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Zhao C, Liu J, Mou W, Zhao W, Zhou Z, Ta F, Lei L, Li C. Topography shapes the carbon allocation patterns of alpine forests. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 898:165542. [PMID: 37454841 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165542] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2023] [Revised: 07/10/2023] [Accepted: 07/12/2023] [Indexed: 07/18/2023]
Abstract
Topography plays a crucial role in determining the structure of alpine forests, as it restricts the availability of nutrients and water necessary for plant growth. Nevertheless, our information on how variations in forest carbon allocation patterns driven by fine-scale topography are influenced by broader-scale environmental contexts is limited. In the northern Tibetan Plateau, we combined field data from 89 forest plots with a high-resolution (1 m2) digital elevation model (DEM) and utilized a linear mixed-effects model to investigate how microtopography (characterized by slope, aspect, and topographic wetness index (TWI)) and broader-scale environmental context (characterized by elevation) and their interactions affect the carbon allocation patterns of alpine forest. Our results revealed that at low and high elevations with pronounced subsurface resource limitations, plants tend to allocate a higher proportion of carbon to the root system and have lower aboveground carbon stocks (ACS). Microtopographic heterogeneity significantly influenced the carbon allocation patterns of forest, with the intensity and direction of these effects varying across the environmental gradient. At low elevations, topographically wetter and northerly microhabitats had higher ACS and lower ratios of below- and aboveground carbon stocks (RBA); however, at high elevations, topographically drier and southerly microhabitats had higher ACS and lower RBA. TWI and aspect had the weakest effect on ACS and RBA in the mid-elevations. The relationship between slope and ACS and RBA was significantly positive but not evidently related to the broader-scale environmental gradient.
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Affiliation(s)
- Changxing Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-ecosystems, Key Laboratory of Grassland Livestock Industry Innovation, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Engineering Research Center of Grassland Industry, Ministry of Education, College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
| | - Jinrong Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-ecosystems, Key Laboratory of Grassland Livestock Industry Innovation, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Engineering Research Center of Grassland Industry, Ministry of Education, College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China.
| | - Wenbo Mou
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-ecosystems, School of Life Science, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
| | - Weijun Zhao
- Academy of Water Resources Conservation Forests in Qilian Mountains of Gansu Province, Zhangye 734000, China
| | - Ziqiang Zhou
- Institute of Geological Natural Disaster Prevention and Control, Gansu Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730030, China
| | - Feng Ta
- State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-ecosystems, Key Laboratory of Grassland Livestock Industry Innovation, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Engineering Research Center of Grassland Industry, Ministry of Education, College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
| | - Longju Lei
- State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-ecosystems, Key Laboratory of Grassland Livestock Industry Innovation, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Engineering Research Center of Grassland Industry, Ministry of Education, College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
| | - Chaonan Li
- State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-ecosystems, Key Laboratory of Grassland Livestock Industry Innovation, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Engineering Research Center of Grassland Industry, Ministry of Education, College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
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Alvarez P, Velescu A, Pierick K, Homeier J, Wilcke W. Carbon Stable Isotope Ratio of Dissolved Organic Matter as a Tool To Identify Its Sources and Transformations in a Tropical Montane Forest in Ecuador. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2023; 57:14983-14993. [PMID: 37774105 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.3c01623] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/01/2023]
Abstract
Dissolved organic matter (DOM) contributes to forest C cycling. We assessed temporal variability, sources, and transformations of DOM during four years in a tropical montane forest with the help of stable C isotope ratios (δ13C values). We measured δ13C values of DOM in rainfall (RF), throughfall (TF), stemflow (SF), litter leachate (LL), soil solutions at the 0.15 and 0.30 m depths (SS15, SS30), and streamflow (ST) with TOC-IRMS. The δ13C values of DOM did not vary seasonally. We detected an event with a high δ13C value likely attributable to black carbon from local pasture fires. The mean δ13C values of DOM outside the event decreased in the order, RF (-26.0 ± 1.3‰) > TF (-28.7 ± 0.3‰) > SF (-29.2 ± 0.2‰) > LL (-29.6 ± 0.2‰) because of increasing leaching of C-isotopically light compounds. The higher δ13C values of DOM in SS15 (-27.8 ± 1.0‰), SS30 (-27.6 ± 1.1‰), and ST (-27.9 ± 1.1‰) than in the above-ground solutions suggested that roots and root exudates are major belowground DOM sources. Although in DOM the C/N ratios correlated with the δ13C values when all solutions were considered, this was not the case for SS15, SS30, and ST alone. Thus, the δ13C values of DOM provide an additional tool to assess the sources and turnover of DOM.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pablo Alvarez
- Institute of Geography and Geoecology, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Reinhard-Baumeister-Platz 1, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany
- Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, National University of Loja, Reinaldo Espinoza Avenue s/n, 110103 Loja, Ecuador
| | - Andre Velescu
- Institute of Geography and Geoecology, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Reinhard-Baumeister-Platz 1, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany
| | - Kerstin Pierick
- Spatial Structures and Digitization of Forests/Silviculture and Forest Ecology of the Temperate Zones, Georg August University Göttingen, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Jürgen Homeier
- Faculty of Resource Management, University of Applied Sciences and Arts, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
- Department of Plant Ecology and Ecosystem Research, Georg August University Göttingen, 37073 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Wolfgang Wilcke
- Institute of Geography and Geoecology, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Reinhard-Baumeister-Platz 1, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany
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Lu S, Zhang D, Wang L, Dong L, Liu C, Hou D, Chen G, Qiao X, Wang Y, Guo K. Comparison of plant diversity-carbon storage relationships along altitudinal gradients in temperate forests and shrublands. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2023; 14:1120050. [PMID: 37636113 PMCID: PMC10453807 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1120050] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2022] [Accepted: 07/17/2023] [Indexed: 08/29/2023]
Abstract
Understanding the mechanisms underlying the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem function (BEF) is critical for the implementation of productive and resilient ecosystem management. However, the differences in BEF relationships along altitudinal gradients between forests and shrublands are poorly understood, impeding the ability to manage terrestrial ecosystems and promote their carbon sinks. Using data from 37962 trees of 115 temperate forest and 134 shrubland plots of Taihang Mountains Priority Reserve, we analyzed the effects of species diversity, structural diversity, climate factors and soil moisture on carbon storage along altitudinal gradients in temperate forests and shrublands. We found that: (1) Structural diversity, rather than species diversity, mainly promoted carbon storage in forests. While species diversity had greater positive effect on carbon storage in shrublands. (2) Mean annual temperature (MAT) had a direct negative effect on forest carbon storage, and indirectly affected forest carbon storage by inhibiting structural diversity. In contrast, MAT promoted shrubland carbon storage directly and indirectly through the positive mediating effect of species diversity. (3) Increasing altitudinal gradients enhanced the structural diversity-carbon relationship in forests, but weakened the species diversity-carbon relationship in shrublands. Niche and architectural complementarity and different life strategies of forests and shrubs mainly explain these findings. These differential characteristics are critical for our comprehensive understanding of the BEF relationship and could help guide the differentiated management of forests and shrublands in reaction to environmental changes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuaizhi Lu
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Dou Zhang
- Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Le Wang
- Institute of Ecological Protection and Restoration, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, China
| | - Lei Dong
- Institute of Water Resources for Pastoral Area Ministry of Water Resources, Inner Mongolia, China
| | - Changcheng Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Dongjie Hou
- Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot, China
| | - Guoping Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Xianguo Qiao
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | | | - Ke Guo
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
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Sun Z, Sonsuthi A, Jucker T, Ali A, Cao M, Liu F, Cao G, Hu T, Ma Q, Guo Q, Lin L. Top Canopy Height and Stem Size Variation Enhance Aboveground Biomass across Spatial Scales in Seasonal Tropical Forests. PLANTS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2023; 12:1343. [PMID: 36987031 PMCID: PMC10051130 DOI: 10.3390/plants12061343] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2022] [Revised: 01/25/2023] [Accepted: 02/11/2023] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
Tropical forests are biologically diverse and structurally complex ecosystems that can store a large quantity of carbon and support a great variety of plant and animal species. However, tropical forest structure can vary dramatically within seemingly homogeneous landscapes due to subtle changes in topography, soil fertility, species composition and past disturbances. Although numerous studies have reported the effects of field-based stand structure attributes on aboveground biomass (AGB) in tropical forests, the relative effects and contributions of UAV LiDAR-based canopy structure and ground-based stand structural attributes in shaping AGB remain unclear. Here, we hypothesize that mean top-of-canopy height (TCH) enhances AGB directly and indirectly via species richness and horizontal stand structural attributes, but these positive relationships are stronger at a larger spatial scale. We used a combined approach of field inventory and LiDAR-based remote sensing to explore how stand structural attributes (stem abundance, size variation and TCH) and tree species richness affect AGB along an elevational gradient in tropical forests at two spatial scales, i.e., 20 m × 20 m (small scale), and 50 m × 50 m (large scale) in southwest China. Specifically, we used structural equation models to test the proposed hypothesis. We found that TCH, stem size variation and abundance were strongly positively associated with AGB at both spatial scales, in addition to which increasing TCH led to greater AGB indirectly through increased stem size variation. Species richness had negative to negligible influences on AGB, but species richness increased with increasing stem abundance at both spatial scales. Our results suggest that light capture and use, modulated by stand structure, are key to promoting high AGB stocks in tropical forests. Thus, we argue that both horizontal and vertical stand structures are important for shaping AGB, but the relative contributions vary across spatial scales in tropical forests. Importantly, our results highlight the importance of including vertical forest stand attributes for predicting AGB and carbon sequestration that underpins human wellbeing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhenhua Sun
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla 666303, China
- Center of Plant Ecology, Core Botanical Gardens, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla 666303, China
| | - Arunkamon Sonsuthi
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla 666303, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Tommaso Jucker
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1QU, UK
| | - Arshad Ali
- Forest Ecology Research Group, College of Life Sciences, Hebei University, Baoding 071002, China
| | - Min Cao
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla 666303, China
| | - Feng Liu
- Yunnan Academy of Forestry and Grassland, Kunming 650201, China
| | - Guanghong Cao
- Administration Bureau of Naban River Watershed National Nature Reserve, Jinghong 666100, China
| | - Tianyu Hu
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China
| | - Qin Ma
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China
| | - Qinghua Guo
- Institute of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Science, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Luxiang Lin
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla 666303, China
- Center of Plant Ecology, Core Botanical Gardens, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla 666303, China
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Functional Traits and Local Environmental Conditions Determine Tropical Rain Forest Types at Microscale Level in Southern Ecuador. DIVERSITY 2023. [DOI: 10.3390/d15030420] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/18/2023]
Abstract
The main objective of this study was to determine the heterogeneity of tropical mountain rain forests along a micro-altitudinal gradient scale, integrating species functional traits in the separation of communities. To achieve this, a forest area of 13 ha in the Biological Reserve of San Francisco was monitored. First, we performed non-metric multidimensional analyses, and afterwards, we looked for correlations between plot altitude and characteristics of the forest (basal area, the number of species, the number of trees ≥20 cm diameter at breast height, per hectare, the forest canopy opening) were associated. To determine which characteristics significantly influence the separation of forest “communities”, we used a multivariate canonical correspondence analysis (CCA). Finally, we carried out the “Four Corners” analysis, combining abundance matrices, traits and environmental variables. We confirmed that the altitude and some associated characteristics are the key factors for the formation of two forest types. In addition, we determined that the inclusion of species functional traits confirms the separation of forest communities, and that elevation and its associated environmental variables function over relatively small areas and scales.
