Data from: Filters of floristic exchange: how traits and climate shape the rainforest invasion of Sahul from Sunda

Aim To evaluate how biogeographic and ecological processes influenced
species distributions and community assembly in a continental rainforest
flora with mixed biogeographic origins. Location Continental Australia.
Methods We identified 795 species with Sahul ancestry (Australian
rainforest flora of Gondwanan origin) and 604 species with Sunda ancestry
(rainforest plant lineages of Indo-Malesian origin) from a total of 1872
free-standing Australian woody rainforest taxa. We then compared the
distribution of Sunda to Sahul species in relation to variation in species
richness and phylogenetic endemism at continental scale, and local species
distributions in available plot data from the Tropics (Cape York and the
Australian Wet Tropics in northern Queensland) and subtropics
(Nightcap-Border Ranges, Washpool and Dorrigo, in northern New South
Wales). We compared the dispersal and persistence characteristics, and key
functional traits (leaf size, fruit size, wood density and maximum height
at maturity) of the Sunda and Sahul components of the continental
rainforest flora. The influence of climate (temperature) and local
environmental (altitude) factors in driving fine-scale distributional
patterns were evaluated. Results Sunda rainforest species richness
decreased with increasing latitude but maintained high levels of endemism,
including in the south. Sunda species traits suggest more efficient
dispersal and faster growth than Sahul lineages. Resprouting (persistence)
was less evident in species with Sunda than Sahul ancestry. We show that
Sunda lineage distributions were influenced by interacting environmental
and climatic factors, as well as historical contingencies. Main
conclusions Efficient dispersal and relatively fast growth likely
facilitated the establishment and spread of Sunda lineages in Australia.
However, the Sunda invasion was resisted in stable, saturated communities
of Sahul lineages, and in the temperate south where climate acted as a
strong filter. The results highlight the importance of integrating
historical biogeography and contemporary ecological processes to study
continental-scale rainforest distribution and assembly.