsee, Kipiro Damas, Handanakere S. Dattaraja, Gilles Dauby, Priya Davidar, Saara J. DeWalt, Jean Louis Doucet, Alvaro Duque, Giselda Durigan, Karl A.O. Eichhorn, Pedro V. Eisenlohr, Eduardo Eler, Corneille Ewango, Nina Farwig, Kenneth J. Feeley, Leandro Ferreira, Richard Field, Ary T. De Oliveira Filho, Christine Fletcher, Olle Forshed, Geraldo Franco, Gabriella Fredriksson, Thomas Gillespie, Jean François Gillet, Giriraj Amarnath, Daniel M. Griffith, James Grogan, Nimal Gunatilleke, David Harris, Rhett Harrison, Andy Hector, Jürgen Homeier, Nobuo Imai, Akira Itoh, Patrick A. Jansen, Carlos A. Joly, Bernardus H.J. De Jong, Kuswata Kartawinata, Elizabeth Kearsley, Daniel L. Kelly, David Kenfack, Michael Kessler, Kanehiro Kitayama, Robert Kooyman, Eileen Larney, Yves Laumonier, Susan Laurance, William F. Laurance, Michael J. Lawes, Ieda Leao Do Amaral, Susan G. Letche, Jeremy Lindsell, Xinghui Lu, Asyraf Mansor, Antti Marjokorpi, Emanuel H. Martin, Henrik Meilby, Felipe P.L. Melo, Daniel J. Metcalfe, Vincent P. Medjibe, Jean Paul Metzger, Jerome Millet, D. Mohandass, Juan C. Montero, Márcio De Morisson Valeriano, Badru Mugerwa, Hidetoshi Nagamasu, Reuben Nilus, Susana Ochoa-Gaona, Onrizal, Navendu Page, Pia Parolin, Marc Parren, Narayanaswamy Parthasarathy, Ekananda Paudel, Andrea Permana, Maria T.F. Piedade, Nigel C.A. Pitman, Lourens Poorter, Axel D. Poulsen, John Poulsen, Jennifer Powers, Rama C. Prasad, Jean Philippe Puyravaud, Jean Claude Razafimahaimodison, Jan Reitsma, João Roberto Dos Santos, Wilson Roberto Spironello, Hugo Romero-Saltos, Francesco Rovero, Andes Hamuraby Rozak, Kalle Ruokolainen, Ervan Rutishauser, Felipe Saiter, Philippe Saner, Braulio A. Santos, Fernanda Santos, Swapan K. Sarker, Manichanh Satdichanh, Christine B. Schmitt, Jochen Schöngart, Mark Schulze, Marcio S. Suganuma, Douglas Sheil, Eduardo Da Silva Pinheiro, Plinio Sist, Tariq Stevart, Raman Sukumar, I. Fang Sun, Terry Sunderand, H. S. Suresh, Eizi Suzuki, Marcelo Tabarelli, Jangwei Tang, Natália Targhetta, Ida Theilade, Duncan W. Thomas, Peguy Tchouto, Johanna Hurtado, Renato Valencia, Johan L.C.H. Van Valkenburg, Tran Van Do, Rodolfo Vasquez, Hans Verbeeck, Victor Adekunle, Simone A. Vieira, Campbell O. Webb, Timothy Whitfeld, Serge A. Wich, John Williams, Florian Wittmann, Hannsjoerg Wöll, Xiaobo Yang, C. Yves Adou Yao, Sandra L. Yap, Tsuyoshi Yoneda, Rakan A. Zahawi, Rahmad Zakaria, Runguo Zang, Rafael L. De Assis, Bruno Garcia Luize, Eduardo M. Venticinque

^*Corresponding author for this work

Faculty of Exact and Natural Sciences

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

300 Scopus citations

Abstract

The high species richness of tropical forests has long been recognized, yet there remains substantial uncertainty regarding the actual number of tropical tree species. Using a pantropical tree inventory database from closed canopy forests, consisting of 657,630 trees belonging to 11,371 species, we use a fitted value of Fisher's alpha and an approximate pantropical stem total to estimate the minimum number of tropical forest tree species to fall between ∼40,000 and ∼53,000, i.e., at the high end of previous estimates. Contrary to common assumption, the Indo-Pacific region was found to be as species-rich as the Neotropics, with both regions having a minimum of ∼19,000-25,000 tree species. Continental Africa is relatively depauperate with a minimum of ∼4,500-6,000 tree species. Very few species are shared among the African, American, and the Indo-Pacific regions. We provide a methodological framework for estimating species richness in trees that may help refine species richness estimates of tree-dependent taxa.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	7472-7477
Number of pages	6
Journal	Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Volume	112
Issue number	24
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1423147112
State	Published - 16 Jun 2015

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2015, National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.