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Shaping of topography by topographically-controlled vegetation in tropical montane rainforest. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0281835. [PMID: 36893140 PMCID: PMC9997930 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0281835] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2022] [Accepted: 02/01/2023] [Indexed: 03/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Topography is commonly viewed as a passive backdrop on which vegetation grows. Yet, in certain circumstances, a bidirectional feedback may develop between the control of topography and the spatial distribution of vegetation and landform development, because vegetation modulates the erosion of the land surface. Therefore, if reinforcing feedbacks are established between erosion and land cover distribution over timescales relevant to landform development, then the interactions between vegetation and topography may create distinctive landforms, shaped by vegetation. We expose here a strong correlation between the spatial distribution of vegetation, erosion rates, and topography at a characteristic length scale of 102-103m (mesoscale topography) in the Luquillo Experimental forest (LEF) of Puerto Rico. We use high-resolution LiDAR topography to characterize landforms, satellite images to classify the vegetation into forest types, and in-situ produced cosmogenic 10Be in the quartz extracted from soils and stream sediments to document spatial variations in soil erosion. The data document a strong correlation between forest type and topographic position (hilltop vs. valleys), and a correlation between topographic position and 10Be-derived erosion rates over 103-104 years. Erosion is faster in valleys, which are mostly covered by monocot Palm Forest, and slower on surrounding hills mostly covered by the dicot Palo Colorado Forest. Transition from one forest type to the next occurs across a break-in-slope that separates shallowly convex hilltops from deeply concave valleys (coves). The break-in-slope is the consequence of a longer-lasting erosional imbalance whereby coves erode faster than hills over landscape-shaping timescales. Such a deepening of the coves is usually spurred by external drivers, but such drivers are here absent. This implies that cove erosion is driven by a process originating within the coves themselves. We propose that vegetation is the primary driver of this imbalance, soil erosion being faster under Palm forest than under Palo Colorado forest. Concentration of the Palm forest in the deepening coves is reinforced by the better adaptation of Palm trees to the erosive processes that take place in the coves, once these develop steep slopes. At the current rate of landscape development, we find that the imbalance started within the past 0.1-1.5 My. The initiation of the process could correspond to time of settlement of these mountain slopes by the Palm and Palo Colorado forests.
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Bukombe B, Bauters M, Boeckx P, Cizungu LN, Cooper M, Fiener P, Kidinda LK, Makelele I, Muhindo DI, Rewald B, Verheyen K, Doetterl S. Soil geochemistry - and not topography - as a major driver of carbon allocation, stocks, and dynamics in forests and soils of African tropical montane ecosystems. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2022; 236:1676-1690. [PMID: 36089827 DOI: 10.1111/nph.18469] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2022] [Accepted: 08/14/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
The lack of field-based data in the tropics limits our mechanistic understanding of the drivers of net primary productivity (NPP) and allocation. Specifically, the role of local edaphic factors - such as soil parent material and topography controlling soil fertility as well as water and nutrient fluxes - remains unclear and introduces substantial uncertainty in understanding net ecosystem productivity and carbon (C) stocks. Using a combination of vegetation growth monitoring and soil geochemical properties, we found that soil fertility parameters reflecting the local parent material are the main drivers of NPP and C allocation patterns in tropical montane forests, resulting in significant differences in below- to aboveground biomass components across geochemical (soil) regions. Topography did not constrain the variability in C allocation and NPP. Soil organic C stocks showed no relation to C input in tropical forests. Instead, plant C input seemingly exceeded the maximum potential of these soils to stabilize C. We conclude that, even after many millennia of weathering and the presence of deeply developed soils, above- and belowground C allocation in tropical forests, as well as soil C stocks, vary substantially due to the geochemical properties that soils inherit from parent material.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin Bukombe
- Institute of Geography, Augsburg University, Augsburg, 86159, Germany
| | - Marijn Bauters
- Department of Environment, Ghent University, Ghent, 9000, Belgium
- Department of Green Chemistry and Technology, Isotope Bioscience Laboratory - ISOFYS, Ghent University, Ghent, 9000, Belgium
| | - Pascal Boeckx
- Department of Green Chemistry and Technology, Isotope Bioscience Laboratory - ISOFYS, Ghent University, Ghent, 9000, Belgium
| | - Landry Ntaboba Cizungu
- Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Université Catholique de Bukavu, Bugabo 02, Bukavu, Democratic Republic of the Congo
| | - Matthew Cooper
- Department of Environmental Systems Science, ETH Zurich, Zurich, 8092, Switzerland
| | - Peter Fiener
- Institute of Geography, Augsburg University, Augsburg, 86159, Germany
| | - Laurent Kidinda Kidinda
- Institute of Soil Science and Site Ecology, Technische Universität Dresden, Tharandt, 01737, Germany
| | - Isaac Makelele
- Department of Green Chemistry and Technology, Isotope Bioscience Laboratory - ISOFYS, Ghent University, Ghent, 9000, Belgium
| | - Daniel Iragi Muhindo
- Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Université Catholique de Bukavu, Bugabo 02, Bukavu, Democratic Republic of the Congo
| | - Boris Rewald
- Department of Forest and Soil Sciences, Institute of Forest Ecology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU), Vienna, 1190, Austria
| | - Kris Verheyen
- Department of Environment, Ghent University, Ghent, 9000, Belgium
| | - Sebastian Doetterl
- Institute of Geography, Augsburg University, Augsburg, 86159, Germany
- Department of Environmental Systems Science, ETH Zurich, Zurich, 8092, Switzerland
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Impact of Selected Environmental Factors on Variation in Leaf and Branch Traits on Endangered Karst Woody Plants of Southwest China. FORESTS 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/f13071080] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
We explored the adaptability of endangered plants in degraded karst habitats through functional trait variation, using three endangered woody plants (E. cavaleriei, H. bodinieri and K. septentrionalis) in karst peak-cluster depression. We investigated the variation decomposition and correlation analysis of 13 branch and leaf functional traits using a mixed linear model, variance decomposition, Pearson’s correlation analysis, random forest regression, and generalized linear regression. The degree of variation in phosphorus concentration in the branches was the highest, while that in the carbon concentration in the leaves was the smallest. The variation in the carbon concentration in the branches and leaves, and the dry matter concentration in the leaves was mainly within species, while the variation in other functional traits was mainly between species. We found significant correlations among leaf traits, branch traits, and leaf–branch traits to different degrees; however, there were no significant correlations among branch traits in H. bodinieri. The significant correlations were higher in E. cavaleriei and K. septentrionalis than in H. bodinieri. Plant functional traits were influenced by soil and topographic factors, and the relationship between them varied by species. Our findings will enhance our understanding of the variation in leaf and branch traits in karst endangered plants and the adaptative strategies of endangered plants in degraded habitat, and will provide a scientific basis for vegetation conservation in the karst region of southwest China.
