I wonder how much tree diversity is on the earth? I usually frequent a forest dominated by large Beech and Sycamore trees. Although they dominate this forest, fall leaves tell a different story. I want to learn more about how many tree species there are. I did some research, and I found some great resources. It is always good to be reminded about what an amazing planet we live on.
Definition of Tree Diversity
Of course, the subject of tree diversity if riddled with terms. I am using the following definition. Tree diversity is the number and quantity of tree species per acre. A desirable forest contains numerous species present in similar numbers. Unlike my example above where there maybe numerous species present, my assumption is that the distribution of the diversity is small (see top photo). If you want to learn more about diversity measurements, check out this article. Tree species diversity is also a common term.
Chen et al (2023) also include functional diversity which is a tree's mechanisms for contributing to ecological diversity. This includes things like storage of biomass, leaf and root nitrogen etc. By including this diversity concept they reinforced that overall diversity is extremely important to soil health. Here is. a link to the full article.
Fall Leaves Show Tree Diversity
Information About Tree Species
Ever wonder how many tree species there are on planet earth? Based on global ground0sourced data, scientists recently estimated that there are 73.274 species of trees on earth. This estimate is extrapolated from multiple data points. It also includes about 9200 yet to be discovered species. South America is of interest for a variety of reasons. It has the highest estimate of rare tree species and possibly 40% of undiscovered tree species. This is reasonable considering it is home to the Amazon basin as well as Andean forests.
Resources
Chen, X., Taylor, A.R., Reich, P.B. et al. Tree diversity increases decadal forest soil carbon and nitrogen accrual. Nature 618, 94–101 (2023). https://doiffrg/10.1038/s41586-023-05941-9, https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-05941-9#citeas
Learn about the number of species here.
This is a great article about trees in the different states.
Finally, this website has a wealth of information about tree diversity.