Funding

Funders	Funder number
British Ecological Society	4709/5747
Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico	309458/2013-7
National Science Foundation	NSF-DEB-1053237, SF DEB-1350125, DEB-0075334, LTEB1357177, LTREB/DEB1357112, NSF DEB-0424767, NSF DEB-1147429, DEB-0515678, NSF DEB-0841885, NSF DEB-0639393
Society of Systematic Biologists
Swiss National Science Foundation
United States Agency for International Development
World Wildlife Fund
National Science Foundation
Directorate for Biological Sciences	0424767, 1357112, 0075334, 1053237, 0515678, 0639393, 1147429, 0841885, 1350125
Japan Society for the Promotion of Science	26304027

Keywords

Diversity estimation
Fisher's log series
Pantropical
Spatial richness patterns
Tropical tree species richness

Access to Document

10.1073/pnas.1423147112

Cite this

Slik, J. W. F., Arroyo-Rodríguez, V., Aiba, S. I., Alvarez-Loayza, P., Alves, L. F., Ashton, P., Balvanera, P., Bastian, M. L., Bellingham, P. J., Van Den Berg, E., Bernacci, L., Da Conceição Bispo, P., Blanc, L., Böhning-Gaese, K., Boeckx, P., Bongers, F., Boyle, B., Bradford, M., Brearley, F. Q., ... Venticinque, E. M. (2015). An estimate of the number of tropical tree species. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 112(24), 7472-7477. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1423147112

@article{b94241de3ebc45da8eacbf4575bc6ea0,

title = "An estimate of the number of tropical tree species",

abstract = "The high species richness of tropical forests has long been recognized, yet there remains substantial uncertainty regarding the actual number of tropical tree species. Using a pantropical tree inventory database from closed canopy forests, consisting of 657,630 trees belonging to 11,371 species, we use a fitted value of Fisher's alpha and an approximate pantropical stem total to estimate the minimum number of tropical forest tree species to fall between ∼40,000 and ∼53,000, i.e., at the high end of previous estimates. Contrary to common assumption, the Indo-Pacific region was found to be as species-rich as the Neotropics, with both regions having a minimum of ∼19,000-25,000 tree species. Continental Africa is relatively depauperate with a minimum of ∼4,500-6,000 tree species. Very few species are shared among the African, American, and the Indo-Pacific regions. We provide a methodological framework for estimating species richness in trees that may help refine species richness estimates of tree-dependent taxa.",

keywords = "Diversity estimation, Fisher's log series, Pantropical, Spatial richness patterns, Tropical tree species richness",