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Pierick K, Link RM, Leuschner C, Homeier J. Elevational trends of tree fine root traits in species‐rich tropical Andean forests. OIKOS 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.08975] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Kerstin Pierick
- Plant Ecology and Ecosystems Research, Univ. of Goettingen Göttingen Germany
| | - Roman M. Link
- Ecophysiology and Vegetation Ecology, Julius‐von‐Sachs‐Inst. of Biological Sciences, Univ. of Würzburg Würzburg Germany
| | - Christoph Leuschner
- Plant Ecology and Ecosystems Research, Univ. of Goettingen Göttingen Germany
- Centre for Biodiversity and Sustainable Land Use, Univ. of Goettingen Göttingen Germany
| | - Jürgen Homeier
- Plant Ecology and Ecosystems Research, Univ. of Goettingen Göttingen Germany
- Centre for Biodiversity and Sustainable Land Use, Univ. of Goettingen Göttingen Germany
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Pyles MV, Magnago LFS, Maia VA, Pinho BX, Pitta G, de Gasper AL, Vibrans AC, dos Santos RM, van den Berg E, Lima RAF. Human impacts as the main driver of tropical forest carbon. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2022; 8:eabl7968. [PMID: 35714191 PMCID: PMC9205592 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abl7968] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2021] [Accepted: 05/04/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Understanding the mechanisms controlling forest carbon storage is crucial to support "nature-based" solutions for climate change mitigation. We used a dataset of 892 Atlantic Forest inventories to assess the direct and indirect effects of environmental conditions, human impacts, tree community proprieties, and sampling methods on tree above-ground carbon stocks. We showed that the widely accepted drivers of carbon stocks, such as climate, soil, topography, and forest fragmentation, have a much smaller role than the forest disturbance history and functional proprieties of the Atlantic Forest. Specifically, within-forest disturbance level was the most important driver, with effect at least 30% higher than any of the environmental conditions individually. Thus, our findings suggest that the conservation of tropical carbon stocks may be dependable on, principally, avoiding forest degradation and that conservation policies focusing only on carbon may fail to protect tropical biodiversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcela Venelli Pyles
- Departamento de Ecologia e Conservação, Universidade Federal de Lavras (UFLA), Av. Doutor Sylvio Menicucci, 100, Kennedy, Lavras-MG, 37200-000, Brazil
| | - Luiz Fernando Silva Magnago
- Centro de Formação em Ciências Agroflorestais, Universidade Federal do Sul da Bahia (UFSB), Campus Jorge Amado, Rodovia Ilhéus/Itabuna, Km 22, Ilhéus-BA, 45604-811, Brazil
| | - Vinícius Andrade Maia
- Departamento de Ciências Florestais, Universidade Federal de Lavras, P.O. Box 3037, Lavras-MG, 37200-900, Brazil
| | - Bruno X. Pinho
- Departamento de Botânica, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (UFPE), Av. Prof. Moraes Rego s/n, Recife-PE, Brazil
- AMAP, Univ Montpellier, INRAe, CIRAD, CNRS, IRD, Montpellier, France
| | - Gregory Pitta
- Departamento de Ecologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, Rua do Matão, trav. 14, 321, 05508-090, São Paulo‑SP, Brazil
| | - André L. de Gasper
- Departamento de Ciências Naturais, Universidade Regional de Blumenau, Rua Antônio da Veiga, 140, 89030-903, Blumenau-SC, Brazil
| | - Alexander C. Vibrans
- Departamento de Engenharia Florestal, Universidade Regional de Blumenau, Rua São Paulo, 3250, 89030-000, Blumenau-SC, Brazil
| | - Rubens Manoel dos Santos
- Departamento de Ciências Florestais, Universidade Federal de Lavras, P.O. Box 3037, Lavras-MG, 37200-900, Brazil
| | - Eduardo van den Berg
- Departamento de Ecologia e Conservação, Universidade Federal de Lavras (UFLA), Av. Doutor Sylvio Menicucci, 100, Kennedy, Lavras-MG, 37200-000, Brazil
| | - Renato A. F. Lima
- Departamento de Ecologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, Rua do Matão, trav. 14, 321, 05508-090, São Paulo‑SP, Brazil
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11
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Báez S, Fadrique B, Feeley K, Homeier J. Changes in tree functional composition across topographic gradients and through time in a tropical montane forest. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0263508. [PMID: 35442987 PMCID: PMC9020722 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0263508] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2021] [Accepted: 01/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding variation in tree functional traits along topographic gradients and through time provides insights into the processes that will shape community composition and determine ecosystem functioning. In montane environments, complex topography is known to affect forest structure and composition, yet its role in determining trait composition, indices on community climatic tolerances, and responses to changing environmental conditions has not been fully explored. This study investigates how functional trait composition (characterized as community-weighted moments) and community climatic indices vary for the tree community as a whole and for its separate demographic components (i.e., dying, surviving, recruiting trees) over eight years in a topographically complex tropical Andean forest in southern Ecuador. We identified a strong influence of topography on functional composition and on species' climatic optima, such that communities at lower topographic positions were dominated by acquisitive species adapted to both warmer and wetter conditions compared to communities at upper topographic positions which were dominated by conservative cold adapted species, possibly due to differences in soil conditions and hydrology. Forest functional and climatic composition remained stable through time; and we found limited evidence for trait-based responses to environmental change among demographic groups. Our findings confirm that fine-scale environmental conditions are a critical factor structuring plant communities in tropical forests, and suggest that slow environmental warming and community-based processes may promote short-term community functional stability. This study highlights the need to explore how diverse aspects of community trait composition vary in tropical montane forests, and to further investigate thresholds of forest response to environmental change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Selene Báez
- Departamento de Biología, Escuela Politécnica Nacional del Ecuador, Quito, Ecuador
| | - Belén Fadrique
- School of Geography, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom
| | - Kenneth Feeley
- Department of Biology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida, United States of America
| | - Jürgen Homeier
- Department of Plant Ecology, University of Goettingen. Goettingen, Germany
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12
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Ostertag R, Restrepo C, Dalling JW, Martin PH, Abiem I, Aiba S, Alvarez‐Dávila E, Aragón R, Ataroff M, Chapman H, Cueva‐Agila AY, Fadrique B, Fernández RD, González G, Gotsch SG, Häger A, Homeier J, Iñiguez‐Armijos C, Llambí LD, Moore GW, Næsborg RR, Poma López LN, Pompeu PV, Powell JR, Ramírez Correa JA, Scharnagl K, Tobón C, Williams CB. Litter decomposition rates across tropical montane and lowland forests are controlled foremost by climate. Biotropica 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/btp.13044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - James W. Dalling
- University of Illinois at Urbana‐Champaign Urbana Illinois USA
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Panamá
| | | | | | | | | | - Roxana Aragón
- Instituto de Ecología Regional (Universidad Nacional de Tucuman‐CONICET) Tucuman Argentina
| | | | | | - Augusta Y. Cueva‐Agila
- Escuela de Ciencias Agrícolas y Ambientales Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador Sede Ibarra Imbabura Ecuador
| | | | - Romina D. Fernández
- Instituto de Ecología Regional (Universidad Nacional de Tucuman‐CONICET) Tucuman Argentina
| | - Grizelle González
- USDA Forest Service International Institute of Tropical Forestry Río Piedras Puerto Rico USA
| | | | - Achim Häger
- Leiden University College The Hague Netherlands
| | - Jürgen Homeier
- Plant Ecology and Ecosystems Research University of Goettingen Goettingen Germany
| | - Carlos Iñiguez‐Armijos
- Laboratorio de Ecología Tropical y Servicios Ecosistémicos Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja Loja Ecuador
| | | | | | - Rikke Reese Næsborg
- Department of Biology Franklin and Marshall College Lancaster Pennsylvania USA
- Conservation and Research Santa Barbara Botanic Garden Santa Barbara California USA
| | | | - Patrícia Vieira Pompeu
- Universidade Estadual de Mato Grosso do Sul Aquidauana Brasil
- Universidade de São Paulo São Paulo Brasil
| | | | | | - Klara Scharnagl
- University & Jepson Herbaria University of California Berkeley Berkeley California USA
| | | | - Cameron B. Williams
- Department of Biology Franklin and Marshall College Lancaster Pennsylvania USA
- Conservation and Research Santa Barbara Botanic Garden Santa Barbara California USA
- Channel Islands National Park Ventura California USA
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13
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O'Brien MJ, Escudero A. Topography in tropical forests enhances growth and survival differences within and among species via water availability and biotic interactions. Funct Ecol 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.13977] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Michael J. O'Brien
- Área de Biodiversidad y Conservación Universidad Rey Juan Carlos Móstoles Spain
- Southeast Asia Rainforest Research Partnership (SEARRP) Kota Kinabalu Sabah Malaysia
| | - Adrián Escudero
- Área de Biodiversidad y Conservación Universidad Rey Juan Carlos Móstoles Spain
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14
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Using Airborne Laser Scanning to Characterize Land-Use Systems in a Tropical Landscape Based on Vegetation Structural Metrics. REMOTE SENSING 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/rs13234794] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
Many Indonesian forests have been cleared and replaced by fast-growing cash crops (e.g., oil palm and rubber plantations), altering the vegetation structure of entire regions. Complex vegetation structure provides habitat niches to a large number of native species. Airborne laser scanning (ALS) can provide detailed three-dimensional information on vegetation structure. Here, we investigate the potential of ALS metrics to highlight differences across a gradient of land-use management intensities in Sumatra, Indonesia. We focused on tropical rainforests, jungle rubber, rubber plantations, oil palm plantations and transitional lands. Twenty-two ALS metrics were extracted from 183 plots. Analysis included a principal component analysis (PCA), analysis of variance (ANOVAs) and random forest (RF) characterization of the land use/land cover (LULC). Results from the PCA indicated that a greater number of canopy gaps are associated with oil palm plantations, while a taller stand height and higher vegetation structural metrics were linked with rainforest and jungle rubber. A clear separation in metrics performance between forest (including rainforest and jungle rubber) and oil palm was evident from the metrics pairwise comparison, with rubber plantations and transitional land behaving similar to forests (rainforest and jungle rubber) and oil palm plantations, according to different metrics. Lastly, two RF models were carried out: one using all five land uses (5LU), and one using four, merging jungle rubber with rainforest (4LU). The 5LU model resulted in a lower overall accuracy (51.1%) due to mismatches between jungle rubber and forest, while the 4LU model resulted in a higher accuracy (72.2%). Our results show the potential of ALS metrics to characterize different LULCs, which can be used to track changes in land use and their effect on ecosystem functioning, biodiversity and climate.
