Vertical stratification collapses under seasonal shifts in climate

摘要

Aim Tropical forests are vertically complex, and offer unique niche opportunities in the form of climate, habitat and resource gradients from ground to canopy. Rainforest species organize within this vertical spatial gradient and recent macroecological research suggests that the highest levels of vertical stratification occur in structurally complex and climatically stable tropical rainforests. However, although the classical view of the tropics is that of aseasonality, particularly in temperature, there is strong seasonality in rainfall. Thus, we predict considerable variation in vertical stratification in time, characterized by a seasonal restructuring of communities across vertical space.