author = "Slik, {J. W.Ferry} and V{\'i}ctor Arroyo-Rodr{\'i}guez and Aiba, {Shin Ichiro} and Patricia Alvarez-Loayza and Alves, {Luciana F.} and Peter Ashton and Patricia Balvanera and Bastian, {Meredith L.} and Bellingham, {Peter J.} and {Van Den Berg}, Eduardo and Luis Bernacci and {Da Concei{\c c}{\~a}o Bispo}, Polyanna and Lilian Blanc and Katrin B{\"o}hning-Gaese and Pascal Boeckx and Frans Bongers and Brad Boyle and Matt Bradford and Brearley, {Francis Q.} and Hockemba, {Mireille Breuer Ndoundou} and Sarayudh Bunyavejchewin and Matos, {Darley Calderado Leal} and Miguel Castillo-Santiago and Catharino, {Eduardo L.M.} and Chai, {Shauna Lee} and Yukai Chen and Colwell, {Robert K.} and Robin, {Chazdon L.} and Connie Clark and Clark, {David B.} and Clark, {Deborah A.} and Heike Culmsee and Kipiro Damas and Dattaraja, {Handanakere S.} and Gilles Dauby and Priya Davidar and DeWalt, {Saara J.} and Doucet, {Jean Louis} and Alvaro Duque and Giselda Durigan and Eichhorn, {Karl A.O.} and Eisenlohr, {Pedro V.} and Eduardo Eler and Corneille Ewango and Nina Farwig and Feeley, {Kenneth J.} and Leandro Ferreira and Richard Field and {De Oliveira Filho}, {Ary T.} and Christine Fletcher and Olle Forshed and Geraldo Franco and Gabriella Fredriksson and Thomas Gillespie and Gillet, {Jean Fran{\c c}ois} and Giriraj Amarnath and Griffith, {Daniel M.} and James Grogan and Nimal Gunatilleke and David Harris and Rhett Harrison and Andy Hector and J{\"u}rgen Homeier and Nobuo Imai and Akira Itoh and Jansen, {Patrick A.} and Joly, {Carlos A.} and {De Jong}, {Bernardus H.J.} and Kuswata Kartawinata and Elizabeth Kearsley and Kelly, {Daniel L.} and David Kenfack and Michael Kessler and Kanehiro Kitayama and Robert Kooyman and Eileen Larney and Yves Laumonier and Susan Laurance and Laurance, {William F.} and Lawes, {Michael J.} and {Do Amaral}, {Ieda Leao} and Letche, {Susan G.} and Jeremy Lindsell and Xinghui Lu and Asyraf Mansor and Antti Marjokorpi and Martin, {Emanuel H.} and Henrik Meilby and Melo, {Felipe P.L.} and Metcalfe, {Daniel J.} and Medjibe, {Vincent P.} and Metzger, {Jean Paul} and Jerome Millet and D. Mohandass and Montero, {Juan C.} and {De Morisson Valeriano}, M{\'a}rcio and Badru Mugerwa and Hidetoshi Nagamasu and Reuben Nilus and Susana Ochoa-Gaona and Onrizal and Navendu Page and Pia Parolin and Marc Parren and Narayanaswamy Parthasarathy and Ekananda Paudel and Andrea Permana and Piedade, {Maria T.F.} and Pitman, {Nigel C.A.} and Lourens Poorter and Poulsen, {Axel D.} and John Poulsen and Jennifer Powers and Prasad, {Rama C.} and Puyravaud, {Jean Philippe} and Razafimahaimodison, {Jean Claude} and Jan Reitsma and {Dos Santos}, {Jo{\~a}o Roberto} and Spironello, {Wilson Roberto} and Hugo Romero-Saltos and Francesco Rovero and Rozak, {Andes Hamuraby} and Kalle Ruokolainen and Ervan Rutishauser and Felipe Saiter and Philippe Saner and Santos, {Braulio A.} and Fernanda Santos and Sarker, {Swapan K.} and Manichanh Satdichanh and Schmitt, {Christine B.} and Jochen Sch{\"o}ngart and Mark Schulze and Suganuma, {Marcio S.} and Douglas Sheil and {Da Silva Pinheiro}, Eduardo and Plinio Sist and Tariq Stevart and Raman Sukumar and Sun, {I. Fang} and Terry Sunderand and Suresh, {H. S.} and Eizi Suzuki and Marcelo Tabarelli and Jangwei Tang and Nat{\'a}lia Targhetta and Ida Theilade and Thomas, {Duncan W.} and Peguy Tchouto and Johanna Hurtado and Renato Valencia and {Van Valkenburg}, {Johan L.C.H.} and {Van Do}, Tran and Rodolfo Vasquez and Hans Verbeeck and Victor Adekunle and Vieira, {Simone A.} and Webb, {Campbell O.} and Timothy Whitfeld and Wich, {Serge A.} and John Williams and Florian Wittmann and Hannsjoerg W{\"o}ll and Xiaobo Yang and Yao, {C. Yves Adou} and Yap, {Sandra L.} and Tsuyoshi Yoneda and Zahawi, {Rakan A.} and Rahmad Zakaria and Runguo Zang and {De Assis}, {Rafael L.} and Luize, {Bruno Garcia} and Venticinque, {Eduardo M.}",

