A framework linking tree species coexistence, zonation and patterns of species richness in forests

我们的好奇心驱动的提案利用了澳大利亚东部广泛的气候和土壤中森林植被的出现所提供的绝佳机会，这是测试环境如何塑造植物进化以及森林结构和动态的理想环境。这项研究将通过促进与新西兰合作者的互动，促进国际思想交流，并将在高影响力的国际期刊上发表一系列出版物。我们将帮助澳大利亚人更好地了解在当地景观中塑造木本植被模式的力量，我们的碳平衡框架可能会揭示一些存在保护问题的树种稀有的原因。

Our curiosity-driven proposal capitalizes on a superb opportunity afforded by the occurrence of forest vegetation across a wide range of climates and soils in eastern Australia, an ideal setting for testing ideas about how environment shapes plant evolution as well as forest structure and dynamics. This research will contribute to international interchange of ideas by promoting interaction with collaborators in New Zealand, and will generate a series of publications in high-impact international journals. We will help Australians better understand the forces that shape patterns of woody vegetation across local landscapes, and our carbon-balance framework may shed light on the causes of rarity of some tree species with conservation problems.