ibclogo XVI International Botanical Congess


Abstract Number: 3291
Session = 4.9.2


EVERGREEN BROAD-LEAVED FORESTS OF THE NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN HEMISPHERES


Kazue Fujiwara, Yokohama National University, Japan


Natural evergreen broad-leaved (EG-BL) forests worldwide have mostly been destroyed, and local populations live from the replacing substitute vegetation. In the N warm- temperate zone, this is mainly deciduous Quercus forest, more species-rich than the EG-BL forests near their northern limit. EG-BL forests are most species-rich in Asia, especially in the humid subtropical zone. They are much less diverse in the S hemisphere, especially in cool-temperate areas, but contain many common families and genera (but with Nothofagus instead of Quercus and Castanopsis). Other ecological parallels are also evident. Based on diversity patterns, the origin of the evergreen broad-leaved forests seems to be southeastern Asia.


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