Fig. 4: Functional characterisation of Amazonian forests.
From: Functional composition of the Amazonian tree flora and forests
Forest with positive score on the ‘fast-slow forest spectrum’ (yellow, beige) are forests at the “slow”, tough side of economic spectra (high CN ratio, low SLA, N and P), high wood density, low numbers of fleshy fruit, high levels of hermaphroditism, high in nectar producing individuals, occurring mainly on low to very low nutrient soils. Forests with negative score on the ‘fast-slow forest spectrum’ (blue, purple) are the opposite in terms of trait values and occur mainly on nutrient rich soils. The isolines divide Amazonia into three regions, tough-slow (PC1 > 0.65, yellow-beige), soft-fast (PC1 < -1.2 blue-purple) and intermediate (green). Colouring the plots based on their PC1 scores shows that their colour mostly matches the area colour, except if they are white sand plots (PZ) in a green area, and várzea plots (blue dots) in green and yellow areas. Note that the legend has been truncated at 2 standard deviations. Red polygon: Amazonian Biome limit167. Base map source (country.shp, rivers.shp), ESRI (http://www.esri.com/data/basemaps, © Esri, DeLorme Publishing Company).
