Plant species are shifting their ranges in response to global climate change, thus
intensifying the need to predict such changes accurately. As the environmental requirements …

Although forest and savanna biomes predominate in tropics regions, the factors that control
their distribution remain unclear. South American savannas occur in regions that are …

A popular hypothesis for tree and grass coexistence in savannas is that tree seedlings are
limited by competition from grasses. However, competition may be important in favourable …

Tropical savannas and closed forests are characterized by distinct tree communities, with
most species occurring almost exclusively in only one of the two environments. The ecology …

ABSTRACT Background The Cerrado is a fire-prone Neotropical savanna and grass seeds
are the main component of the soil seed bank. Although grass seeds are presumed to …

Different mechanisms have been proposed to explain species coexistence and
maintainance of local species diversity in tree communities. Among the proposed …

A large fraction of tree species forming persistent soil seed-banks and with dormant seeds
are expected to be found in strongly seasonal ecosystems such as Neotropical savannas …

Environmental conditions experienced by mother plants determine germination patterns.
Here, we investigated the germination ecology of Miconia albicans (Melastomataceae), a …

Climate is widely assumed to be the primary process that limits the distribution ranges of
plants. Yet, savannas have vegetation not at equilibrium with climate, instead its structure …

Seedling dynamics are crucial for understanding spatial plant distribution patterns, yet little
is known about seedling establishment in N eotropical savannas because empirical studies …