The Importance and Diversity of Dominant Plant Species of Barro Colorado Island, and the Value of Focal Species Accounts

Studies that synthesize all topics for a particular taxon or group of species—like those included in this section—provide a valuable perspective complementary to that of most biological studies today. In any given community, some species are more deserving of such focused attention than others, because of their greater abundance, greater contributions to ecosystem function, or functional distinctiveness. Here, we quantify dominance in the tree and liana species on Barro Colorado Island (BCI), examine functional diversity among dominant species, and review current and developing resources for taxon-specific information for BCI plants. Just 3.4%, 5.4%, 5.1%, and 6.4% of 297 tree species account for 50% of total abundance (≥1 cm stem diameter at breast height), basal area, biomass, and woody productivity, respectively, on the BCI 50-ha Forest Dynamics Plot. Similarly, just 7.3% of 164 liana species account for 50% of total abundance and basal area. Dominant tree and liana species display wide and overlapping variation in leaf, wood, and seed traits, with lianas tending to have lower seed mass, wood specific gravity, and sun leaf mass per area. The extensive preexisting research on BCI is a tremendous resource, which can be made even more accessible and useful by investment in archiving preexisting datasets and in developing tools for standardized and continually updated taxon accounts.