%0 Journal Article
%T Plant diversity and the mechanism for its maintenance in tropical forests<br>热带森林植物多样性及其维持机制
%A XIANG Hua-Jun
%A AN Shu-Qing
%A WANG Zhong-Sheng
%A ZHENG Jian-Wei
%A LENG Xin
%A ZHUO Yuan-Wu College of Life Sciences
%A Nanjing University
%A Nanjing
%A <br>项华均
%A 安树青
%A 王中生
%A 郑建伟
%A 冷欣
%A 卓元午
%J 生物多样性
%D 2004
%I Science Press
%X It is well known that plant species diversity is highest in tropical forests. With regard to the mechanisms for the maintenance of tropical plant diversity, different hypotheses have been put forward, but until now, no convincing theory has appeared. Different researchers have obtained different conclusions , from which has arisen heated debate. This review discusses four mechanisms that are frequently invoked to explain the coexistence of the great number of plant species in tropical forests, these being Niche differentiation, Predatory pressure, Life history tradeoffs, and Lottery competition. Niche differentiation is evident from the non-random spatial distributions along micro-environmental gradients and plays an important role in sustaining high biodiversity. Pests reduce the survival and growth rate of seedlings near conspecific adults, thereby freeing space for other plant species. Pest pressure remains a promising but not widely proven mechanism for plant coexistence in tropical forests. Life history tradeoffs do occur a-mong tropical forest plants, and thus allow a large number of species to coexist. Suppressed by the canopy, understory plants rarely come into competition with one another, and chance becomes an important determinant of the recruitment of understory plants.
%K plant diversity
%K tropical forest
%K niche differentiation
%K grazing pressure
%K life history tradeoffs
%K lottery competition<br>热带森林
%K 植物多样性
%K 维持机制
%K 生态位分化
%K 取食压力
%K 随机竞争
%K 生活史负相关
%U http://www.alljournals.cn/get_abstract_url.aspx?pcid=90BA3D13E7F3BC869AC96FB3DA594E3FE34FBF7B8BC0E591&jid=284A3BE2D09272C2DA95716775015427&aid=939619D35919D448&yid=D0E58B75BFD8E51C&vid=59906B3B2830C2C5&iid=0B39A22176CE99FB&sid=211C7E02AC474301&eid=B1E36BF7B9783A85&journal_id=1005-0094&journal_name=生物多样性&referenced_num=18&reference_num=222