Fifty years ago, Janzen (1970) and Connell (1971) independently published a revolutionary idea to explain the hyperdiverse tree communities of the tropics. The essential observations were that seedfall is concentrated in the vicinity of fruiting trees, whereas saplings recruit at a distance from reproductive conspecifics. These observations were encapsulated in a simple focal-tree model constructed of intersecting curves for seedfall and escape from host-specific enemies postulated to attack propagules (seeds and seedlings) in the vicinity of reproductive conspecifics. In conflict with the thinking of the times, the mechanism operates from the top down rather than from the bottom up. A deterrent to broad acceptance has been the giant intuitive leap required to generalize the focal tree model to an entire forest community. Recent theoretical and empirical results have succeeded in bridging the gap between the focal tree model and its community-level implications. With these new findings, Janzen–Connell has come of age.

中文翻译：

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Janzen–Connell享年50岁

五十年前，Janzen（1970）和Connell（1971）独立发表了一项革命性的思想来解释热带地区的超多样性树木群落。基本的观察结果是，种子的下落集中在果树附近，而幼树则在距繁殖同种异体很远的地方募集。这些观察结果被封装在一个简单的聚焦树模型中，该模型由相交曲线构成，用于种子落下，并逃离宿主特定的敌人，这些敌人被认为会攻击繁殖同种异体附近的繁殖体（种子和幼苗）。与时代思想相冲突，该机制从上至下而不是从下至上运行。将聚焦树模型推广到整个森林社区所需的巨大直观飞跃是阻止广泛接受的威慑。最近的理论和经验结果已成功弥合了焦点树模型与其社区影响之间的差距。有了这些新发现，Janzen-Connell已经走向成熟。