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15
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Dantas de Paula M, Forrest M, Langan L, Bendix J, Homeier J, Velescu A, Wilcke W, Hickler T. Nutrient cycling drives plant community trait assembly and ecosystem functioning in a tropical mountain biodiversity hotspot. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2021; 232:551-566. [PMID: 34228829 DOI: 10.1111/nph.17600] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2020] [Accepted: 06/28/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Community trait assembly in highly diverse tropical rainforests is still poorly understood. Based on more than a decade of field measurements in a biodiversity hotspot of southern Ecuador, we implemented plant trait variation and improved soil organic matter dynamics in a widely used dynamic vegetation model (the Lund-Potsdam-Jena General Ecosystem Simulator, LPJ-GUESS) to explore the main drivers of community assembly along an elevational gradient. In the model used here (LPJ-GUESS-NTD, where NTD stands for nutrient-trait dynamics), each plant individual can possess different trait combinations, and the community trait composition emerges via ecological sorting. Further model developments include plant growth limitation by phosphorous (P) and mycorrhizal nutrient uptake. The new model version reproduced the main observed community trait shift and related vegetation processes along the elevational gradient, but only if nutrient limitations to plant growth were activated. In turn, when traits were fixed, low productivity communities emerged due to reduced nutrient-use efficiency. Mycorrhizal nutrient uptake, when deactivated, reduced net primary production (NPP) by 61-72% along the gradient. Our results strongly suggest that the elevational temperature gradient drives community assembly and ecosystem functioning indirectly through its effect on soil nutrient dynamics and vegetation traits. This illustrates the importance of considering these processes to yield realistic model predictions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mateus Dantas de Paula
- Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (SBiK-F), Frankfurt am Main, 60325, Germany
| | - Matthew Forrest
- Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (SBiK-F), Frankfurt am Main, 60325, Germany
| | - Liam Langan
- Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (SBiK-F), Frankfurt am Main, 60325, Germany
| | - Jörg Bendix
- Department of Geography, University of Marburg, Marburg, 35037, Germany
| | - Jürgen Homeier
- Plant Ecology and Ecosystems Research, University of Goettingen, Untere Karspüle 2, Goettingen, 37073, Germany
- Centre for Biodiversity and Sustainable Land Use (CBL), University of Goettingen, Goettingen, 37073, Germany
| | - Andre Velescu
- Institute of Geography and Geoecology, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Reinhard-Baumeister-Platz 1, Karlsruhe, 76131, Germany
| | - Wolfgang Wilcke
- Institute of Geography and Geoecology, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Reinhard-Baumeister-Platz 1, Karlsruhe, 76131, Germany
| | - Thomas Hickler
- Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (SBiK-F), Frankfurt am Main, 60325, Germany
- Department of Physical Geography, Geosciences, Johann Wolfgang Goethe University of Frankfurt, Frankfurt, 60438, Germany
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16
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Floristic Groups, and Changes in Diversity and Structure of Trees, in Tropical Montane Forests in the Southern Andes of Ecuador. DIVERSITY 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/d13090400] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Composition, diversity, and structure of trees in tropical montane forests are responsive to ecological gradients and local succession. Those parameters are a result of ecological interactions between vegetation, environment, and location. This study identified floristic groups on mainly secondary forests and evaluated how the composition, diversity, and structure of trees correlate with climate, soil, and age since abandonment. We included in our models a measurement of spatial correlation, to explore the role of dispersion. For this purpose, we measured diameter and height of all trees with DBH ≥ 10 cm, in twenty-eight 500 m2 plots, in an elevation range between 2900 and 3500 m. We found 14 indicator species in three floristic groups. Group composition was explained by age since abandonment, which showed strong succession effects. Mean monthly precipitation and Manganese, but not spatial correlation, explained plant composition in these montane forests, suggesting a minor role of dispersion. Species richness and structure of the arboreal vegetation were influenced by interactions between age, precipitation, and soil nutrients concentration. We concluded that in fragmented landscapes, within the rugged region of southern Ecuador, it is possible to find different floristic groups that encompass high variation in their composition.
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17
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Lin Y, Gross A, Silver WL. Low Redox Decreases Potential Phosphorus Limitation on Soil Biogeochemical Cycling Along a Tropical Rainfall Gradient. Ecosystems 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s10021-021-00662-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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18
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Homeier J, Seeler T, Pierick K, Leuschner C. Leaf trait variation in species-rich tropical Andean forests. Sci Rep 2021; 11:9993. [PMID: 33976239 PMCID: PMC8113502 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-89190-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2021] [Accepted: 04/21/2021] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Screening species-rich communities for the variation in functional traits along environmental gradients may help understanding the abiotic drivers of plant performance in a mechanistic way. We investigated tree leaf trait variation along an elevation gradient (1000-3000 m) in highly diverse neotropical montane forests to test the hypothesis that elevational trait change reflects a trend toward more conservative resource use strategies at higher elevations, with interspecific trait variation decreasing and trait integration increasing due to environmental filtering. Analysis of trait variance partitioning across the 52 tree species revealed for most traits a dominant influence of phylogeny, except for SLA, leaf thickness and foliar Ca, where elevation was most influential. The community-level means of SLA, foliar N and Ca, and foliar N/P ratio decreased with elevation, while leaf thickness and toughness increased. The contribution of intraspecific variation was substantial at the community level in most traits, yet smaller than the interspecific component. Both within-species and between-species trait variation did not change systematically with elevation. High phylogenetic diversity, together with small-scale edaphic heterogeneity, cause large interspecific leaf trait variation in these hyper-diverse Andean forests. Trait network analysis revealed increasing leaf trait integration with elevation, suggesting stronger environmental filtering at colder and nutrient-poorer sites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jürgen Homeier
- Plant Ecology and Ecosystems Research, University of Goettingen, Untere Karspüle 2, 37073, Goettingen, Germany.
- Centre for Biodiversity and Sustainable Land Use, University of Goettingen, Büsgenweg 1, 37077, Goettingen, Germany.
| | - Tabea Seeler
- Plant Ecology and Ecosystems Research, University of Goettingen, Untere Karspüle 2, 37073, Goettingen, Germany
| | - Kerstin Pierick
- Plant Ecology and Ecosystems Research, University of Goettingen, Untere Karspüle 2, 37073, Goettingen, Germany
| | - Christoph Leuschner
- Plant Ecology and Ecosystems Research, University of Goettingen, Untere Karspüle 2, 37073, Goettingen, Germany
- Centre for Biodiversity and Sustainable Land Use, University of Goettingen, Büsgenweg 1, 37077, Goettingen, Germany
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19
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Hofhansl F, Chacón‐Madrigal E, Brännström Å, Dieckmann U, Franklin O. Mechanisms driving plant functional trait variation in a tropical forest. Ecol Evol 2021; 11:3856-3870. [PMID: 33976780 PMCID: PMC8093716 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.7256] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2020] [Revised: 12/14/2020] [Accepted: 01/18/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Plant functional trait variation in tropical forests results from taxonomic differences in phylogeny and associated genetic differences, as well as, phenotypic plastic responses to the environment. Accounting for the underlying mechanisms driving plant functional trait variation is important for understanding the potential rate of change of ecosystems since trait acclimation via phenotypic plasticity is very fast compared to shifts in community composition and genetic adaptation. We here applied a statistical technique to decompose the relative roles of phenotypic plasticity, genetic adaptation, and phylogenetic constraints. We examined typically obtained plant functional traits, such as wood density, plant height, specific leaf area, leaf area, leaf thickness, leaf dry mass content, leaf nitrogen content, and leaf phosphorus content. We assumed that genetic differences in plant functional traits between species and genotypes increase with environmental heterogeneity and geographic distance, whereas trait variation due to plastic acclimation to the local environment is independent of spatial distance between sampling sites. Results suggest that most of the observed trait variation could not be explained by the measured environmental variables, thus indicating a limited potential to predict individual plant traits from commonly assessed parameters. However, we found a difference in the response of plant functional traits, such that leaf traits varied in response to canopy-light regime and nutrient availability, whereas wood traits were related to topoedaphic factors and water availability. Our analysis furthermore revealed differences in the functional response of coexisting neotropical tree species, which suggests that endemic species with conservative ecological strategies might be especially prone to competitive exclusion under projected climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Florian Hofhansl
- International Institute for Applied Systems AnalysisLaxenburgAustria
| | | | - Åke Brännström
- International Institute for Applied Systems AnalysisLaxenburgAustria
- Department of Mathematics and Mathematical StatisticsUmeå UniversityUmeåSweden
| | - Ulf Dieckmann
- International Institute for Applied Systems AnalysisLaxenburgAustria
- Department of Evolutionary Studies of BiosystemsThe Graduate University for Advanced Studies (Sokendai)HayamaJapan
| | - Oskar Franklin
- International Institute for Applied Systems AnalysisLaxenburgAustria
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20
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Hollunder RK, Mariotte P, Carrijo TT, Holmgren M, Luber J, Stein-Soares B, Guidoni-Martins KG, Ferreira-Santos K, Scarano FR, Garbin ML. Topography and vegetation structure mediate drought impacts on the understory of the South American Atlantic Forest. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2021; 766:144234. [PMID: 33418256 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.144234] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2020] [Revised: 11/20/2020] [Accepted: 11/23/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Droughts have increased in frequency, duration, and severity across most of the tropics but their effect on forest communities remain not fully understood. Here we assessed the effects of a severe El Niño-induced drought event on dominant and low abundance understory plant species and the consequent impacts on ecosystem functions in the South American Atlantic Forest. We established 20 permanent plots with contrasting vegetation structure and topography. In each plot, we measured the stem diameter at breast height (DBH) of every understory woody plant (i.e. 1 to 10 cm stem diameter) before and after a severe 4-year drought event to calculate relative growth and mortality rates after drought. Litter biomass, litter nutrient content and soil nutrients, as well as tree canopy cover, were also quantified. High stem density reduced survival to drought for both dominant and low abundance understory woody species. The growth rate of dominant and low abundance species was lower on steeper slopes during the drought. Dominant species were the main contributor of litter biomass production whereas low abundance species were important drivers of litter quality. Overall, our findings suggest that habitats with low tree density and larger trees on flat areas, such as in valleys, can act as refuges for understory plant species during drought periods. These habitats are resource-rich, providing nutrients and water during unfavorable drought periods and might improve forest resilience to climate change in the long term.
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Affiliation(s)
- Renan Köpp Hollunder
- Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Programa de Pós-graduação em Ecologia, IB, CCS, Ilha do Fundão, 21941-970 Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
| | - Pierre Mariotte
- Grazing Systems, Agroscope, Route de Duillier 50, 1260 Nyon, Switzerland
| | - Tatiana Tavares Carrijo
- Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, Departamento de Biologia, Centro de Ciências Exatas, Naturais e da Saúde, Alto Universitário, Guararema, 29.500-000 Alegre, ES, Brazil
| | - Milena Holmgren
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Wageningen University, Droevendaalsesteeg 3a, 6708PB Wageningen, the Netherlands
| | - Jaquelini Luber
- Escola Nacional de Botânica Tropical, Instituto de Pesquisas Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro, 22.460-036 Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
| | - Bethina Stein-Soares
- Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, Departamento de Biologia, Centro de Ciências Exatas, Naturais e da Saúde, Alto Universitário, Guararema, 29.500-000 Alegre, ES, Brazil
| | | | - Karina Ferreira-Santos
- Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Programa de Pós-graduação em Ecologia, IB, CCS, Ilha do Fundão, 21941-970 Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
| | - Fabio Rubio Scarano
- Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Programa de Pós-graduação em Ecologia, IB, CCS, Ilha do Fundão, 21941-970 Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
| | - Mário Luís Garbin
- Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, Departamento de Biologia, Centro de Ciências Exatas, Naturais e da Saúde, Alto Universitário, Guararema, 29.500-000 Alegre, ES, Brazil.
