Table 2.

Characteristics of the forest vegetation (distribution, phenology, physiological adaptations) in the four chosen floodplain ecosystems on four continents

	Central Amazonia	Okavango Delta	Mekong Tonle Sap	Kakadu Region in Northern Australia
Continent	South America	Africa	Asia	Northern Australia
Tree distribution
Zonation of trees along the flooding gradient	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Degree of endemism	Elevated	Low/absent	Low/absent	Low/absent
Leaf phenology
Deciduous species: leaf shedding at high waters	Yes	No	Yes	?
Evergreen species	Yes	Yes	Yes	?
Reproductive phenology
	Linked to high water + fish	?	Linked to high water + fish	?
Physiological adaptations
Reduction of metabolism and growth during high waters	Yes	No	Yes?	?
Morpho-anatomical adaptations	Leaf xeromorphism; hypertrophic lenticels; adventitious roots; aerenchyma	?	?	?
Biochemical adaptations	Increased activity of fermentative enzymes; more VOC emission	?	?	?