Strong floristic distinctiveness across Neotropical successional forests

Forests that regrow naturally on abandoned fields are important for restoring biodiversity and ecosystem services, but can they also preserve the distinct regional tree floras? Using the floristic composition of 1215 early successional forests (≤20 years) in 75 human-modified landscapes across the Neotropic realm, we identified 14 distinct floristic groups, with a between-group dissimilarity of 0.97. Floristic groups were associated with location, bioregions, soil pH, temperature seasonality, and water availability. Hence, there is large continental-scale variation in the species composition of early successional forests, which is mainly associated with biogeographic and environmental factors but not with human disturbance indicators. This floristic distinctiveness is partially driven by regionally restricted species belonging to widespread genera. Early secondary forests contribute therefore to restoring and conserving the distinctiveness of bioregions across the Neotropical realm, and forest restoration initiatives should use local species to assure that these distinct floras are maintained. ; Additional co-authors: Alvaro Idárraga, André B. Junqueira, Angelica María Almeyda Zambrano, Ben H. J. de Jong, Bruno Ximenes Pinho, Bryan Finegan, Carolina Castellano-Castro, Daisy Christiane Zambiazi, Daniel Hernán García, Deborah Kennard, Diego Delgado, Eben N. Broadbent, Edgar Ortiz-Malavassi, Eduardo A. Pérez-García, Edwin Lebrija-Trejos, Erika Berenguer, Erika Marín-Spiotta, Esteban Alvarez-Davila, Everardo Valadares de Sá Sampaio, Felipe Melo, Fernando Elias, Filipe França, Florian Oberleitner, Francisco Mora, G. Bruce Williamson, Gabriel Dalla Colletta, George A. L. Cabral, Géraldine Derroire, Geraldo Wilson Fernandes, Hans vanderWal, Heitor Mancini Teixeira, Henricus F. M. Vester, Hernando García, Ima C. G. Vieira, Jaider Jiménez-Montoya, Jarcilene S. deAlmeida-Cortez, Jefferson S. Hall, Jerome Chave, Jess K. Zimmerman, Jhon Edison Nieto, Joice Ferreira, Jorge Rodríguez-Velázquez, Jorge Ruíz, Jos Barlow, José ...