Size structure of a dominant Neotropical forest tree species, Dicymbe altsonii, in Guyana and some factors reducing seedling leaf area

There has recently been a renewal of interest in the phenomenon of tree species dominance in tropical forests (Condit et al. 1992, Connell & Lowman 1989), following the observations of Richards more than 40 years ago that tropical tree often show marked patterns of species dominance (Richards 1952). Thus, whilst a large tree species pool is present in tropical forests there may be factors operating, such as the ectomycorrhizal associations suggested by Connell & Lowman (1989), which facilitate a marked dominance by one or more species, resulting in a reduction of ecological diversity. The quantification of such dominance and the investigation of the factors contributing to dominance are therefore primary goals of tropical forest ecology.