Global analysis reveals the planet’s most diverse forests and the causes of differences in forest ecosystem biodiversity (2022)
The number of tree species in local ecosystems is a key measure of biodiversity. A well-known ecological rule states that species numbers increase from the poles to the equator. But why is this trend not completely universal, and what can influence local biodiversity? The scientific journal Nature Ecology and Evolution has just published a study that, by analysing an unrivalled database, compared the species richness of forests across virtually the entire planet and shed light on the reasons responsible for differences in tree diversity in different places. Scientists from our faculty, specifically the research group of the Department of Ecology led by Dr. Robert Tropek and Dr. Štěpán Janeček, also participated in the study published in this most prestigious ecological journal.