Biodiv Sci ›› 1994, Vol. 02 ›› Issue (Suppl.): 18-29.  DOI: 10.17520/biods.1994042

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Seed Plant Species Pools: the Development of Species Richness in Eastern Asia and North America

KENT T. ADAIR[1], SHIYOU LI[2]   

  1. [1]Henry M. Rockwell Professor of Forestry
    [2]Henry M. Rockwell Postdoctoral Fellow, The Tucker Center, Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches,Texas 75962, USA
  • Received:1994-03-22 Revised:1994-06-06 Online:1994-12-20 Published:1994-12-20

Abstract:

Great species richness in eastern Asia is the effect of a long history with low extinction and speciation rates, while great richness in northwestern North America is due to recent rapid speeiation. Data fail to support the theoretical dominacy of ecological determinism in favor of region-speeific geophysical history as a basis for explaining regional species diversity. A species pool is proposed as the product of evolution, immigration, and extinction and thus postulates extant species richness to be and historical artifact rather than an ecologically determinate reality.