Article ; Online: Variation of floristic diversity, community composition, endemism, and conservation status of tree species in tropical rainforests of Sri Lanka across a wide altitudinal gradient.
2024 Volume 14, Issue 1, Page(s) 2090
Abstract: Tropical rainforests in Sri Lanka are biodiversity hotspots, which are sensitive to anthropogenic disturbance and long-term climate change. We assessed the diversity, endemism and conservation status of these rainforests across a wide altitudinal range ( ... ...
| Abstract | Tropical rainforests in Sri Lanka are biodiversity hotspots, which are sensitive to anthropogenic disturbance and long-term climate change. We assessed the diversity, endemism and conservation status of these rainforests across a wide altitudinal range (100-2200 m above sea level) via a complete census of all trees having ≥ 10 cm diameter at breast height in ten one-hectare permanent sampling plots. The numbers of tree families, genera and species and community-scale tree diversity decreased with increasing altitude. Tree diversity, species richness and total basal area per ha across the altitudinal range were positively associated with long-term means of maximum temperature, annual rainfall and solar irradiance. Percentage of endangered species increased with increasing altitude and was positively associated with cumulative maximum soil water deficit, day-night temperature difference and high anthropogenic disturbance. Percentage of endemic species was greater in the lowland rainforests than in high-altitude montane forests. Nearly 85% of the species were recorded in three or less plots, which indicated substantial altitudinal differentiation in their distributions. Less than 10 individuals were recorded in 41% of the endemic species and 45% of the native species, which underlined the need for urgent conservation efforts across the whole altitudinal range. |
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| MeSH term(s) | Humans ; Rainforest ; Trees ; Sri Lanka ; Forests ; Altitude |
| Language | English |
| Publishing date | 2024-01-24 |
| Publishing country | England |
| Document type | Journal Article |
| ZDB-ID | 2615211-3 |
| ISSN | 2045-2322 ; 2045-2322 |
| ISSN (online) | 2045-2322 |
| ISSN | 2045-2322 |
| DOI | 10.1038/s41598-024-52594-3 |
| Database | MEDical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System OnLINE |
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