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Drought sensitivity shapes species distribution patterns in tropical forests

05-14-2007 · EurekAlert!

Looking at a rainforest it's easy to see that there are hundreds of different tropical plant species that inhabit the forest. Although the patterns of plant distributions in tropical forests have been widely studied, the reasonings behind these patterns are not as well known. This study, published in Nature, explores these patterns.A contingent of researchers from around the world, including Panama, Germany, USA and Canada, have uncovered that tropical plant species distribution patterns are linked to the plant’s drought sensitivity.

Keywords: drought, sensitivity, shapes, species, distribution, patterns, tropical, forests, shape, specy, pattern, forest

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