Asset Details
Do you wish to reserve the book?
Discovering floristic and geoecological gradients across Amazonia
Hey, we have placed the reservation for you!
By the way, why not check out events that you can attend while you pick your title.
Oops! Something went wrong.
Looks like we were not able to place the reservation. Kindly try again later.
Are you sure you want to remove the book from the shelf?
Discovering floristic and geoecological gradients across Amazonia
Do you wish to request the book?
Discovering floristic and geoecological gradients across Amazonia
Please be aware that the book you have requested cannot be checked out. If you would like to checkout this book, you can reserve another copy
We have requested the book for you!
Your request is successful and it will be processed during the Library working hours. Please check the status of your request in My Requests.
Oops! Something went wrong.
Looks like we were not able to place your request. Kindly try again later.
Journal Article
Discovering floristic and geoecological gradients across Amazonia
2019
Overview
Aim To map and interpret floristic and geoecological patterns across the Amazon basin by combining extensive field data with basin‐wide Landsat imagery and climatic data. Location Amazonia. Taxon Ground truth data on ferns and lycophytes; remote sensing results reflect forest canopy properties. Methods We used field plot data to assess main ecological gradients across Amazonia and to relate floristic ordination axes to soil base cation concentration, Climatologies at High Resolution for the Earth's Land Surface Areas (CHELSA) climatic variables and reflectance values from a basin‐wide Landsat image composite with generalized linear models. Ordination axes were then predicted across all Amazonia using Landsat and CHELSA, and a regional subdivision was obtained using k‐medoid classification. Results The primary floristic gradient was strongly related to base cation concentration in the soil, and the secondary gradient to climatic variables. The Landsat image composite revealed a tapestry of broad‐scale variation in canopy reflectance characteristics across Amazonia. Ordination axis scores predicted using Landsat and CHELSA variables produced spatial patterns consistent with existing knowledge on soils, geology and vegetation, but also suggested new floristic patterns. The clearest dichotomy was between central Amazonia and the peripheral areas, and the available data supported a classification into at least eight subregions. Main conclusions Landsat data are capable of predicting soil‐related species compositional patterns of understorey ferns and lycophytes across the Amazon basin with surprisingly high accuracy. Although the exact floristic relationships may differ among plant groups, the observed ecological gradients must be relevant for other plants as well, since surface reflectance recorded by satellites is mostly influenced by the tree canopy. This opens exciting prospects for species distribution modelling, conservation planning, and biogeographical and ecological studies on Amazonian biota. Our maps provide a preliminary geoecological subdivision of Amazonia that can now be tested and refined using field data of other plant groups and from hitherto unsampled areas.
