Canopy functional trait variation across Earth’s tropical forests
Nature, vol. 641, pp. 129–136
Abstract
Abstract Tropical forest canopies are the biosphere’s most concentrated atmospheric interface for carbon, water and energy1,2. However, in most Earth System Models, the diverse and heterogeneous tropical forest biome is represented as a largely uniform ecosystem with either a singular or a small number of fixed canopy ecophysiological properties3. This situation arises, in part, from a lack of understanding about how and why the functional properties of tropical forest canopies vary geographically4. Here, by combining field-collected data from more than 1,800 vegetation plots and tree traits with satellite remote-sensing, terrain, climate and soil data, we predict variation across 13 morphological, structural and chemical functional traits of trees, and use this to compute and map the functional diversity of tropical forests. Our findings reveal that the tropical Americas, Africa and Asia tend to occupy different portions of the total functional trait space available across tropical forests. Tropical American forests are predicted to have 40% greater functional richness than tropical African and Asian forests. Meanwhile, African forests have the highest functional divergence—32% and 7% higher than that of tropical American and Asian forests, respectively. An uncertainty analysis highlights priority regions for further data collection, which would refine and improve these maps. Our predictions represent a ground-based and remotely enabled global analysis of how and why the functional traits of tropical forest canopies vary across space.
Authors 99
-
Jesús Aguirre‐Gutiérrez corresponding
Affiliation as printed
Environmental Change Institute, School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK. jeaggu@gmail.com
Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK. jeaggu@gmail.com
-
Affiliation as printed
School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
-
Affiliation as printed
Environmental Change Institute, School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
-
Naturalis Biodiversity Center · Utrecht University
Affiliation as printed
Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
Quantitative Biodiversity Dynamics, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
-
Affiliation as printed
Environmental Change Institute, School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
-
Universidad Juárez del Estado de Durango
Affiliation as printed
Facultad de Ciencias Forestales y Ambientales, Universidad Juárez del Estado de Durango, Durango, Mexico
-
Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia
Affiliation as printed
Coordenação de Biodiversidade, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Manaus, Brazil
-
Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
Affiliation as printed
Plant Ecology Lab, Ecology Department, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil
-
Leuphana University of Lüneburg · Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
Affiliation as printed
Institute of Ecology, Leuphana University of Lüneburg, Lüneburg, Germany
Plant Ecology Lab, Ecology Department, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil
-
Affiliation as printed
School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, UK
-
University of Stirling · Universidade de São Paulo
Affiliation as printed
Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Stirling, Stirling, UK
Department of Forest Sciences, Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture, University of São Paulo (USP/ESALQ), Piracicaba, Brazil
-
University of Oxford · University of Gothenburg
Affiliation as printed
Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
Environmental Change Institute, School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
-
Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP)
Affiliation as printed
Brazilian Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (BPBES), Campinas, Brazil
Departamento de Biologia Vegetal, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Campinas, Brazil
-
Affiliation as printed
Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Stirling, Stirling, UK
Institut de Recherche en Écologie Tropicale, Libreville, Gabon
-
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology · Forestry Research Institute of Ghana
Affiliation as printed
CSIR-Forestry Research Institute of Ghana, Kumasi, Ghana
Department of Natural Resources Management, CSIR College of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana
-
Universidade do Estado de Mato Grosso
Affiliation as printed
Universidade do Estado de Mato Grosso, Tangará da Serra, Brazil
-
Universidade do Estado de Mato Grosso
Affiliation as printed
PPG Ecology and Conservation, Universidade do Estado de Mato Grosso, Nova Xavantina, Brazil
-
Affiliation as printed
