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Geographical Variation In Community Divergence: Insights From Tropical Forest Monodominance By Ectomycorrhizal Trees*, Tadashi Fukami, Mifuyu Nakajima, Claire Fortunel, Paul V. Fine, Christopher Baraloto, Sabrina E. Russo, Kabir G. Peay

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Convergence occurs in both species traits and community structure, but how convergence at the two scales influences each other remains unclear. To address this question, we focus on tropical forest monodominance, in which a single, often ectomycorrhizal (EM) tree species occasionally dominates forest stands within a landscape otherwise characterized by diverse communities of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) trees. Such monodominance is a striking potential example of community divergence resulting in alternative stable states. However, it is observed only in some tropical regions. A diverse suite of AM and EM trees locally codominate forest stands elsewhere. We develop a hypothesis to explain …