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21
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Victoria Lien L, Juan Manuel C, Cuyckens GAE. Influencia del micrositio y el ambiente en la instalación dePolylepis tarapacanaen los Altos Andes. NEOTROPICAL BIODIVERSITY 2021. [DOI: 10.1080/23766808.2021.1902251] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- López Victoria Lien
- CCT La Plata (CONICET – La Plata) Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Facultad De Ciencias Agrarias Y Forestales – UNLP, LIMAD Laboratorio De Investigaciones En Maderas, La Plata, Argentina
| | - Cellini Juan Manuel
- Facultad De Ciencias Agrarias Y Forestales – UNLP, LIMAD Laboratorio De Investigaciones En Maderas, La Plata, Argentina
| | - Griet An Erica Cuyckens
- Instituto de Ecorregiones Andinas (INECOA CONICET – UNJu), Jujuy, Argentina
- Centro de Estudios Territoriales Ambientales y Sociales (CETAS – UNJu), Jujuy, Argentina
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22
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Pierick K, Leuschner C, Homeier J. Topography as a factor driving small-scale variation in tree fine root traits and root functional diversity in a species-rich tropical montane forest. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2021; 230:129-138. [PMID: 33278844 DOI: 10.1111/nph.17136] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2020] [Accepted: 11/30/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
We investigated the variation in tree fine root traits and their functional diversity along a local topographic gradient in a Neotropical montane forest to test if fine root trait variation along the gradient is consistent with the predictions of the root economics spectrum on a shift from acquisitive to conservative traits with decreasing resource supply. We measured five fine root functional traits in 179 randomly selected tree individuals of 100 species and analysed the variation of single traits (using Bayesian phylogenetic multilevel models) and of functional trait diversity with small-scale topography. Fine roots exhibited more conservative traits (thicker diameters, lower specific root length and nitrogen concentration) at upper slope compared with lower slope positions, but the largest proportion of variation (40-80%) was explained by species identity and phylogeny. Fine root functional diversity decreased towards the upper slopes. Our results suggest that local topography and the related soil fertility and moisture gradients cause considerable small-scale variation in fine root traits and functional diversity along tropical mountain slopes, with conservative root traits and greater trait convergence being associated with less favourable soil conditions due to environmental filtering. We provide evidence of a high degree of phylogenetic conservation in fine root traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kerstin Pierick
- Plant Ecology and Ecosystems Research, University of Goettingen, Untere Karspüle 2, Göttingen, 37073, Germany
| | - Christoph Leuschner
- Plant Ecology and Ecosystems Research, University of Goettingen, Untere Karspüle 2, Göttingen, 37073, Germany
- Centre for Biodiversity and Sustainable Land Use, University of Goettingen, Büsgenweg 1, Göttingen, 37077, Germany
| | - Jürgen Homeier
- Plant Ecology and Ecosystems Research, University of Goettingen, Untere Karspüle 2, Göttingen, 37073, Germany
- Centre for Biodiversity and Sustainable Land Use, University of Goettingen, Büsgenweg 1, Göttingen, 37077, Germany
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23
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Nunes MH, Jucker T, Riutta T, Svátek M, Kvasnica J, Rejžek M, Matula R, Majalap N, Ewers RM, Swinfield T, Valbuena R, Vaughn NR, Asner GP, Coomes DA. Recovery of logged forest fragments in a human-modified tropical landscape during the 2015-16 El Niño. Nat Commun 2021; 12:1526. [PMID: 33750781 PMCID: PMC7943823 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-20811-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2020] [Accepted: 12/02/2020] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
The past 40 years in Southeast Asia have seen about 50% of lowland rainforests converted to oil palm and other plantations, and much of the remaining forest heavily logged. Little is known about how fragmentation influences recovery and whether climate change will hamper restoration. Here, we use repeat airborne LiDAR surveys spanning the hot and dry 2015-16 El Niño Southern Oscillation event to measure canopy height growth across 3,300 ha of regenerating tropical forests spanning a logging intensity gradient in Malaysian Borneo. We show that the drought led to increased leaf shedding and branch fall. Short forest, regenerating after heavy logging, continued to grow despite higher evaporative demand, except when it was located close to oil palm plantations. Edge effects from the plantations extended over 300 metres into the forests. Forest growth on hilltops and slopes was particularly impacted by the combination of fragmentation and drought, but even riparian forests located within 40 m of oil palm plantations lost canopy height during the drought. Our results suggest that small patches of logged forest within plantation landscapes will be slow to recover, particularly as ENSO events are becoming more frequent. It is unclear whether tropical forest fragments within plantation landscapes are resilient to drought. Here the authors analyse LiDAR and ground-based data from the 2015-16 El Niño event across a logging intensity gradient in Borneo. Although regenerating forests continued to grow, canopy height near oil palm plantations decreased, and a strong edge effect extended up to at least 300 m away.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matheus Henrique Nunes
- Department of Plant Sciences and Conservation Research Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3QZ, UK. .,Department of Geosciences and Geography, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, 00014, Finland.
| | - Tommaso Jucker
- Department of Plant Sciences and Conservation Research Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3QZ, UK.,School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 1TH, UK
| | - Terhi Riutta
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Silwood Park Campus, Buckhurst Road, Ascot, Berkshire, SL5 7PY, UK.,School of Geography and the Environment, Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3QY, UK
| | - Martin Svátek
- Department of Forest Botany, Dendrology and Geobiocoenology, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, Mendel University in Brno, 613 00, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Jakub Kvasnica
- Department of Forest Botany, Dendrology and Geobiocoenology, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, Mendel University in Brno, 613 00, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Martin Rejžek
- Department of Forest Botany, Dendrology and Geobiocoenology, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, Mendel University in Brno, 613 00, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Radim Matula
- Department of Forest Ecology, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, Prague, 165 00, Czech Republic
| | | | - Robert M Ewers
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Silwood Park Campus, Buckhurst Road, Ascot, Berkshire, SL5 7PY, UK
| | - Tom Swinfield
- Department of Plant Sciences and Conservation Research Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3QZ, UK
| | - Rubén Valbuena
- Department of Plant Sciences and Conservation Research Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3QZ, UK.,School of Natural Sciences, Bangor University, Gwynedd, LL57 2UW, UK
| | - Nicholas R Vaughn
- Center for Global Discovery and Conservation Science, Arizona State University, Tempe AZ and Hilo, Tempe, HI, USA
| | - Gregory P Asner
- Center for Global Discovery and Conservation Science, Arizona State University, Tempe AZ and Hilo, Tempe, HI, USA
| | - David A Coomes
- Department of Plant Sciences and Conservation Research Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3QZ, UK.
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24
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A research framework for projecting ecosystem change in highly diverse tropical mountain ecosystems. Oecologia 2021; 195:589-600. [PMID: 33515062 PMCID: PMC7940296 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-021-04852-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2020] [Accepted: 01/05/2021] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Tropical mountain ecosystems are threatened by climate and land-use changes. Their diversity and complexity make projections how they respond to environmental changes challenging. A suitable way are trait-based approaches, by distinguishing between response traits that determine the resistance of species to environmental changes and effect traits that are relevant for species' interactions, biotic processes, and ecosystem functions. The combination of those approaches with land surface models (LSM) linking the functional community composition to ecosystem functions provides new ways to project the response of ecosystems to environmental changes. With the interdisciplinary project RESPECT, we propose a research framework that uses a trait-based response-effect-framework (REF) to quantify relationships between abiotic conditions, the diversity of functional traits in communities, and associated biotic processes, informing a biodiversity-LSM. We apply the framework to a megadiverse tropical mountain forest. We use a plot design along an elevation and a land-use gradient to collect data on abiotic drivers, functional traits, and biotic processes. We integrate these data to build the biodiversity-LSM and illustrate how to test the model. REF results show that aboveground biomass production is not directly related to changing climatic conditions, but indirectly through associated changes in functional traits. Herbivory is directly related to changing abiotic conditions. The biodiversity-LSM informed by local functional trait and soil data improved the simulation of biomass production substantially. We conclude that local data, also derived from previous projects (platform Ecuador), are key elements of the research framework. We specify essential datasets to apply this framework to other mountain ecosystems.
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25
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Haplotype- and SNP-Based GWAS for Growth and Wood Quality Traits in Eucalyptus cladocalyx Trees under Arid Conditions. PLANTS 2021; 10:plants10010148. [PMID: 33450896 PMCID: PMC7828368 DOI: 10.3390/plants10010148] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2020] [Revised: 01/06/2021] [Accepted: 01/11/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
The agricultural and forestry productivity of Mediterranean ecosystems is strongly threatened by the adverse effects of climate change, including an increase in severe droughts and changes in rainfall distribution. In the present study, we performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) to identify single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and haplotype blocks associated with the growth and wood quality of Eucalyptus cladocalyx, a tree species suitable for low-rainfall sites. The study was conducted in a progeny-provenance trial established in an arid site with Mediterranean patterns located in the southern Atacama Desert, Chile. A total of 87 SNPs and 3 haplotype blocks were significantly associated with the 6 traits under study (tree height, diameter at breast height, slenderness coefficient, first bifurcation height, stem straightness, and pilodyn penetration). In addition, 11 loci were identified as pleiotropic through Bayesian multivariate regression and were mainly associated with wood hardness, height, and diameter. In general, the GWAS revealed associations with genes related to primary metabolism and biosynthesis of cell wall components. Additionally, associations coinciding with stress response genes, such as GEM-related 5 and prohibitin-3, were detected. The findings of this study provide valuable information regarding genetic control of morphological traits related to adaptation to arid environments.