year = "2015",

month = jun,

day = "16",

doi = "10.1073/pnas.1423147112",

language = "English",

volume = "112",

pages = "7472--7477",

journal = "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America",

issn = "0027-8424",

publisher = "National Academy of Sciences",

number = "24",

}

Slik, JWF, Arroyo-Rodríguez, V, Aiba, SI, Alvarez-Loayza, P, Alves, LF, Ashton, P, Balvanera, P, Bastian, ML, Bellingham, PJ, Van Den Berg, E, Bernacci, L, Da Conceição Bispo, P, Blanc, L, Böhning-Gaese, K, Boeckx, P, Bongers, F, Boyle, B, Bradford, M, Brearley, FQ, Hockemba, MBN, Bunyavejchewin, S, Matos, DCL, Castillo-Santiago, M, Catharino, ELM, Chai, SL, Chen, Y, Colwell, RK, Robin, CL, Clark, C, Clark, DB, Clark, DA, Culmsee, H, Damas, K, Dattaraja, HS, Dauby, G, Davidar, P, DeWalt, SJ, Doucet, JL, Duque, A, Durigan, G, Eichhorn, KAO, Eisenlohr, PV, Eler, E, Ewango, C, Farwig, N, Feeley, KJ, Ferreira, L, Field, R, De Oliveira Filho, AT, Fletcher, C, Forshed, O, Franco, G, Fredriksson, G, Gillespie, T, Gillet, JF, Amarnath, G, Griffith, DM, Grogan, J, Gunatilleke, N, Harris, D, Harrison, R, Hector, A, Homeier, J, Imai, N, Itoh, A, Jansen, PA, Joly, CA, De Jong, BHJ, Kartawinata, K, Kearsley, E, Kelly, DL, Kenfack, D, Kessler, M, Kitayama, K, Kooyman, R, Larney, E, Laumonier, Y, Laurance, S, Laurance, WF, Lawes, MJ, Do Amaral, IL, Letche, SG, Lindsell, J, Lu, X, Mansor, A, Marjokorpi, A, Martin, EH, Meilby, H, Melo, FPL, Metcalfe, DJ, Medjibe, VP, Metzger, JP, Millet, J, Mohandass, D, Montero, JC, De Morisson Valeriano, M, Mugerwa, B, Nagamasu, H, Nilus, R, Ochoa-Gaona, S, Onrizal, Page, N, Parolin, P, Parren, M, Parthasarathy, N, Paudel, E, Permana, A, Piedade, MTF, Pitman, NCA, Poorter, L, Poulsen, AD, Poulsen, J, Powers, J, Prasad, RC, Puyravaud, JP, Razafimahaimodison, JC, Reitsma, J, Dos Santos, JR, Spironello, WR, Romero-Saltos, H, Rovero, F, Rozak, AH, Ruokolainen, K, Rutishauser, E, Saiter, F, Saner, P, Santos, BA, Santos, F, Sarker, SK, Satdichanh, M, Schmitt, CB, Schöngart, J, Schulze, M, Suganuma, MS, Sheil, D, Da Silva Pinheiro, E, Sist, P, Stevart, T, Sukumar, R, Sun, IF, Sunderand, T, Suresh, HS, Suzuki, E, Tabarelli, M, Tang, J, Targhetta, N, Theilade, I, Thomas, DW, Tchouto, P, Hurtado, J, Valencia, R, Van Valkenburg, JLCH, Van Do, T, Vasquez, R, Verbeeck, H, Adekunle, V, Vieira, SA, Webb, CO, Whitfeld, T, Wich, SA, Williams, J, Wittmann, F, Wöll, H, Yang, X, Yao, CYA, Yap, SL, Yoneda, T, Zahawi, RA, Zakaria, R, Zang, R, De Assis, RL, Luize, BG & Venticinque, EM 2015, 'An estimate of the number of tropical tree species', Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, vol. 112, no. 24, pp. 7472-7477. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1423147112

TY - JOUR

T1 - An estimate of the number of tropical tree species

AU - Slik, J. W.Ferry

AU - Arroyo-Rodríguez, Víctor

AU - Aiba, Shin Ichiro

AU - Alvarez-Loayza, Patricia

AU - Alves, Luciana F.

