Scientists root out the secrets of tropical forests

Keira Jenkins | January 11, 2024

Half of all tropical trees across the world belong to just a few species, scientists have found. 

One million trees were studied across the world, with researchers finding 2.2 per cent of species make up half of the trees across tropical forests in Africa, the Amazon and southeast Asia. 

James Cook University’s William Laurance said through the research scientists had “unlocked the secrets” of tropical forests. 

“We have a much better chance of having a sense of how they will respond to threats … there are a lot of threats to tropical forests right now,” he said.

Professor Laurance said decades of work had gone into the research.

He said scientists estimate 1053 common species account for half of the word’s 800 billion tropical forest trees.

“Beyond this there are many rare species, perhaps 40,000 species in total,” Prof Laurance said.

“These species are so rare they’re notoriously hard to study and conserve.”

The study’s lead author Declan Cooper, from the University College London, said the discovery would make it easier to monitor tropical forests as they faced the impacts of climate change.

“Identifying the prevalence of the most common species gives scientists a new way of looking at tropical forests,” he said.

“Tracking these common species may provide a new way to characterise these forests and, in the future, possible gauge a forests health more easily.”