Latitudinal scaling of aggregation with abundance and coexistence in forests

Thorsten Wiegand, Xugao Wang (), Samuel M. Fischer, Nathan J. B. Kraft, Norman A. Bourg, Warren Y. Brockelman, Guanghong Cao, Min Cao, Wirong Chanthorn, Chengjin Chu, Stuart Davies, Sisira Ediriweera, C. V. Savitri Gunatilleke, I. A. U. Nimal Gunatilleke, Zhanqing Hao, Robert Howe, Mingxi Jiang, Guangze Jin, W. John Kress, Buhang Li, Juyu Lian, Luxiang Lin, Feng Liu, Keping Ma, William McShea, Xiangcheng Mi, Jonathan A. Myers, Anuttara Nathalang, David A. Orwig, Guochun Shen, Sheng-Hsin Su, I-Fang Sun, Xihua Wang, Amy Wolf, Enrong Yan, Wanhui Ye, Yan Zhu and Andreas Huth
Additional contact information
Thorsten Wiegand: Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research–UFZ
Xugao Wang: Institute of Applied Ecology Chinese Academy of Sciences
Samuel M. Fischer: Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research–UFZ
Nathan J. B. Kraft: University of California Los Angeles
Norman A. Bourg: Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute
Warren Y. Brockelman: National Science and Technology Development Agency
Guanghong Cao: Administration Bureau of Naban River Watershed National Nature Reserve
Min Cao: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Wirong Chanthorn: Kasetsart University
Chengjin Chu: Shenzhen Campus of Sun Yat-sen University
Stuart Davies: Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
Sisira Ediriweera: Uva Wellassa University
C. V. Savitri Gunatilleke: University of Peradeniya
I. A. U. Nimal Gunatilleke: University of Peradeniya
Zhanqing Hao: Northwestern Polytechnical University
Robert Howe: University of Wisconsin–Green Bay
Mingxi Jiang: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Guangze Jin: Northeast Forestry University
W. John Kress: National Museum of Natural History Smithsonian Institution
Buhang Li: Shenzhen Campus of Sun Yat-sen University
Juyu Lian: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Luxiang Lin: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Feng Liu: Yunnan Academy of Forestry and Grassland
Keping Ma: Chinese Academy of Sciences
William McShea: Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute
Xiangcheng Mi: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Jonathan A. Myers: Washington University in St Louis
Anuttara Nathalang: National Science and Technology Development Agency
David A. Orwig: Harvard University
Guochun Shen: East China Normal University
Sheng-Hsin Su: Taiwan Forestry Research Institute
I-Fang Sun: National Dong Hwa University
Xihua Wang: East China Normal University
Amy Wolf: University of Wisconsin–Green Bay
Enrong Yan: East China Normal University
Wanhui Ye: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Yan Zhu: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Andreas Huth: Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research–UFZ

Nature, 2025, vol. 640, issue 8060, 967-973

Abstract: Abstract The search for simple principles that underlie the spatial structure and dynamics of plant communities is a long-standing challenge in ecology1–6. In particular, the relationship between species coexistence and the spatial distribution of plants is challenging to resolve in species-rich communities7–9. Here we present a comprehensive analysis of the spatial patterns of 720 tree species in 21 large forest plots and their consequences for species coexistence. We show that species with low abundance tend to be more spatially aggregated than more abundant species. Moreover, there is a latitudinal gradient in the strength of this negative aggregation–abundance relationship that increases from tropical to temperate forests. We suggest, in line with recent work10, that latitudinal gradients in animal seed dispersal11 and mycorrhizal associations12–14 may jointly generate this pattern. By integrating the observed spatial patterns into population models8, we derive the conditions under which species can invade from low abundance in terms of spatial patterns, demography, niche overlap and immigration. Evaluation of the spatial-invasion condition for the 720 tree species analysed suggests that temperate and tropical forests both meet the invasion criterion to a similar extent but through contrasting strategies conditioned by their spatial patterns. Our approach opens up new avenues for the integration of observed spatial patterns into ecological theory and underscores the need to understand the interaction among spatial patterns at the neighbourhood scale and multiple ecological processes in greater detail.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-08604-z

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