AU - Ashton, Peter

AU - Balvanera, Patricia

AU - Bastian, Meredith L.

AU - Bellingham, Peter J.

AU - Van Den Berg, Eduardo

AU - Bernacci, Luis

AU - Da Conceição Bispo, Polyanna

AU - Blanc, Lilian

AU - Böhning-Gaese, Katrin

AU - Boeckx, Pascal

AU - Bongers, Frans

AU - Boyle, Brad

AU - Bradford, Matt

AU - Brearley, Francis Q.

AU - Hockemba, Mireille Breuer Ndoundou

AU - Bunyavejchewin, Sarayudh

AU - Matos, Darley Calderado Leal

AU - Castillo-Santiago, Miguel

AU - Catharino, Eduardo L.M.

AU - Chai, Shauna Lee

AU - Chen, Yukai

AU - Colwell, Robert K.

AU - Robin, Chazdon L.

AU - Clark, Connie

AU - Clark, David B.

AU - Clark, Deborah A.

AU - Culmsee, Heike

AU - Damas, Kipiro

AU - Dattaraja, Handanakere S.

AU - Dauby, Gilles

AU - Davidar, Priya

AU - DeWalt, Saara J.

AU - Doucet, Jean Louis

AU - Duque, Alvaro

AU - Durigan, Giselda

AU - Eichhorn, Karl A.O.

AU - Eisenlohr, Pedro V.

AU - Eler, Eduardo

AU - Ewango, Corneille

AU - Farwig, Nina

AU - Feeley, Kenneth J.

AU - Ferreira, Leandro

AU - Field, Richard

AU - De Oliveira Filho, Ary T.

AU - Fletcher, Christine

AU - Forshed, Olle

AU - Franco, Geraldo

AU - Fredriksson, Gabriella

AU - Gillespie, Thomas

AU - Gillet, Jean François

AU - Amarnath, Giriraj

AU - Griffith, Daniel M.

AU - Grogan, James

AU - Gunatilleke, Nimal

AU - Harris, David

AU - Harrison, Rhett

AU - Hector, Andy

AU - Homeier, Jürgen

AU - Imai, Nobuo

AU - Itoh, Akira

AU - Jansen, Patrick A.

AU - Joly, Carlos A.

AU - De Jong, Bernardus H.J.

AU - Kartawinata, Kuswata

AU - Kearsley, Elizabeth

AU - Kelly, Daniel L.

AU - Kenfack, David

AU - Kessler, Michael

AU - Kitayama, Kanehiro

AU - Kooyman, Robert

AU - Larney, Eileen

AU - Laumonier, Yves

AU - Laurance, Susan

AU - Laurance, William F.

AU - Lawes, Michael J.

AU - Do Amaral, Ieda Leao

AU - Letche, Susan G.

AU - Lindsell, Jeremy

AU - Lu, Xinghui

AU - Mansor, Asyraf

AU - Marjokorpi, Antti

AU - Martin, Emanuel H.

AU - Meilby, Henrik

AU - Melo, Felipe P.L.

AU - Metcalfe, Daniel J.

AU - Medjibe, Vincent P.

AU - Metzger, Jean Paul

AU - Millet, Jerome

AU - Mohandass, D.

AU - Montero, Juan C.

AU - De Morisson Valeriano, Márcio

AU - Mugerwa, Badru

AU - Nagamasu, Hidetoshi

AU - Nilus, Reuben

AU - Ochoa-Gaona, Susana

AU - Onrizal,

AU - Page, Navendu

AU - Parolin, Pia

AU - Parren, Marc

AU - Parthasarathy, Narayanaswamy

AU - Paudel, Ekananda

AU - Permana, Andrea

AU - Piedade, Maria T.F.

AU - Pitman, Nigel C.A.

AU - Poorter, Lourens

AU - Poulsen, Axel D.

AU - Poulsen, John

AU - Powers, Jennifer

AU - Prasad, Rama C.