Department of Forest Sciences, Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture, University of São Paulo (USP/ESALQ), Piracicaba, Brazil
-
Universidad Nacional Abierta y a Distancia
Affiliation as printed
Escuela de Ciencias Agrícolas, Pecuarias y Ambientales - ECAPMA, Universidad Nacional Abierta y a Distancia, Bogota, Colombia
-
Affiliation as printed
Center for Global Discovery and Conservation Science, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
-
Affiliation as printed
School of Geography, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
-
Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz
Affiliation as printed
Laboratório de Ecologia Aplicada à Conservacão, Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Ilhéus, Brazil
-
Affiliation as printed
Department of Biology, Sonoma State University, Rohnert Park, CA, USA
-
University of Oxford · Lancaster University
Affiliation as printed
Environmental Change Institute, School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK
-
Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement · Université de Montpellier · Forests and Societies
Affiliation as printed
Forêts et Sociétés, Université de Montpellier, CIRAD, Montpellier, France
-
AgroParisTech · Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement · Silva · Ecologie et Ecophysiologie Forestières · Université de Lorraine
Affiliation as printed
INRAE, Université de Lorraine, AgroParisTech, UMR Silva, Nancy, France
-
Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
Affiliation as printed
Department of Ecology, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil
-
Universidade Estadual do Amapá
Affiliation as printed
Laboratório de Manejo Florestal, Universidade do Estado do Amapá, Macapá, Brazil
-
Affiliation as printed
Environmental and Rural Science, University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales, Australia
-
Universidad de Los Andes · Jardín Botánico de Bogotá José Celestino Mutis
Affiliation as printed
Jardín Botánico de Bogotá, Bogotá, Colombia
Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia
-
Universidade Federal da Bahia · Instituto de Pesquisas Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro
Affiliation as printed
Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Salvador, Brazil
Instituto de Pesquisas Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
-
Instituto de Pesquisas Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro
Affiliation as printed
Instituto de Pesquisas Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
-
Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso
Affiliation as printed
Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso, Sinop, Brazil
-
Affiliation as printed
College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Cairns, Queensland, Australia
-
Universidade do Estado de Mato Grosso
Affiliation as printed
PPG Ecology and Conservation, Universidade do Estado de Mato Grosso, Nova Xavantina, Brazil
-
Universidade Federal de Lavras
Affiliation as printed
Departamento de Engenharia Florestal, Universidade Federal de Lavras, Lavras, Brazil
-
Universidade do Estado de Mato Grosso
Affiliation as printed
Universidade do Estado de Mato Grosso, Tangará da Serra, Brazil
-
Universidade do Estado de Mato Grosso
Affiliation as printed
Universidade do Estado de Mato Grosso, Tangará da Serra, Brazil
-
Instituto de Pesquisas Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro · International Institute for Sustainability
Affiliation as printed
Instituto Internacional para Sustentabilidade, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Instituto de Pesquisas Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
-
Forschungszentrum Jülich · Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences
Affiliation as printed
Faculty of Communication and Environment, Hochschule Rhein-Waal, Kamp-Lintfort, Germany
Institute of Biogeosciences, IBG2: Plant Sciences, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Jülich, Germany
-
German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research · Leipzig University
Affiliation as printed
German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany
-
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique · Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement · Université de Montpellier · Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement · Forests and Societies · Ecologie des Forêts de Guyane
Affiliation as printed
Cirad, UMR EcoFoG (AgroParistech, CNRS, INRAE, Université des Antilles, Université de la Guyane), Campus Agronomique, Kourou, French Guiana
Forêts et Sociétés, Université de Montpellier, CIRAD, Montpellier, France
-
Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh · University of Turin · University of Edinburgh
Affiliation as printed
Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
-
Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso
Affiliation as printed
Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso, Sinop, Brazil
-
Universidade Estadual de Montes Claros
Affiliation as printed
Departamento de Biologia Geral, Universidade Estadual de Montes Claros, Montes Claros, Brazil
-
Universidade Federal do Acre · Universidade Paulista
Affiliation as printed
Universidade Federal do Acre, Rio Branco, Brazil
Universidade Paulista, Polo Rio Branco, Brazil
-
Affiliation as printed
Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil
Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
-
Affiliation as printed
Embrapa Amazônia Oriental, Belém, Brazil
-
Embrapa Recursos Genéticos e Biotecnologia
Affiliation as printed
Embrapa Recursos Genéticos e Biotecnologia, Brasília, Brazil
-
Affiliation as printed
Environmental Change Institute, School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
-
Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement · Université de Montpellier · Forests and Societies
Affiliation as printed
Forêts et Sociétés, Université de Montpellier, CIRAD, Montpellier, France
-
Affiliation as printed
Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Stirling, Stirling, UK
-
Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment · Kerala Forest Research Institute
Affiliation as printed
Forest Ecology Department, KSCSTE-Kerala Forest Research Institute, Kerala, India
-
Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment · Kerala Forest Research Institute
Affiliation as printed
Forest Ecology Department, KSCSTE-Kerala Forest Research Institute, Kerala, India
-
Affiliation as printed
Department for Accelerated Taxonomy, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, UK
-
Affiliation as printed
College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Cairns, Queensland, Australia
-
Instituto Capixaba de Pesquisa, Assistência Técnica e Extensão Rural
Affiliation as printed
Centro de Pesquisa, Desenvolvimento e Inovação Sul, Instituto Capixaba de Pesquisa, Assistência Técnica e Extensão Rural, Cachoeiro de Itapemirim, Brazil
-
Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia
Affiliation as printed
Coordenação de Biodiversidade, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Manaus, Brazil
-
Affiliation as printed
Instituto Socioambiental, São Paulo, Brazil
-
Universidade Federal de Rondônia
Affiliation as printed
Departamento de Biologia, Universidade Federal de Rondônia, Porto Velho, Brazil
-
Affiliation as printed
Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Natureza, Universidade Federal do Acre, Rio Branco, Brazil
-
Universidade do Estado de Mato Grosso
Affiliation as printed
Laboratório de Ecologia Vegetal (LABEV), Universidade do Estado de Mato Grosso, Nova Xavantina, Brazil
-
Affiliation as printed
Center for Global Discovery and Conservation Science, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
-
Embrapa Recursos Genéticos e Biotecnologia
Affiliation as printed
Embrapa Recursos Genéticos e Biotecnologia, Brasília, Brazil
-
Affiliation as printed
IBAM-Instituto Bem Ambiental, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
Myr Projetos Sustentáveis, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
-
Affiliation as printed
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, UK
-
Affiliation as printed
Botany, School of Natural Sciences, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
-
Affiliation as printed
Embrapa Amazônia Oriental, Belém, Brazil
-
Universidade do Estado de Mato Grosso
Affiliation as printed
Programa de Pós-graduação em Ecologia e Conservação, Universidade do Estado de Mato Grosso, Nova Xavantina, Brazil
-
Affiliation as printed
Plant Ecology and Evolution, Department of Ecology and Genetics, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
-
Universidad Juárez del Estado de Durango · Universidade de Santiago de Compostela
Affiliation as printed
Colegio de Ciencias y Humanidades, Universidad Juárez del Estado de Durango, Durango, Mexico
Escuela Politécnica Superior de Ingeniería, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, Campus Terra, Lugo, España
-
Affiliation as printed
Global Green Growth Institute, Rwanda Program, Kigali, Rwanda
University of Rwanda, Kigali, Rwanda
-
Universidade Federal do Vale do São Francisco
Affiliation as printed
Colegiado de Ecologia, Universidade Federal do Vale do São Francisco (UNIVASF), Senhor do Bonfim, Brazil
-
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique · Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement · Université de Montpellier · University of Oxford · Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement · UMR Botanique et Modélisation de l’Architecture des Plantes et des végétations · Institut de Recherche pour le Développement
Affiliation as printed
AMAP, Université de Montpellier, IRD, CNRS, CIRAD INRAE, Montpellier, France
Environmental Change Institute, School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
