A compositional turnover zone of biogeographical magnitude within lowland Amazonia

Abstract. Phosphorus (P) availability decreases with soil age and potentially limits the productivity of ecosystems growing on old and weathered soils. Despite growing on ancient soils, ecosystems of lowland Amazonia are highly productive and are among the most biodiverse on Earth. P eroded and weathered in the Andes is transported by the rivers and deposited in floodplains of the lowland Amazon basin creating hotspots of P fertility. We hypothesize that animals feeding on vegetation and detritus in these hotspots may redistribute P to P-depleted areas, thus contributing to dissipate the P gradient across the landscape. Using a mathematical model, we show that animal-driven spatial redistribution of P from rivers to land and from seasonally flooded to terra firme (upland) ecosystems may sustain the P cycle of Amazonian lowlands. Our results show how P imported to land by terrestrial piscivores in combination with spatial redistribution of herbivores and detritivores can significantly enhance the P content in terra firme ecosystems, thereby highlighting the importance of food webs for the biogeochemical cycling of Amazonia.

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Using remote sensing to model tree species distribution in Peruvian lowland Amazonia

Biotropica ◽

10.1111/btp.12597 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 50 (5) ◽

pp. 758-767 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Pablo Pérez Chaves ◽

Kalle Ruokolainen ◽

Hanna Tuomisto

Keyword(s):

Remote Sensing ◽

Species Distribution ◽

Tree Species ◽

Model Tree ◽

Lowland Amazonia

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Reduced-impact logging and temporal activity of understorey bats in lowland Amazonia

Biological Conservation ◽

10.1016/j.biocon.2009.04.013 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 142 (10) ◽

pp. 2131-2139 ◽

Cited By ~ 23

Author(s):

Ivan Castro-Arellano ◽

Steven J. Presley ◽

Michael R. Willig ◽

Joseph M. Wunderle ◽

Luiz N. Saldanha

Keyword(s):

Reduced Impact Logging ◽

Lowland Amazonia

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Multilocus phylogeography of the Wedge-billed Woodcreeper Glyphorynchus spirurus (Aves, Furnariidae) in lowland Amazonia: Widespread cryptic diversity and paraphyly reveal a complex diversification pattern

Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution ◽

10.1016/j.ympev.2012.09.033 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 66 (1) ◽

pp. 270-282 ◽

Cited By ~ 54

Author(s):

Alexandre M. Fernandes ◽

Javier Gonzalez ◽

Michael Wink ◽

Alexandre Aleixo

Keyword(s):

Cryptic Diversity ◽

Diversification Pattern ◽

Lowland Amazonia

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Effects of reduced impact logging on bat biodiversity in terra firme forest of lowland Amazonia

Biological Conservation ◽

10.1016/j.biocon.2007.04.025 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 138 (1-2) ◽

pp. 269-285 ◽

Cited By ~ 35

Author(s):

Ivan Castro-Arellano ◽

Steven J. Presley ◽

Luis Nelio Saldanha ◽

Michael R. Willig ◽

Joseph M. Wunderle

Keyword(s):

Terra Firme ◽

Terra Firme Forest ◽

Reduced Impact Logging ◽

Lowland Amazonia

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Holocene Flooding and Species Diversity in Southwestern Amazonia

Quaternary Research ◽

10.1016/0033-5894(84)90075-9 ◽

1984 ◽

Vol 21 (3) ◽

pp. 369-375 ◽

Cited By ~ 43

Author(s):

Kenneth E. Campbell ◽

David Frailey

Keyword(s):

Species Diversity ◽

Amazon Basin ◽

Erosion And Deposition ◽

Pleistocene Refugia ◽

Seasonal Flooding ◽

Southwestern Amazonia ◽

Geologic Data ◽

Lowland Amazonia

A thick blanket of Holocene alluvium lies over southwestern lowland Amazonia, and may possibly occur throughout much of the Amazon Basin. These deposits resulted from massive, seasonal flooding from about 11,000 to about 5000 yr B.P. that was followed by two cycles of erosion and deposition. Interpretations based on these geologic data suggest that southwestern lowland Amazonia is ecologically an “island” in a state of supersaturated disequilibrium as a result of colonization from Pleistocene refugia on its perimeter, and that habitats of highest diversity may be the most recent in origin. Conservation efforts and studies of Amazonian biogeography, soils, and paleoethnography should be reevaluated in light of the geologic data.

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