Global ecosystem typology

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TF1.1 Tropical flooded forests and peat forests

Biome: TF1. Palustrine wetlands biome

Contributors:
(texts)

These tropical swamps have closed forest canopies and experience high rainfall and consistent temperatures all year. In some, peat accumulates in anaerobic black water conditions, while others are highly productive white-water systems, with frequent refilling and turnover of nutrients. Trees and other plants, such as palms, pitcher plants, epiphytic mosses and ferns grow in soils that are waterlogged or periodically inundated.

Key Features

Evergreen closed-canopy forests in tropical swamps and riparian zones, differing between high and low nutrients waters, and supporting complex trophic networks.

Overview of distribution

Equatorial lowlands of Southeast Asia, South America and Central and West Africa.

Profile versions

  • v1.0 (2020-01-20): DA Keith; RT Kingsford; RC Mac Nally; KM Rodriguez-Clark; A Etter
  • v2.0 (2020-05-31): DA Keith; RT Kingsford; R Mac Nally; KM Rodriguez-Clark; A Etter
  • v2.01 ():
  • v2.1 (2022-04-06): DA Keith; RT Kingsford; R Mac Nally; KM Rodriguez-Clark; A Etter Full profile available at official site

Main references

Selected references for this functional group:

  • Page SE, Rieley JO, Wüst R (2014) Lowland tropical peatlands of Southeast Asia Peatlands: Evolution and records of environmental and climate changes (Eds. IP Martini, Martínez A Cortizas, W Chesworth), pp145-172. Elsevier, Amsterdam

Diagrammatic assembly model

Diagrammatic assembly model of TF1.1 Tropical flooded forests and peat forests. See general notes on diagrams. Open image full size.

Maps

Maps are indicative of global distribution patterns are not intended to represent fine-scale patterns. The maps show areas of the world containing major (coloured red) or minor occurrences (coloured yellow) of each ecosystem functional group. See general notes on maps.

There are 2 alternative versions of the indicative map for this functional group, please compare description and sources below.

TF1.1.IM.alt_v4.0

Datasets

  • Resolve-Ecoregions-2017
  • GLWD-2004
  • Nature-Map-2020

Map references

  • Dinerstein E, Olson D, Joshi A, Vynne C, Burgess ND, Wikramanayake E, Hahn N, Palminteri S, Hedao P, Noss R, Hansen M, Locke H, Ellis EE, Jones B, Barber CV, Hayes R, Kormos C, Martin V, Crist E, Sechrest W, Price L, Baillie JEM, Weeden D, Suckling K, Davis C, Sizer N, Moore R, Thau D, Birch T, Potapov P, Turubanova S, Tyukavina A, de Souza N, Pintea L, Brito JC, Llewellyn Barnekow Lillesø JP, van Breugel P, Graudal L, Voge M, Al-Shammari KF, Saleem M (2017) An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm, BioScience 67: 534–545. DOI:10.1093/biosci/bix014. Data-set available on-line

  • Lehner, B. and Döll, P. (2004): Development and validation of a global database of lakes, reservoirs and wetlands. Journal of Hydrology 296/1-4: 1-22. Data-set

  • Martin Jung, Prabhat Raj Dahal, Stuart H. M. Butchart, Paul F. Donald, Xavier De Lamo, Myroslava Lesiv, … Piero Visconti. (2020). A global map of terrestrial habitat types [Data set]. Zenodo. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.3673586

TF1.1.web.map_v1.0

Major occurrences of swamp and flooded forest were taken from the Global Lakes and Wetlands Database (Lehner and Döll 2004). Additional areas with minor occurrences identified in selected terrestrial ecoregions (Dinerstein et al. 2017). Ecoregions were selected if: i) their descriptions mentioned features consistent with those identified in the profile of the Ecosystem Functional Group; and ii) if their location was consistent with the ecological drivers described in the profile. Open image full size.

Datasets

  • Resolve-Ecoregions-2017
  • GLWD-2004

Map references

  • Dinerstein E, Olson D, Joshi A, Vynne C, Burgess ND, Wikramanayake E, Hahn N, Palminteri S, Hedao P, Noss R, Hansen M, Locke H, Ellis EE, Jones B, Barber CV, Hayes R, Kormos C, Martin V, Crist E, Sechrest W, Price L, Baillie JEM, Weeden D, Suckling K, Davis C, Sizer N, Moore R, Thau D, Birch T, Potapov P, Turubanova S, Tyukavina A, de Souza N, Pintea L, Brito JC, Llewellyn Barnekow Lillesø JP, van Breugel P, Graudal L, Voge M, Al-Shammari KF, Saleem M (2017) An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm, BioScience 67: 534–545. DOI:10.1093/biosci/bix014. Data-set available on-line

  • Lehner, B. and Döll, P. (2004): Development and validation of a global database of lakes, reservoirs and wetlands. Journal of Hydrology 296/1-4: 1-22. Data-set

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