-
Instituto de Pesquisas Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro · Universidade Federal do Vale do São Francisco
Affiliation as printed
Colegiado de Ecologia, Universidade Federal do Vale do São Francisco (UNIVASF), Senhor do Bonfim, Brazil
Instituto de Pesquisas Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
-
Universidade Estadual do Amapá
Affiliation as printed
Laboratório de Manejo Florestal, Universidade do Estado do Amapá, Macapá, Brazil
-
Universidade do Estado de Mato Grosso
Affiliation as printed
Departamento de Engenharia Florestal, Universidade do Estado de Mato Grosso, Caceres, Brazil
-
Affiliation as printed
School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK
-
Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment · Kerala Forest Research Institute
Affiliation as printed
Forest Ecology Department, KSCSTE-Kerala Forest Research Institute, Kerala, India
-
Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia
Affiliation as printed
Coordenação de Dinâmica Ambiental, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Manaus, Brazil
-
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique · Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement · Université de Montpellier · Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement · UMR Botanique et Modélisation de l’Architecture des Plantes et des végétations · Institut de Recherche pour le Développement
Affiliation as printed
AMAP, Université de Montpellier, IRD, CNRS, CIRAD INRAE, Montpellier, France
-
University of Exeter · University of Oxford
Affiliation as printed
Department of Geography, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
Environmental Change Institute, School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
-
Universidad San Francisco de Quito
Affiliation as printed
Estación de Biodiversidad Tiputini, Colegio de Ciencias Biológicas y Ambientales, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Quito, Ecuador
-
Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia
Affiliation as printed
Coordenação de Biodiversidade, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Manaus, Brazil
-
Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú
Affiliation as printed
Institute for Nature Earth and Energy, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, Lima, Peru
-
Affiliation as printed
Birmingham Institute of Forest Research (BIFoR), University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
-
Universidade do Estado de Mato Grosso
Affiliation as printed
Laboratório de Ecologia Vegetal (LABEV), Universidade do Estado de Mato Grosso, Nova Xavantina, Brazil
-
Affiliation as printed
School of Informatics, Computing, and Cyber Systems, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, USA
-
Instituto de Pesquisas Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro · Universidade Federal do Vale do São Francisco
Affiliation as printed
Colegiado de Ecologia, Universidade Federal do Vale do São Francisco (UNIVASF), Senhor do Bonfim, Brazil
Instituto de Pesquisas Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
-
Affiliation as printed
Departamento de Engenharia Florestal, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília, Brazil
-
Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais
Affiliation as printed
Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Departamento de Botânica, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
-
Affiliation as printed
IBAM-Instituto Bem Ambiental, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
-
Universidade do Estado de Mato Grosso
Affiliation as printed
Programa de Pós-graduação em Ambiente e Sistemas de Produção Agrícola, Universidade do Estado de Mato Grosso, Tangará da Serra, Brazil
-
Manchester Metropolitan University
Affiliation as printed
Department of Natural Sciences, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, UK
-
Affiliation as printed
Department of Forest Botany, Dendrology and Geobiocoenology, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, Mendel University in Brno, Brno, Czech Republic
-
Centro de Estudos do Ambiente e do Mar · University of Aveiro
Affiliation as printed
CESAM-Centro de Estudos do Ambiente e do Mar, Departamento de Biologia, Pesquisador Colaborador, Universidade de Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal
-
Affiliation as printed
School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
-
Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment · Kerala Forest Research Institute
Affiliation as printed
Forest Ecology Department, KSCSTE-Kerala Forest Research Institute, Kerala, India
-
State University of Norte Fluminense
Affiliation as printed
Laboratório de Ciências Ambientais, CBB, Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense Darcy Ribeiro, Campos dos Goytacazes, Brazil
Cited by 35 stored of 36
No patents citing this paper on Lens.org (checked 2026-10-11).