Tree diversity is changing across tropical Andean and Amazonian forests in response to global change.
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Journal article
Creator (person)
Fadrique, B.
Costa, F.
Cuesta, F.
Arellano, G.
Cayuela, L.
Baker, T. R.
Draper, F. C.
Esquivel-Muelbert, A.
ter Steege, H.
Bauters, M.
Aguirre-Gutiérrez, J.
Aguirre-Mendoza, Z.
Alexiades, M. N.
Alvarez-Davila, E.
Arets, E.
Ayala, E.
Aymard, C. G. A.
Baccaro, F.
Báez, S.
Baraloto, C.
Barbosa, R. I.
Barbosa Camargo, P.
Barlow, J.
Barni, P. E.
Barroso, J.
Benchimol, M.
Bennett, A. C.
Berenguer, E.
Blanc, L.
Bonal, D.
Bongers, F.
Brienen, R.
Brown, F.
BT Andrade, M.
Burban, B.
Burnham, R. J.
Camargo, J. L.
Carvalho, S. P. C.
Castilho, C.
Chave, J.
Coelho de Souza, F.
Comiskey, J.
da Costa, L.
de Lima, R. B.
de Oliveira, E. A.
de Oliveira, R. L. C.
de Oliveira Perdiz, R.
De Rutte, J.
del Aguila-Pasquel, J.
Derroire, G.
Di Fiore, A.
Disney, M.
Duque, A.
Emilio, T.
Farfan-Rios, W.
Fauset, S.
Fearnside, P. M.
Feeley, K. J.
Feldpausch, T. R.
Ferreira, J.
Ferreira, L.
Flores Llampazo, G. R.
Galbraith, D.
García-Cabrera, K.
García Criado, M.
Gloor, E.
Grandez-Rios, J. M.
Hérault, B.
Homeier, J.
Honorio Coronado, E. N.
Huamantupa-Chuquimaco, I.
Huaraca Huasco, W.
Huillca-Aedo, Y. T.
Idárraga, Á.
Jadán-Maza, O.
Kalamandeen, M.
Killeen, T. J.
Laurance, S. G. W.
Laurance, W. F.
Levesley, A.
Lopez, W.
Macía, M. J.
Magnusson, W. E.
Malhi, Y.
Manzatto, A. G.
Marimon, B. S.
Marimon Junior, B. H.
Martínez-Villa, J. A.
Medeiros, M. B.
Melgaço, K.
Melo, L.
Metzker, T.
Monteagudo, A.
Morandi, P. S.
Myers, J. A.
Nascimento, H. M.
Nascimento, R.
Neill, D.
Nieto-Ariza, B.
Palacios, W. A.
Palacios-Ramos, S.
Pallqui-Camacho, N. C.
Pardo Molina, G.
Peacock, J.
Peña, M. A.
Pennington, R. T.
Peñuela, M. C.
Peres, C. A.
Pérez, Á. J.
Pickavance, G. C.
Pinto, E.
Pipoly, J.
Pitman, N.
Prieto, A.
Ramírez-Angulo, H.
Reis, S. M.
Restrepo, Z.
Reynel, C.
Ribeiro, S.
Rivas-Torres, G.
Rojas, R.
Rudas, A.
Salinas, N.
Salomão, R. P.
Santana, F.
Schietti, J.
Schwartz, G.
Serrano, J.
Silman, M.
Silva, C.
Silva, C. A.
Silva, R. C.
Silva, R. S. A.
Silva-Espejo, J.
Silveira, M.
Simon, M. F.
Soto-Shareva, Y. C.
Souza, P. F.
Storck-Tonon, D.
Stropp, J.
Swamy, V.
Tello, J. S.
Terborgh, J.
Thomas, R.
Torres-Lezama, A.
Vale, J. D.
Valenzuela Gamarra, L.
van der Heijden, G.
van der Hout, P.
van der Meer, P. J.
Vasquez Martinez, R.
Vedovato, L.
Verbeeck, H.
Vieira, I.
Vieira, S. A.
Vilanova, E.
Vinceti, B.
Vos, V. A.
Zagt, R.
Zuidema, P. A.