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26
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Dueñas JF, Camenzind T, Roy J, Hempel S, Homeier J, Suárez JP, Rillig MC. Moderate phosphorus additions consistently affect community composition of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in tropical montane forests in southern Ecuador. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2020; 227:1505-1518. [PMID: 32368801 DOI: 10.1111/nph.16641] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2020] [Accepted: 04/20/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Anthropogenic atmospheric deposition can increase nutrient supply in the most remote ecosystems, potentially affecting soil biodiversity. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal (AMF) communities rapidly respond to simulated soil eutrophication in tropical forests. Yet the limited spatio-temporal extent of such manipulations, together with the often unrealistically high fertilization rates employed, impedes generalization of such responses. We sequenced mixed root AMF communities within a seven year-long fully factorial nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) addition experiment, replicated at three tropical montane forests in southern Ecuador with differing environmental characteristics. We hypothesized: strong shifts in community composition and species richness after long-term fertilization, site- and clade-specific responses to N vs P additions depending on local soil fertility and clade life history traits respectively. Fertilization consistently shifted AMF community composition across sites, but only reduced richness of Glomeraceae. Compositional changes were mainly driven by increases in P supply while richness reductions were observed only after combined N and P additions. We conclude that moderate increases of N and P exert a mild but consistent effect on tropical AMF communities. To predict the consequences of these shifts, current results need to be supplemented with experiments that characterize local species-specific AMF functionality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan F Dueñas
- Institute of Biology, Freie Universität Berlin, Altensteinstr. 6, Berlin, 14195, Germany
- Berlin-Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research (BBIB), Berlin, 14195, Germany
| | - Tessa Camenzind
- Institute of Biology, Freie Universität Berlin, Altensteinstr. 6, Berlin, 14195, Germany
- Berlin-Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research (BBIB), Berlin, 14195, Germany
| | - Julien Roy
- Institute of Biology, Freie Universität Berlin, Altensteinstr. 6, Berlin, 14195, Germany
- Berlin-Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research (BBIB), Berlin, 14195, Germany
| | - Stefan Hempel
- Institute of Biology, Freie Universität Berlin, Altensteinstr. 6, Berlin, 14195, Germany
- Berlin-Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research (BBIB), Berlin, 14195, Germany
| | - Jürgen Homeier
- Plant Ecology, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, 37073, Germany
| | - Juan Pablo Suárez
- Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja, San Cayetano Alto, Loja, Ecuador
| | - Matthias C Rillig
- Institute of Biology, Freie Universität Berlin, Altensteinstr. 6, Berlin, 14195, Germany
- Berlin-Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research (BBIB), Berlin, 14195, Germany
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27
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Hofhansl F, Chacón-Madrigal E, Fuchslueger L, Jenking D, Morera-Beita A, Plutzar C, Silla F, Andersen KM, Buchs DM, Dullinger S, Fiedler K, Franklin O, Hietz P, Huber W, Quesada CA, Rammig A, Schrodt F, Vincent AG, Weissenhofer A, Wanek W. Climatic and edaphic controls over tropical forest diversity and vegetation carbon storage. Sci Rep 2020; 10:5066. [PMID: 32193471 PMCID: PMC7081197 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-61868-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2018] [Accepted: 03/04/2020] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Tropical rainforests harbor exceptionally high biodiversity and store large amounts of carbon in vegetation biomass. However, regional variation in plant species richness and vegetation carbon stock can be substantial, and may be related to the heterogeneity of topoedaphic properties. Therefore, aboveground vegetation carbon storage typically differs between geographic forest regions in association with the locally dominant plant functional group. A better understanding of the underlying factors controlling tropical forest diversity and vegetation carbon storage could be critical for predicting tropical carbon sink strength in response to projected climate change. Based on regionally replicated 1-ha forest inventory plots established in a region of high geomorphological heterogeneity we investigated how climatic and edaphic factors affect tropical forest diversity and vegetation carbon storage. Plant species richness (of all living stems >10 cm in diameter) ranged from 69 to 127 ha-1 and vegetation carbon storage ranged from 114 to 200 t ha-1. While plant species richness was controlled by climate and soil water availability, vegetation carbon storage was strongly related to wood density and soil phosphorus availability. Results suggest that local heterogeneity in resource availability and plant functional composition should be considered to improve projections of tropical forest ecosystem functioning under future scenarios.
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Affiliation(s)
- Florian Hofhansl
- International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, Schlossplatz 1, A-2361, Laxenburg, Austria.
| | | | - Lucia Fuchslueger
- Department of Biology, Plants and Ecosystems, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Daniel Jenking
- Escuela de Agronomía, Universidad de Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica
| | - Albert Morera-Beita
- Laboratory of Applied Tropical Ecology, National University of Costa Rica, Heredia, Costa Rica
| | - Christoph Plutzar
- Department of Botany & Biodiversity Research, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Institute of Social Ecology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria
| | - Fernando Silla
- Area of Ecology, Faculty of Biology, University of Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain
| | - Kelly M Andersen
- Nanyang Technological University, Asian School of the Environment, 50 Nanyang Avenue, 639798, Singapore, Singapore
| | - David M Buchs
- School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, Cardiff University, Park Place, Cardiff, CF10 3AT, UK
| | - Stefan Dullinger
- Department of Botany & Biodiversity Research, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Konrad Fiedler
- Department of Botany & Biodiversity Research, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Oskar Franklin
- International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, Schlossplatz 1, A-2361, Laxenburg, Austria
| | - Peter Hietz
- Department of Integrative Biology and Biodiversity Research, Institute of Botany, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria
| | - Werner Huber
- Department of Botany & Biodiversity Research, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Carlos A Quesada
- Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Coordenação de Dinâmica Ambiental, Avenida Ephigenio Salles 2239, Aleixo - 69000000, Manaus, AM, Brasil
| | - Anja Rammig
- Technical University of Munich, TUM School of Life Sciences Weihenstephan, Hans-Carl-v.-Carlowitz-Platz 2, 85354, Freising, Germany
| | - Franziska Schrodt
- School of Geography, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, United Kingdom
| | - Andrea G Vincent
- Escuela de Biología, Universidad de Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica
| | - Anton Weissenhofer
- Department of Botany & Biodiversity Research, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Wolfgang Wanek
- Department of Microbiology & Ecosystem Science, Division of Terrestrial Ecosystem Research, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
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28
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Rabl D, Gottsberger B, Brehm G, Hofhansl F, Fiedler K. Moth assemblages in Costa Rica rain forest mirror small‐scale topographic heterogeneity. Biotropica 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/btp.12677] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Dominik Rabl
- Division of Tropical Ecology and Animal Biodiversity Department of Botany and Biodiversity Research University of Vienna Vienna Austria
| | - Brigitte Gottsberger
- Division of Tropical Ecology and Animal Biodiversity Department of Botany and Biodiversity Research University of Vienna Vienna Austria
| | - Gunnar Brehm
- Phyletisches Museum Institut für Zoologie und Evolutionsbiologie Friedrich‐Schiller‐Universität Jena Germany
| | - Florian Hofhansl
- International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA)Laxenburg Austria
| | - Konrad Fiedler
- Division of Tropical Ecology and Animal Biodiversity Department of Botany and Biodiversity Research University of Vienna Vienna Austria
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29
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Swinfield T, Both S, Riutta T, Bongalov B, Elias D, Majalap‐Lee N, Ostle N, Svátek M, Kvasnica J, Milodowski D, Jucker T, Ewers RM, Zhang Y, Johnson D, Teh YA, Burslem DFRP, Malhi Y, Coomes D. Imaging spectroscopy reveals the effects of topography and logging on the leaf chemistry of tropical forest canopy trees. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2020; 26:989-1002. [PMID: 31845482 PMCID: PMC7027875 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.14903] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2018] [Accepted: 10/03/2019] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
Logging, pervasive across the lowland tropics, affects millions of hectares of forest, yet its influence on nutrient cycling remains poorly understood. One hypothesis is that logging influences phosphorus (P) cycling, because this scarce nutrient is removed in extracted timber and eroded soil, leading to shifts in ecosystem functioning and community composition. However, testing this is challenging because P varies within landscapes as a function of geology, topography and climate. Superimposed upon these trends are compositional changes in logged forests, with species with more acquisitive traits, characterized by higher foliar P concentrations, more dominant. It is difficult to resolve these patterns using traditional field approaches alone. Here, we use airborne light detection and ranging-guided hyperspectral imagery to map foliar nutrient (i.e. P, nitrogen [N]) concentrations, calibrated using field measured traits, over 400 km2 of northeastern Borneo, including a landscape-level disturbance gradient spanning old-growth to repeatedly logged forests. The maps reveal that canopy foliar P and N concentrations decrease with elevation. These relationships were not identified using traditional field measurements of leaf and soil nutrients. After controlling for topography, canopy foliar nutrient concentrations were lower in logged forest than in old-growth areas, reflecting decreased nutrient availability. However, foliar nutrient concentrations and specific leaf area were greatest in relatively short patches in logged areas, reflecting a shift in composition to pioneer species with acquisitive traits. N:P ratio increased in logged forest, suggesting reduced soil P availability through disturbance. Through the first landscape scale assessment of how functional leaf traits change in response to logging, we find that differences from old-growth forest become more pronounced as logged forests increase in stature over time, suggesting exacerbated phosphorus limitation as forests recover.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tom Swinfield
- Forest Ecology and Conservation GroupDepartment of Plant SciencesUniversity of CambridgeCambridgeUK
- Centre for Conservation ScienceRoyal Society for the Protection of BirdsCambridgeUK
| | - Sabine Both
