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Science 26 May 2000:
Vol. 288. no. 5470, pp. 1414 - 1418
DOI: 10.1126/science.288.5470.1414
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Reports

Spatial Patterns in the Distribution of Tropical Tree Species

Richard Condit, 1* Peter S. Ashton, 2 Patrick Baker, 3 Sarayudh Bunyavejchewin, 4 Savithri Gunatilleke, 5 Nimal Gunatilleke, 5 Stephen P. Hubbell, 6 Robin B. Foster, 7 Akira Itoh, 8 James V. LaFrankie, 9 Hua Seng Lee, 10 Elizabeth Losos, 1 N. Manokaran, 11 R. Sukumar, 12 Takuo Yamakura 8

Fully mapped tree census plots of large area, 25 to 52 hectares, have now been completed at six different sites in tropical forests, including dry deciduous to wet evergreen forest on two continents. One of the main goals of these plots has been to evaluate spatial patterns in tropical tree populations. Here the degree of aggregation in the distribution of 1768 tree species is examined based on the average density of conspecific trees in circular neighborhoods around each tree. When all individuals larger than 1 centimeter in stem diameter were included, nearly every species was more aggregated than a random distribution. Considering only larger trees (>= 10 centimeters in diameter), the pattern persisted, with most species being more aggregated than random. Rare species were more aggregated than common species. All six forests were very similar in all the particulars of these results.

1 Center for Tropical Forest Science, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Unit 0948, APO AA 34002-0948, USA.
2 Center for Tropical Forest Science, Harvard Institute for International Development and Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
3 Silviculture Laboratory, College of Forest Resources, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195-2100, USA.
4 Royal Thai Forest Department, Chatuchak, Bangkok 10900, Thailand.
5 Department of Botany, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka.
6 Center for Tropical Forest Science, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA.
7 Center for Tropical Forest Science, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, IL 60605-2496, USA.
8 Osaka City University, Osaka 558-8585, Japan.
9 Center for Tropical Forest Science, National Institute of Education, Singapore 1025.
10 Sarawak Forest Department, Kuching, Sarawak 93660, Malaysia.
11 Forest Research Institute of Malaysia, Kepong 52109, Kuala Lumpar, Malaysia.
12 Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012, India.
*   To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: ctfs{at}tivoli.si.edu

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