Species assemblages within forest layers in semi-deciduous forests from the Congo Basin: an analysis of species phylogenetic relationships

Understanding the phylogenetic structures of plant communities is being developed in community ecology. Based on the species coexistence, we analyzed phylogenetic signals within forest layers, using species abundance data as well as their occurrences (presence/absence) within plots. We found that plant communities in the different forest layers express various phylogenetic structures. While the pattern of abundance phylogenetic structure vary among forest layers, all forest layers showed a pattern of spatial phylogenetic clustering (meaning that species cohabiting within a same plot are much related), with some significant values driven by substrate differentiation