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The aim is to understand how phylogenetic diversity recovers during the succession of tropical forests and its implications for conservation.

March 5, 2026Biological Conservation1 citationsOpen Access

Phylogenetic Diversity Recovery in Atlantic Forest Succession

Phylogenetic diversity recovery along Atlantic Forest succession: The potential for conserving evolutionary history

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This research evaluates evolutionary history conservation in successive forest ecosystems, highlighting importance for restoration.

The aim is to understand how phylogenetic diversity recovers during the succession of tropical forests and its implications for conservation.
Evaluated phylogenetic diversity and structure in 61 second-growth and 18 old-growth forest communities across three regions of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest.
Analyzed species richness, phylogenetic metrics, and functional traits during forest succession.
Conducted beta diversity analyses to compare lineage conservation between forest types.
Second-growth forests showed increasing species richness and phylogenetic diversity with age.
Standardized phylogenetic structure metrics remained stable and similar to old-growth forests across the successional gradient.
Most functional traits displayed low phylogenetic signals, indicating a decoupling from phylogenetic recovery.
Second-growth forests lacked some rare and evolutionarily distinct lineages.
Combining both forest types conserves more lineages than either type alone, emphasizing their complementary value.

Coelho et al. (2026) studied this question.

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March 5, 2026Biological Conservation1 citationsOpen Access

Phylogenetic diversity recovery along Atlantic Forest succession: The potential for conserving evolutionary history

View Full Paper

Ask AI

Bookmark

Authors

This research evaluates evolutionary history conservation in successive forest ecosystems, highlighting importance for restoration.

The aim is to understand how phylogenetic diversity recovers during the succession of tropical forests and its implications for conservation.
Evaluated phylogenetic diversity and structure in 61 second-growth and 18 old-growth forest communities across three regions of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest.
Analyzed species richness, phylogenetic metrics, and functional traits during forest succession.
Conducted beta diversity analyses to compare lineage conservation between forest types.
Second-growth forests showed increasing species richness and phylogenetic diversity with age.
Standardized phylogenetic structure metrics remained stable and similar to old-growth forests across the successional gradient.
Most functional traits displayed low phylogenetic signals, indicating a decoupling from phylogenetic recovery.
Second-growth forests lacked some rare and evolutionarily distinct lineages.
Combining both forest types conserves more lineages than either type alone, emphasizing their complementary value.

Coelho et al. (2026) studied this question.

View Full Paper

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Bookmark