AU - Puyravaud, Jean Philippe

AU - Razafimahaimodison, Jean Claude

AU - Reitsma, Jan

AU - Dos Santos, João Roberto

AU - Spironello, Wilson Roberto

AU - Romero-Saltos, Hugo

AU - Rovero, Francesco

AU - Rozak, Andes Hamuraby

AU - Ruokolainen, Kalle

AU - Rutishauser, Ervan

AU - Saiter, Felipe

AU - Saner, Philippe

AU - Santos, Braulio A.

AU - Santos, Fernanda

AU - Sarker, Swapan K.

AU - Satdichanh, Manichanh

AU - Schmitt, Christine B.

AU - Schöngart, Jochen

AU - Schulze, Mark

AU - Suganuma, Marcio S.

AU - Sheil, Douglas

AU - Da Silva Pinheiro, Eduardo

AU - Sist, Plinio

AU - Stevart, Tariq

AU - Sukumar, Raman

AU - Sun, I. Fang

AU - Sunderand, Terry

AU - Suresh, H. S.

AU - Suzuki, Eizi

AU - Tabarelli, Marcelo

AU - Tang, Jangwei

AU - Targhetta, Natália

AU - Theilade, Ida

AU - Thomas, Duncan W.

AU - Tchouto, Peguy

AU - Hurtado, Johanna

AU - Valencia, Renato

AU - Van Valkenburg, Johan L.C.H.

AU - Van Do, Tran

AU - Vasquez, Rodolfo

AU - Verbeeck, Hans

AU - Adekunle, Victor

AU - Vieira, Simone A.

AU - Webb, Campbell O.

AU - Whitfeld, Timothy

AU - Wich, Serge A.

AU - Williams, John

AU - Wittmann, Florian

AU - Wöll, Hannsjoerg

AU - Yang, Xiaobo

AU - Yao, C. Yves Adou

AU - Yap, Sandra L.

AU - Yoneda, Tsuyoshi

AU - Zahawi, Rakan A.

AU - Zakaria, Rahmad

AU - Zang, Runguo

AU - De Assis, Rafael L.

AU - Luize, Bruno Garcia

AU - Venticinque, Eduardo M.

PY - 2015/6/16

Y1 - 2015/6/16

N2 - The high species richness of tropical forests has long been recognized, yet there remains substantial uncertainty regarding the actual number of tropical tree species. Using a pantropical tree inventory database from closed canopy forests, consisting of 657,630 trees belonging to 11,371 species, we use a fitted value of Fisher's alpha and an approximate pantropical stem total to estimate the minimum number of tropical forest tree species to fall between ∼40,000 and ∼53,000, i.e., at the high end of previous estimates. Contrary to common assumption, the Indo-Pacific region was found to be as species-rich as the Neotropics, with both regions having a minimum of ∼19,000-25,000 tree species. Continental Africa is relatively depauperate with a minimum of ∼4,500-6,000 tree species. Very few species are shared among the African, American, and the Indo-Pacific regions. We provide a methodological framework for estimating species richness in trees that may help refine species richness estimates of tree-dependent taxa.

AB - The high species richness of tropical forests has long been recognized, yet there remains substantial uncertainty regarding the actual number of tropical tree species. Using a pantropical tree inventory database from closed canopy forests, consisting of 657,630 trees belonging to 11,371 species, we use a fitted value of Fisher's alpha and an approximate pantropical stem total to estimate the minimum number of tropical forest tree species to fall between ∼40,000 and ∼53,000, i.e., at the high end of previous estimates. Contrary to common assumption, the Indo-Pacific region was found to be as species-rich as the Neotropics, with both regions having a minimum of ∼19,000-25,000 tree species. Continental Africa is relatively depauperate with a minimum of ∼4,500-6,000 tree species. Very few species are shared among the African, American, and the Indo-Pacific regions. We provide a methodological framework for estimating species richness in trees that may help refine species richness estimates of tree-dependent taxa.

KW - Diversity estimation

KW - Fisher's log series

KW - Pantropical

KW - Spatial richness patterns

KW - Tropical tree species richness

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84935873599&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1073/pnas.1423147112

DO - 10.1073/pnas.1423147112

M3 - Article

C2 - 26034279

AN - SCOPUS:84935873599

SN - 0027-8424

VL - 112

SP - 7472

EP - 7477

JO - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

JF - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

IS - 24

ER -

An estimate of the number of tropical tree species

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