each; in Costa Rica, 13 plots), 1,260 trees (dbh !5 cm) were inventoried (in Costa
Rica, 605 stems). Those trees were identified as belonging to 183 species (in Costa
Rica, 147 species) from 53 plant families (in Costa Rica, 55 families). For the whole
reserve area in Ecuador, at least 230 tree species were known; four of them were new
to Ecuador and nine of them were new to science. At both sites, Lauraceae,
Melastomataceae and Rubiaceae were the most common plant families.
The census of biodiversity is a rather full-time job. First, Ingrid Wattenberg and
then Jürgen Homeier did basic data collection (Wattenberg and Breckle 1995;
Wattenberg 1996; Homeier et al. 2008; Liede-Schumann and Breckle 2008).
Several co-workers continued with their own projects. It turned out that, as in
Costa Rica, botanical inventories in Ecuador faced great difficulties. This was
because of our ignorance of tropical flora, the frequent lack of flowers or fruits in
herbarium collections, or simply because the species have yet to be described
(Brehm et al. 2008).
Which are the limiting resources? Are these resources always the available space
for growth and species number area-wise? What about the available water in
ecosystems? In the Atacama Desert, there are about 50 species and in the Negev
Desert about 5–10, but in the tropical rainforests of Costa Rica or Ecuador, only
about 1–2 species are found if you calculate them in relation to 1 mm of the available
annual precipitation (Breckle 2006).
Nutrient availability is certainly a major factor in plant growth and competitive
ability between species (Beck et al. 2008). Jürgen Homeier was able to pursue this
question in Ecuador. Especially, the availability of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus
(P) to a great degree governs the competitiveness of trees along the elevational
gradient, as well as on ridges in contrast to valleys (Homeier et al. 2010).
The question of whether some kind of seasonality can be detected was also
tackled. Close to the equator, the weather all year long is more or less rainy and
humid, and high annual temperatures fluctuate only between day and night. As has
already been mentioned, the wood increment was periodically active annually only
for the deciduous Tabebuia, but flowering and fruiting also exhibited some annual
periods in other species (Cueva Ortiz et al. 2006).
Many groups were also working at the same sites in southern Ecuador. There,
strong ties developed between botanists, zoologists, soil scientists, forestry and
sociology from both the German and Ecuadorian sides, and many joint studies and
projects were carried out and many publications produced (Beck et al. 2008; Bendix
et al. 2006, 2013).
7 Wealth of Biodiversity
7.1 Tropics
The question of wealth – what is the price for biodiversity – is a totally anthropocentric question. Do we need to know it? What can we conclude? If biodiversity is
Vegetation, Climate and Soil: 50 Years of Global Ecology
41
Rica, 605 stems). Those trees were identified as belonging to 183 species (in Costa
Rica, 147 species) from 53 plant families (in Costa Rica, 55 families). For the whole
reserve area in Ecuador, at least 230 tree species were known; four of them were new
to Ecuador and nine of them were new to science. At both sites, Lauraceae,
Melastomataceae and Rubiaceae were the most common plant families.
The census of biodiversity is a rather full-time job. First, Ingrid Wattenberg and
then Jürgen Homeier did basic data collection (Wattenberg and Breckle 1995;
Wattenberg 1996; Homeier et al. 2008; Liede-Schumann and Breckle 2008).
Several co-workers continued with their own projects. It turned out that, as in
Costa Rica, botanical inventories in Ecuador faced great difficulties. This was
because of our ignorance of tropical flora, the frequent lack of flowers or fruits in
herbarium collections, or simply because the species have yet to be described
(Brehm et al. 2008).
Which are the limiting resources? Are these resources always the available space
for growth and species number area-wise? What about the available water in
ecosystems? In the Atacama Desert, there are about 50 species and in the Negev
Desert about 5–10, but in the tropical rainforests of Costa Rica or Ecuador, only
about 1–2 species are found if you calculate them in relation to 1 mm of the available
annual precipitation (Breckle 2006).
Nutrient availability is certainly a major factor in plant growth and competitive
ability between species (Beck et al. 2008). Jürgen Homeier was able to pursue this
question in Ecuador. Especially, the availability of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus
(P) to a great degree governs the competitiveness of trees along the elevational
gradient, as well as on ridges in contrast to valleys (Homeier et al. 2010).
The question of whether some kind of seasonality can be detected was also
tackled. Close to the equator, the weather all year long is more or less rainy and
humid, and high annual temperatures fluctuate only between day and night. As has
already been mentioned, the wood increment was periodically active annually only
for the deciduous Tabebuia, but flowering and fruiting also exhibited some annual
periods in other species (Cueva Ortiz et al. 2006).
Many groups were also working at the same sites in southern Ecuador. There,
strong ties developed between botanists, zoologists, soil scientists, forestry and
sociology from both the German and Ecuadorian sides, and many joint studies and
projects were carried out and many publications produced (Beck et al. 2008; Bendix
et al. 2006, 2013).
7 Wealth of Biodiversity
7.1 Tropics
The question of wealth – what is the price for biodiversity – is a totally anthropocentric question. Do we need to know it? What can we conclude? If biodiversity is
Vegetation, Climate and Soil: 50 Years of Global Ecology
41