Latitudinal patterns in stabilizing density dependence of forest communities

Lisa Hülsmann, Ryan A. Chisholm, Liza Comita, Marco D. Visser, Melina de Souza Leite, Salomón Aguilar, Kristina J. Anderson-Teixeira, Norman A. Bourg, Warren Y. Brockelman, Sarayudh Bunyavejchewin, Nicolas Castaño, Chia-Hao Chang-Yang, George B. Chuyong, Keith Clay, Stuart J. Davies, Alvaro Duque, Sisira Ediriweera, Corneille Ewango, Gregory S. Gilbert, Jan Holík, Robert W. Howe, Stephen P. Hubbell, Akira Itoh, Daniel J. Johnson, David Kenfack, Kamil Král, Andrew J. Larson, James A. Lutz, Jean-Remy Makana, Yadvinder Malhi, Sean M. McMahon, William J. McShea, Mohizah Mohamad, Musalmah Nasardin, Anuttara Nathalang, Natalia Norden, Alexandre A. Oliveira, Renan Parmigiani, Rolando Perez, Richard P. Phillips, Nantachai Pongpattananurak, I-Fang Sun, Mark E. Swanson, Sylvester Tan, Duncan Thomas, Jill Thompson, Maria Uriarte, Amy T. Wolf, Tze Leong Yao, Jess K. Zimmerman, Daniel Zuleta, Florian Hartig

Nature, 627(8004), 564–571 (2024)

Cite this

@article{hulsmann2024latitudinal,
  author = {Lisa Hülsmann and Ryan A. Chisholm and Liza Comita and Marco D. Visser and Melina de Souza Leite and Salomón Aguilar and Kristina J. Anderson-Teixeira and Norman A. Bourg and Warren Y. Brockelman and Sarayudh Bunyavejchewin and Nicolas Castaño and Chia-Hao Chang-Yang and George B. Chuyong and Keith Clay and Stuart J. Davies and Alvaro Duque and Sisira Ediriweera and Corneille Ewango and Gregory S. Gilbert and Jan Holík and Robert W. Howe and Stephen P. Hubbell and Akira Itoh and Daniel J. Johnson and David Kenfack and Kamil Král and Andrew J. Larson and James A. Lutz and Jean-Remy Makana and Yadvinder Malhi and Sean M. McMahon and William J. McShea and Mohizah Mohamad and Musalmah Nasardin and Anuttara Nathalang and Natalia Norden and Alexandre A. Oliveira and Renan Parmigiani and Rolando Perez and Richard P. Phillips and Nantachai Pongpattananurak and I-Fang Sun and Mark E. Swanson and Sylvester Tan and Duncan Thomas and Jill Thompson and Maria Uriarte and Amy T. Wolf and Tze Leong Yao and Jess K. Zimmerman and Daniel Zuleta and Florian Hartig},
  title = {Latitudinal patterns in stabilizing density dependence of forest communities},
  journal = {Nature},
  volume = {627},
  number = {8004},
  pages = {564–571},
  year = {2024},
  doi = {10.1038/s41586-024-07118-4},
}

DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07118-4
Cited by 75 (Google Scholar) · 55 (OpenAlex), as of 07 September 2026

View article (DOI)

Abstract

Numerous studies have shown reduced performance in plants surrounded by same-species neighbors, a phenomenon called conspecific negative density dependence (CNDD). This research comprehensively assesses latitudinal CNDD patterns using dynamic mortality data across 23 forest sites. While stabilizing CNDD appeared at nearly all sites, it was not stronger in tropical regions as previously hypothesized. However, in tropical communities, rare and intermediate-abundant species experienced stronger stabilizing CNDD than common species – a pattern absent in temperate forests. This suggests CNDD more effectively regulates tropical tree population abundances, potentially contributing to greater stabilization and higher local diversity in tropical forests.

What the paper shows and why it matters (AI-generated)

The textbook expectation is that stabilizing conspecific negative density dependence — crowded seedlings faring worse near their own kind — should be strongest in the tropics, the usual explanation for why tropical forests hold so many more tree species. Data from 23 forest sites worldwide don't support that simple gradient: stabilizing CNDD shows up almost everywhere, but in the tropics it's concentrated specifically in rare and intermediate-abundance species, a pattern absent in temperate forests. Published in Nature and already drawing direct follow-up work on legacy and aggregation effects in the same density-dependence literature, the result sharpens rather than overturns the classic diversity-maintenance story.