Data from: Flooding and soil composition determine beta-diversity of lowland forests in Northern South America

Beta diversity may be determined by dispersal limitation, environment and
phylogeographic history. Our objective was to advance the understanding of
plant species turnover in rainforests in Northern South America and
determine which factors are affecting species beta-diversity. We evaluated
the relative effect of environmental variables (i.e. soil, climate,
fragmentation and flooding frequency) and dispersal limitation (i.e.
geographical distance and resistance distance due mountain barriers) on
tree beta diversity in 32 1-ha lowland forest plots. We found that tree
species turnover was better explained by environmental distance than by
geographic distance. Although, soil conditions and flooding regime were
good predictors of tree species composition, almost half of the variance
remained unexplained. In our study system, the Eastern Andean ridge had no
significant effect on plant beta diversity, probably because of its young
age in relation to the phylogeny. Our results provide support for the
importance of environmental factors and suggests a more restricted role of
dispersal limitation. Therefore, we advise that conservation strategies of
lowland trees should consider specific forest types (e.g. seasonally
flooded vs. terra firme, as well as piedmont vs. central Amazonian
forests).