- School of Biological SciencesUniversity of AberdeenAberdeenUK
- Environmental and Rural ScienceUniversity of New EnglandArmidaleNSWAustralia
| | - Terhi Riutta
- Environmental Change InstituteSchool of Geography and the EnvironmentUniversity of OxfordOxfordUK
| | - Boris Bongalov
- Forest Ecology and Conservation GroupDepartment of Plant SciencesUniversity of CambridgeCambridgeUK
| | - Dafydd Elias
- Centre for Ecology & HydrologyLancaster Environment CentreLancasterUK
- Lancaster Environment CentreLancaster UniversityLancasterUK
| | | | - Nicholas Ostle
- Lancaster Environment CentreLancaster UniversityLancasterUK
| | - Martin Svátek
- Department of Forest Botany, Dendrology and GeobiocoenologyFaculty of Forestry and Wood TechnologyMendel University in BrnoBrnoCzech Republic
| | - Jakub Kvasnica
- Department of Forest Botany, Dendrology and GeobiocoenologyFaculty of Forestry and Wood TechnologyMendel University in BrnoBrnoCzech Republic
| | - David Milodowski
- School of GeoSciencesUniversity of EdinburghEdinburghUK
- National Centre for Earth ObservationUniversity of EdinburghEdinburghUK
| | - Tommaso Jucker
- School of Biological SciencesUniversity of BristolBristolUK
| | | | - Yi Zhang
- Forest Ecology and Conservation GroupDepartment of Plant SciencesUniversity of CambridgeCambridgeUK
| | - David Johnson
- School of Earth and Environmental SciencesThe University of ManchesterManchesterUK
| | - Yit Arn Teh
- School of Biological SciencesUniversity of AberdeenAberdeenUK
| | | | - Yadvinder Malhi
- Environmental Change InstituteSchool of Geography and the EnvironmentUniversity of OxfordOxfordUK
| | - David Coomes
- Forest Ecology and Conservation GroupDepartment of Plant SciencesUniversity of CambridgeCambridgeUK
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30
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Peguero G, Sardans J, Asensio D, Fernández-Martínez M, Gargallo-Garriga A, Grau O, Llusià J, Margalef O, Márquez L, Ogaya R, Urbina I, Courtois EA, Stahl C, Van Langenhove L, Verryckt LT, Richter A, Janssens IA, Peñuelas J. Nutrient scarcity strengthens soil fauna control over leaf litter decomposition in tropical rainforests. Proc Biol Sci 2019; 286:20191300. [PMID: 31480974 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2019.1300] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Soil fauna is a key control of the decomposition rate of leaf litter, yet its interactions with litter quality and the soil environment remain elusive. We conducted a litter decomposition experiment across different topographic levels within the landscape replicated in two rainforest sites providing natural gradients in soil fertility to test the hypothesis that low nutrient availability in litter and soil increases the strength of fauna control over litter decomposition. We crossed these data with a large dataset of 44 variables characterizing the biotic and abiotic microenvironment of each sampling point and found that microbe-driven carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) losses from leaf litter were 10.1 and 17.9% lower, respectively, in the nutrient-poorest site, but this among-site difference was equalized when meso- and macrofauna had access to the litterbags. Further, on average, soil fauna enhanced the rate of litter decomposition by 22.6%, and this contribution consistently increased as nutrient availability in the microenvironment declined. Our results indicate that nutrient scarcity increases the importance of soil fauna on C and N cycling in tropical rainforests. Further, soil fauna is able to equalize differences in microbial decomposition potential, thus buffering to a remarkable extent nutrient shortages at an ecosystem level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guille Peguero
- Centre of Excellence PLECO (Plants and Ecosystems), Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, 2610 Wilrijk, Belgium.,CSIC, Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CSIC-UAB, 08913 Bellaterra, Spain.,CREAF, 08913 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
| | - Jordi Sardans
- CSIC, Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CSIC-UAB, 08913 Bellaterra, Spain.,CREAF, 08913 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
| | - Dolores Asensio
- CSIC, Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CSIC-UAB, 08913 Bellaterra, Spain.,CREAF, 08913 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
| | - Marcos Fernández-Martínez
- Centre of Excellence PLECO (Plants and Ecosystems), Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, 2610 Wilrijk, Belgium.,CSIC, Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CSIC-UAB, 08913 Bellaterra, Spain.,CREAF, 08913 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
| | - Albert Gargallo-Garriga
- CSIC, Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CSIC-UAB, 08913 Bellaterra, Spain.,CREAF, 08913 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
| | - Oriol Grau
- CSIC, Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CSIC-UAB, 08913 Bellaterra, Spain.,CREAF, 08913 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
| | - Joan Llusià
- CSIC, Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CSIC-UAB, 08913 Bellaterra, Spain.,CREAF, 08913 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
| | - Olga Margalef
- CSIC, Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CSIC-UAB, 08913 Bellaterra, Spain.,CREAF, 08913 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
| | - Laura Márquez
- CSIC, Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CSIC-UAB, 08913 Bellaterra, Spain.,CREAF, 08913 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
| | - Romà Ogaya
- CSIC, Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CSIC-UAB, 08913 Bellaterra, Spain.,CREAF, 08913 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
| | - Ifigenia Urbina
- CSIC, Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CSIC-UAB, 08913 Bellaterra, Spain.,CREAF, 08913 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
| | - Elodie A Courtois
- Centre of Excellence PLECO (Plants and Ecosystems), Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, 2610 Wilrijk, Belgium.,Laboratoire Ecologie, Evolution, Interactions des Systèmes Amazoniens (LEEISA), Université de Guyane, CNRS, IFREMER, 97300 Cayenne, French Guiana
| | - Clément Stahl
- INRA, UMR EcoFoG, CNRS, Cirad, AgroParisTech, Université des Antilles, Université de Guyane, 97310 Kourou, France
| | - Leandro Van Langenhove
- Centre of Excellence PLECO (Plants and Ecosystems), Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, 2610 Wilrijk, Belgium
| | - Lore T Verryckt
- Centre of Excellence PLECO (Plants and Ecosystems), Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, 2610 Wilrijk, Belgium
| | - Andreas Richter
- Department of Microbiology and Ecosystem Science, University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria
| | - Ivan A Janssens
- Centre of Excellence PLECO (Plants and Ecosystems), Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, 2610 Wilrijk, Belgium
| | - Josep Peñuelas
- CSIC, Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CSIC-UAB, 08913 Bellaterra, Spain.,CREAF, 08913 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
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31
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AGB Estimation in a Tropical Mountain Forest (TMF) by Means of RGB and Multispectral Images Using an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). REMOTE SENSING 2019. [DOI: 10.3390/rs11121413] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
The present investigation evaluates the accuracy of estimating above-ground biomass (AGB) by means of two different sensors installed onboard an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) platform (DJI Inspire I) because the high costs of very high-resolution imagery provided by satellites or light detection and ranging (LiDAR) sensors often impede AGB estimation and the determination of other vegetation parameters. The sensors utilized included an RGB camera (ZENMUSE X3) and a multispectral camera (Parrot Sequoia), whose images were used for AGB estimation in a natural tropical mountain forest (TMF) in Southern Ecuador. The total area covered by the sensors included 80 ha at lower elevations characterized by a fast-changing topography and different vegetation covers. From the total area, a core study site of 24 ha was selected for AGB calculation, applying two different methods. The first method used the RGB images and applied the structure for motion (SfM) process to generate point clouds for a subsequent individual tree classification. Per the classification at tree level, tree height (H) and diameter at breast height (DBH) could be determined, which are necessary input parameters to calculate AGB (Mg ha−1) by means of a specific allometric equation for wet forests. The second method used the multispectral images to calculate the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), which is the basis for AGB estimation applying an equation for tropical evergreen forests. The obtained results were validated against a previous AGB estimation for the same area using LiDAR data. The study found two major results: (i) The NDVI-based AGB estimates obtained by multispectral drone imagery were less accurate due to the saturation effect in dense tropical forests, (ii) the photogrammetric approach using RGB images provided reliable AGB estimates comparable to expensive LiDAR surveys (R2: 0.85). However, the latter is only possible if an auxiliary digital terrain model (DTM) in very high resolution is available because in dense natural forests the terrain surface (DTM) is hardly detectable by passive sensors due to the canopy layer, which impedes ground detection.
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32
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Early Growth Response of Nine Timber Species to Release in a Tropical Mountain Forest of Southern Ecuador. FORESTS 2019. [DOI: 10.3390/f10030254] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Research Highlights: This study determined that treatment “release from competitors” causes different reactions in selected timber species respective to diametrical growth, in which the initial size of the tree (diametric class) is important. Also, the growth habit and phenological traits (defoliation) of the species must be considered, which may have an influence on growth after release. Background and Objectives: The objective of the study was to analyze the diametric growth of nine timber species after their release to answer the following questions: (i) Can the diametric growth of the selected timber species be increased by release? (ii) Does the release cause different responses among the tree species? (iii) Are other factors important, such as the initial diameter at breast height (DBH) or the general climate conditions? Materials and Methods: Four-hundred and eighty-eight trees belonging to nine timber species were selected and monitored over a three-year period. Release was applied to 197 trees, whereas 251 trees served as control trees to evaluate the response of diametrical growth. To determine the response of the trees, a linear mixed model (GLMM, R package: LMER4) was used, which was adjusted by a one-way ANOVA test. Results: All species showed a similar annual cycle respective to diametric increases, which is due to the per-humid climate in the area. Precipitation is secondary for the diametric growth because sufficient rainfall occurs throughout year. What is more important, however, are variations in temperature. However, the species responded differently to release. This is because the initial DBH and growth habit are more important factors. Therefore, the species could be classified into three specific groups: Positive, negative and no response to release. Conclusions: Species which prefer open sites responded positively to release, while shade tolerant species and species with pronounced phenological traits responded negatively. The initial DBH was also an important factor for diametric increases. This is because trees of class I (20 cm to 30 cm DBH) responded positively to the treatment, whereas for bigger or older individuals, the differences decreased or became negative.
