Monodominance is an ecological condition in which more than 60% of the tree canopy comprises a single species of tree.[1][2] Monodominant forests are quite common under conditions of extra-tropical climate types. Although monodominance is studied across different regions, most research focuses on the many prominent species in tropical forests. Connel and Lowman, originally called it single-dominance.[3][1] Conventional explanations of biodiversity in tropical forests in the decades prior to Connel and Lowman's work either ignored monodominance entirely or predicted that it would not exist.[4]
Connel and Lowman hypothesized two contrasting mechanisms by which dominance can be attained.[3] The first is by fast regrowth in unstable habitats with high disturbance rates. The second is through competitive exclusion in stable habitats that have low disturbance rates.[2][3] Explanations of persistent monodominace include the monodominant species being more resistant than others to seasonal flooding, or that the monodominance is simply a sere.[4] With persistent monodominance, the monodominant species successfully remains so from generation to generation.[4][2]
- ^ a b Peh, Kelvin S.-H.; Lewis, Simon L.; Lloyd, Jon (July 2011). "Mechanisms of monodominance in diverse tropical tree-dominated systems". Journal of Ecology (British Ecological Society) 99 (4): 891–898.doi:10.1111/j.1365-2745.2011.01827.x.
- ^ a b c -Prebble, Matthew; Kennedy, Jean; Southern, Wendy (2010). "Holocene lowland vegetation change and human ecology in Manus Province, Papua New Guinea". In Haberle, S.; Stevenson, J.; Prebble, M. Altered Ecologies: Fire, Climate and Human Influence on Terrestrial Landscapes. Terra Australis Series 32. ANU E Press. ISBN 9781921666803.
- ^ a b c Connel, Joseph H.; Lowman, Margaret D. (1989). "Low diversity tropical rainforests: Some possible mechanisms for their existence.". The American Naturalist 134: 88–119.
- ^ a b c Torti, Sylvia D.; Coley, Phyllis D.; Kursar, Thomas A. (February 2001). "Causes and Consequences of Monodominance in Tropical Lowland Forests". The American Naturalist 157 (2): 141–153. doi:10.1086/318629.