Despite the ecological importance of wetland forests, their classification is still unsatisfactory, partly due to insufficient knowledge about the environmental drivers of their spatial heterogeneity. We examined the spatial variation of six community attributes in a tropical wetland forest and analyzed the underlying causes by using linear distance measures and geomorphological zonation as proxies of environmental heterogeneity. The study was conducted in a wetland forest located on a coastal plain of southern Mexico. Vegetation was sampled in two distinct landforms: coastal lagoon and river channel. For each plot we determined two other proxies of environmental variation, namely distance to the sea, and distance to closest water body. We assessed the effects of these environmental factors on wetland forest attributes through linear modelling. Except for species richness, all other attributes were heterogeneous across space, with aboveground biomass showing the largest variation. Overall, forest structural attributes in plots located along the highly dynamic main river channel were higher than those recorded around a relatively stable coastal lagoon, suggesting better conditions for wetland forest development in the former area. Models consistently included geomorphological zone, as well as distance proxies in most of them, with variable effects on community attributes. The spatial variation of this wetland forest was associated with different combinations of environmental proxies, with geomorphology being a key driver of this variability. A thorough understanding of the factors driving the spatial variation of wetland forests will lead to a more sensible ecological classification.

中文翻译：

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新热带湿地森林植物区系和结构变异的空间相关性

尽管湿地森林在生态上具有重要意义，但其分类仍然不能令人满意，部分原因是对空间异质性的环境驱动因素了解不足。我们研究了热带湿地森林中六个群落属性的空间变异，并通过使用线性距离测度和地貌学分区作为环境异质性的代表，分析了潜在的原因。该研究是在墨西哥南部沿海平原的湿地森林中进行的。在两个不同的地貌上对植被进行了采样：沿海泻湖和河道。对于每个图，我们确定了环境变化的其他两个代理，即距海的距离和距最近水体的距离。我们通过线性建模评估了这些环境因素对湿地森林属性的影响。除了物种丰富度外，所有其他属性在整个空间中都是异质的，其中地上生物量显示出最大的变化。总体而言，高动态主河道沿线样地的森林结构属性要高于相对稳定的沿海泻湖周围的记录，这表明该地区的湿地森林发展条​​件较好。模型始终包含地貌区带以及大多数区域中的距离代理，对社区属性具有可变影响。这种湿地森林的空间变化与环境代理的不同组合有关，地貌是这种变化的关键驱动力。对驱动湿地森林空间变化的因素的透彻了解将导致更明智的生态分类。