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33
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Jucker T, Hardwick SR, Both S, Elias DMO, Ewers RM, Milodowski DT, Swinfield T, Coomes DA. Canopy structure and topography jointly constrain the microclimate of human-modified tropical landscapes. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2018; 24:5243-5258. [PMID: 30246358 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.14415] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2018] [Accepted: 07/02/2018] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
Local-scale microclimatic conditions in forest understoreys play a key role in shaping the composition, diversity and function of these ecosystems. Consequently, understanding what drives variation in forest microclimate is critical to forecasting ecosystem responses to global change, particularly in the tropics where many species already operate close to their thermal limits and rapid land-use transformation is profoundly altering local environments. Yet our ability to characterize forest microclimate at ecologically meaningful scales remains limited, as understorey conditions cannot be directly measured from outside the canopy. To address this challenge, we established a network of microclimate sensors across a land-use intensity gradient spanning from old-growth forests to oil-palm plantations in Borneo. We then combined these observations with high-resolution airborne laser scanning data to characterize how topography and canopy structure shape variation in microclimate both locally and across the landscape. In the processes, we generated high-resolution microclimate surfaces spanning over 350 km2 , which we used to explore the potential impacts of habitat degradation on forest regeneration under both current and future climate scenarios. We found that topography and vegetation structure were strong predictors of local microclimate, with elevation and terrain curvature primarily constraining daily mean temperatures and vapour pressure deficit (VPD), whereas canopy height had a clear dampening effect on microclimate extremes. This buffering effect was particularly pronounced on wind-exposed slopes but tended to saturate once canopy height exceeded 20 m-suggesting that despite intensive logging, secondary forests remain largely thermally buffered. Nonetheless, at a landscape-scale microclimate was highly heterogeneous, with maximum daily temperatures ranging between 24.2 and 37.2°C and VPD spanning two orders of magnitude. Based on this, we estimate that by the end of the century forest regeneration could be hampered in degraded secondary forests that characterize much of Borneo's lowlands if temperatures continue to rise following projected trends.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tommaso Jucker
- Forest Ecology and Conservation group, Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- CSIRO Land and Water, Floreat, WA, Australia
| | - Stephen R Hardwick
- Blackett Laboratory, Department of Physics, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Sabine Both
- School of Environmental and Rural Science, University of New England, Armidale, NSW, Australia
- Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK
| | - Dafydd M O Elias
- Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK
- Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster, UK
| | | | | | - Tom Swinfield
- Forest Ecology and Conservation group, Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - David A Coomes
- Forest Ecology and Conservation group, Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
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34
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Estimation of Above Ground Biomass in a Tropical Mountain Forest in Southern Ecuador Using Airborne LiDAR Data. REMOTE SENSING 2018. [DOI: 10.3390/rs10050660] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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35
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Jucker T, Bongalov B, Burslem DFRP, Nilus R, Dalponte M, Lewis SL, Phillips OL, Qie L, Coomes DA. Topography shapes the structure, composition and function of tropical forest landscapes. Ecol Lett 2018; 21:989-1000. [PMID: 29659115 PMCID: PMC6849614 DOI: 10.1111/ele.12964] [Citation(s) in RCA: 84] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2017] [Revised: 12/17/2017] [Accepted: 03/18/2018] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Topography is a key driver of tropical forest structure and composition, as it constrains local nutrient and hydraulic conditions within which trees grow. Yet, we do not fully understand how changes in forest physiognomy driven by topography impact other emergent properties of forests, such as their aboveground carbon density (ACD). Working in Borneo – at a site where 70‐m‐tall forests in alluvial valleys rapidly transition to stunted heath forests on nutrient‐depleted dip slopes – we combined field data with airborne laser scanning and hyperspectral imaging to characterise how topography shapes the vertical structure, wood density, diversity and ACD of nearly 15 km2 of old‐growth forest. We found that subtle differences in elevation – which control soil chemistry and hydrology – profoundly influenced the structure, composition and diversity of the canopy. Capturing these processes was critical to explaining landscape‐scale heterogeneity in ACD, highlighting how emerging remote sensing technologies can provide new insights into long‐standing ecological questions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tommaso Jucker
- Department of Plant Sciences, Forest Ecology and Conservation group, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.,CSIRO Land and Water, 147 Underwood Avenue, Floreat, 6014, WA, Australia
| | - Boris Bongalov
- Department of Plant Sciences, Forest Ecology and Conservation group, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - David F R P Burslem
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Cruickshank Building, St Machar Drive, Aberdeen, UK
| | - Reuben Nilus
- Sabah Forestry Department, Forest Research Centre, P.O. Box 1407, 90715, Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia
| | - Michele Dalponte
- Department of Sustainable Agro-ecosystems and Bioresources, Research and Innovation Centre, Fondazione E. Mach, Via E. Mach 1, 38010, San Michele all'Adige, Italy
| | - Simon L Lewis
- School of Geography, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK
| | | | - Lan Qie
- School of Geography, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK.,Imperial College London, Silwood Park Campus, Buckhusrt Road, Ascot, SL5 7PY, UK
| | - David A Coomes
- Department of Plant Sciences, Forest Ecology and Conservation group, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
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Abstract
Elevational diversity gradients are typically studied without considering the complex small-scale topography of large mountains, which generates habitats of strongly different environmental conditions within the same elevational zones. Here we analyzed the importance of small-scale topography for elevational diversity patterns of hyperdiverse tropical leaf beetles (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae). We compared patterns of elevational diversity and species composition of beetles in two types of forests (on mountain ridges and in valleys) and analyzed whether differences in the rate of species turnover among forest habitats lead to shifts in patterns of elevational diversity when scaling up from the local study site to the elevational belt level. We sampled beetle assemblages at 36 sites in the Podocarpus National Park, Ecuador, which were equally distributed over two forest habitats and three elevational levels. DNA barcoding and Poisson tree processes modelling were used to delimitate putative species. On average, local leaf beetle diversity showed a clear hump-shaped pattern. However, only diversity in forests on mountain ridges peaked at mid-elevation, while beetle diversity in valleys was similarly high at low- and mid-elevation and only declined at highest elevations. A higher turnover of species assemblages at lower than at mid-elevations caused a shift from a hump-shaped diversity pattern found at the local level to a low-elevation plateau pattern (with similar species numbers at low and mid-elevation) at the elevational belt level. Our study reveals an important role of small-scale topography and spatial scale for the inference on gradients of elevational species diversity.
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Báez S, Homeier J. Functional traits determine tree growth and ecosystem productivity of a tropical montane forest: Insights from a long-term nutrient manipulation experiment. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2018; 24:399-409. [PMID: 28921844 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.13905] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2017] [Revised: 07/27/2017] [Accepted: 08/22/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Trait-response effects are critical to forecast community structure and biomass production in highly diverse tropical forests. Ecological theory and few observation studies indicate that trees with acquisitive functional traits would respond more strongly to higher resource availability than those with conservative traits. We assessed how long-term tree growth in experimental nutrient addition plots (N, P, and N + P) varied as a function of morphological traits, tree size, and species identity. We also evaluated how trait-based responses affected stand scale biomass production considering the community structure. We found that tree growth depended on interactions between functional traits and the type or combination of nutrients added. Common species with acquisitive functional traits responded more strongly to nutrient addition, mainly to N + P. Phosphorous enhanced the growth rates of species with acquisitive and conservative traits, had mostly positive effects on common species and neutral or negative effects in rare species. Moreover, trees receiving N + P grew faster irrespective of their initial size relative to trees in control or to trees in other treatment plots. Finally, species responses were highly idiosyncratic suggesting that community processes including competition and niche dimensionality may be altered under increased resource availability. We found no statistically significant effects of nutrient additions on aboveground biomass productivity because acquisitive species had a limited potential to increase their biomass, possibly due to their generally lower wood density. In contrast, P addition increased the growth rates of species characterized by more conservative resource strategies (with higher wood density) that were poorly represented in the plant community. We provide the first long-term experimental evidence that trait-based responses, community structure, and community processes modulate the effects of increased nutrient availability on biomass productivity in a tropical forest.
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Affiliation(s)
- Selene Báez
- Instituto de Ciencias Biológicas, Escuela Politécnica Nacional, Quito, Ecuador
- Museo de Colecciones Biológicas, Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja, Loja, Ecuador
| | - Jürgen Homeier
- Plant Ecology, University of Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany
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38
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Cárate-Tandalla D, Camenzind T, Leuschner C, Homeier J. Contrasting species responses to continued nitrogen and phosphorus addition in tropical montane forest tree seedlings. Biotropica 2017. [DOI: 10.1111/btp.12518] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Daisy Cárate-Tandalla
- Plant Ecology and Ecosystems Research; University of Goettingen; Untere Karspuele 2 37073 Goettingen Germany
| | - Tessa Camenzind
- Plant Ecology; Institute of Biology; Freie Universität Berlin; Altensteinstraβe 6 14195 Berlin Germany
- Berlin-Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research; Berlin Germany
| | - Christoph Leuschner
- Plant Ecology and Ecosystems Research; University of Goettingen; Untere Karspuele 2 37073 Goettingen Germany
| | - Jürgen Homeier
- Plant Ecology and Ecosystems Research; University of Goettingen; Untere Karspuele 2 37073 Goettingen Germany
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39
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Camenzind T, Hättenschwiler S, Treseder KK, Lehmann A, Rillig MC. Nutrient limitation of soil microbial processes in tropical forests. ECOL MONOGR 2017. [DOI: 10.1002/ecm.1279] [Citation(s) in RCA: 174] [Impact Index Per Article: 24.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Tessa Camenzind
- Institute of Biology; Freie Universität Berlin; Altensteinstr. 6 14195 Berlin Germany
- Berlin-Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research (BBIB); 14195 Berlin Germany
| | - Stephan Hättenschwiler
- Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive (CEFE); UMR 5175; CNRS, Université de Montpellier, Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier, EPHE; 1919 route de Mende 34293 Montpellier Cedex 5 France
| | - Kathleen K. Treseder
- School of Biological Sciences; University of California; Irvine California 92697 USA
| | - Anika Lehmann
- Institute of Biology; Freie Universität Berlin; Altensteinstr. 6 14195 Berlin Germany
- Berlin-Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research (BBIB); 14195 Berlin Germany
| | - Matthias C. Rillig
- Institute of Biology; Freie Universität Berlin; Altensteinstr. 6 14195 Berlin Germany
- Berlin-Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research (BBIB); 14195 Berlin Germany
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40
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Augusto L, Achat DL, Jonard M, Vidal D, Ringeval B. Soil parent material-A major driver of plant nutrient limitations in terrestrial ecosystems. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2017; 23:3808-3824. [PMID: 28317232 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.13691] [Citation(s) in RCA: 92] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2016] [Accepted: 02/23/2017] [Indexed: 05/15/2023]
Abstract
Because the capability of terrestrial ecosystems to fix carbon is constrained by nutrient availability, understanding how nutrients limit plant growth is a key contemporary question. However, what drives nutrient limitations at global scale remains to be clarified. Using global data on plant growth, plant nutritive status, and soil fertility, we investigated to which extent soil parent materials explain nutrient limitations. We found that N limitation was not linked to soil parent materials, but was best explained by climate: ecosystems under harsh (i.e., cold and or dry) climates were more N-limited than ecosystems under more favourable climates. Contrary to N limitation, P limitation was not driven by climate, but by soil parent materials. The influence of soil parent materials was the result of the tight link between actual P pools of soils and physical-chemical properties (acidity, P richness) of soil parent materials. Some other ground-related factors (i.e., soil weathering stage, landform) had a noticeable influence on P limitation, but their role appeared to be relatively smaller than that of geology. The relative importance of N limitation versus P limitation was explained by a combination of climate and soil parent material: at global scale, N limitation became prominent with increasing climatic constraints, but this global trend was modulated at lower scales by the effect of parent materials on P limitation, particularly under climates favourable to biological activity. As compared with soil parent materials, atmospheric deposition had only a weak influence on the global distribution of actual nutrient limitation. Our work advances our understanding of the distribution of nutrient limitation at global scale. In particular, it stresses the need to take soil parent materials into account when investigating plant growth response to environment changes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laurent Augusto
- UMR 1391 ISPA, Bordeaux Sciences Agro, INRA, