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Using data from 50 long-term permanent plots from across Venezuelan forests in northern South America, we explored large-scale patterns of stem turnover, aboveground biomass (AGB) and woody productivity (AGWP), and the relationships between them and with potential climatic drivers. We used principal component analysis coupled with generalized least squares models to analyze the relationship between climate, forest structure and stem dynamics. Two major axes associated with orthogonal temperature and moisture gradients effectively described more than 90% of the environmental variability in the dataset. Average turnover was 1.91 ± 0.10% year-1 with mortality and recruitment being almost identical, and close to average rates for other mature tropical forests. Turnover rates were significantly different among regions (p < 0.001), with the lowland forests in Western alluvial plains being the most dynamic, and Guiana Shield forests showing the lowest turnover rates. We found a weak positive relationship between AGB and AGWP, with Guiana Shield forests having the highest values for both variables (204.8 ± 14.3 Mg C ha-1 and 3.27 ± 0.27 Mg C ha-1 year-1 respectively), but AGB was much more strongly and negatively related to stem turnover. Our data suggest that moisture is a key driver of turnover, with longer dry seasons favoring greater rates of tree turnover and thus lower biomass, having important implications in the context of climate change, given the increases in drought frequency in many tropical forests. Regional variation in AGWP among Venezuelan forests strongly reflects the effects of climate, with greatest woody productivity where both precipitation and temperatures are high. Overall, forests in wet, low elevation sites and with slow turnover stored the greatest amounts of biomass. Although faster stand dynamics are closely associated with lower carbon storage, stem-level turnover rates and woody productivity did not show any correlation, indicating that stem dynamics and carbon dynamics are largely decoupled from one another.

Ramal de Guaramacal is an outlier and lower elevation mountain range located at the northeastern end of the Venezuelan Andes. Phytogeographical patterns and affinities of the low altitude and wet vascular páramo flora of Ramal de Guaramacal, have been studied with emphasis in to the analysis of the floristic connections of the Guaramacal páramo flora with the neighboring dry páramos of the Sierra Nevada de Mérida and other páramo floras of the northern Andes and Central America. A total of 252 vascular plant taxa belonging to 150 genera and 69 families were recorded from the study area. The most species rich families are Asteraceae, Poaceae, Ericaceae and Orchidaceae, followed by the ferns families Grammitidaceae and Lycopodiacae. The most diverse genera are the ferns Elaphoglossum, Huperzia and Hymenophyllum. The analysis of generic phytogeographical composition of páramo flora showed that 52.8% of the genera are Tropical. The Temperate component is represented by 33.3% of the genera and the Cosmopolitan component is represented by 13.9% of the genera. The Neo - tropical montane element (38.9%) is high in Guaramacal páramo, the Páramo endemic element (1.9%) and the Andean alpine element (0.9%) and represented by only one genus (Lachemilla) are low compared to other páramo areas. The vascular flora of Páramo de Guaramacal is largely composed of (1) a group of Neotropical widespread distributed species (32%), (2) a group of Andean distributed species (49%), part of them confined to the Northern Andes and part widespread in the Andes from Colombia to Bolivia, and (3) a group of Venezuelan endemics (19%). From an eight páramo flora comparative dataset, the closest relationships among páramos is observed between the generic páramo floras of the Colombian Cordillera Oriental of Sumapáz and Sierra Nevada del Cocuy, which are both closely related to that of the Sierra Nevada de Mérida in Venezuela. The generic páramo flora of Ramal de Guaramacal shows the closest relationship to southern Ecuador páramo flora of Podo - carpus Biosphere Reserve. According to Detrended Correspondance Analysis and Principal Component Analysis ordination results, most of the variations in páramo floras may represent a response to differences in ambient humidity.