Phillips, O. L.
Date published
January 23, 2026
Abstract
Climate and atmospheric changes are impacting forest function and structure worldwide, but their effects on tropical forest diversity are unclear. Nowhere is the scientific challenge greater than in the Andes and the Amazon, which together include the world’s most diverse forests. Here, using 406 permanent plots spanning four decades of intact lowland and montane forest dynamics, we test for long-term change in species richness and assess the influence of climate and other variables. We show that, at a continental scale, species richness appears stable, but this masks substantial regional variation. Species richness increased in Northern Andean and Western Amazon plots, yet declined in the Central Andes, Guyana Shield and Central-Eastern Amazon. Overall, warmer, drier and more seasonal forests lost species, while those at higher elevations, in less fragmented areas and with faster rates of tree turnover experienced increases. Region-specific drivers, particularly precipitation seasonality and demographic factors, modulated these trends. The results highlight the diverse ways in which Amazon–Andes forests are changing and underscore the critical need to preserve large-scale ecosystem integrity to maintain local tree diversity. By doing so, Northern Andean forests in particular could serve as an important refuge for species increasingly displaced by climate change.
Project(s)
Priority 4: Accelerated Taxonomy
Funder
| Funder name | Awards |
Royal Society, United Kingdom | Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowship (DHF\R1\241021) - University Research Fellowship |
European Commission, European Union | Marie Curie-IF 892383 (RESCATA) - Framework 6 |
Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico, Brazil | Postdoctoral scholarship (153601/2024-8) - Edital N° 021/2020 - PELD/CNPq/FAPEAM - 312450/2021-4 - 406941/2022-0 - Bolsa de Produtividade em Pesquisa grant (307178/2021-8) - PPBio (441260/2017-9) - (573721/2008-4) |
Frontiers Foundation, Canada | Frontiers Planet Prize |
Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Ecuador | |
Global Environment Facility, United States | Project EcoAndes (ID4750) |
Fundación Futuro, Chile | (UDLA001) |
Direktion für Entwicklung und Zusammenarbeit | Grant number 81028631 |
National Science Foundation, United States | Award number 2020424: ‘AccelNet: International Tropical Forest Science Alliance (ITFSA): a multi-network science and training initiative to accelerate understanding of the role of tropical forests in the Earth System’ - DEB 0101775 - DEB 0743457 - DEB 1836353 |
Missouri Botanical Garden, United States | |
National Geographic Society, United States | NGS 7754-04, 8047-06 |
Washington University in St. Louis, United States | I-CARES |
Comunidad de Madrid, Spain | |
Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Spain | |
Centro de Estudios de América Latina | |
Taylor and Davidson families | |
University of Miami, United States | Smathers Endowment for Tropical Trees |
Horizon 2020, European Union | Research and Innovations Programme through the CHARTER project (grant number 869471) |
H2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, European Union | Postdoctoral Fellowship project BIPOLAR (grant agreement number 101152158 |
Natural Environment Research Council, United Kingsom | TundraTime project (NE/W006448/1) - NE/B503384/1 - NE/N012542/1 – ‘BIO-RED’ - ERC Advanced Grant 291585 – ‘T-FORCES’ - NE/F005806/1 – ‘AMAZONICA’ - NE/N004655/1 – ‘TREMOR’ - NERC New Investigators Awards |
Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Amazonas, Brazil | (01.02.016301.02529/2024-87) - INCT grant (722069/2009) |
Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos, Brazil | CLIMA (01.13.0353-00) |
Rede Nacional de Ensino e Pesquisa, Brazil | CLIMA (01.13.0353-00) |
VLIRUOS, Belgium | Project COFOREC - Project COFOREC II |
Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, United States | ‘RAINFOR’ - ‘MonANPeru’ |
European Research Council, European Union | Starter Grant 758873 – ‘TreeMort’ |
Leverhulme Trust, United Kingdom | Research Fellowship |
Journal title
Nature Ecology & Evolution
Volume
10
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Place of publication
Berlin/Heidelberg, Germany
eISSN
2397-334X
Date accepted
December 1, 2025
Official URL
Rights statement
In Copyright
Additional information
IF = 14.5 (2024)