  A complex two-parameter model resembling the classical voter model is
introduced to describe macroecological properties of tropical tree communities.
Monte-Carlo type computer simulations are performed on the model, investigating
species abundances and the spatial distribution of individuals and species.
Simulation results are critically compared with the experimental data obtained
from a tree census on a 50 hectares area of the Barro Colorado Island (BCI),
Panama. The model parameters are optimized for reproducing quantitatively the
experimental results from the BCI dataset.
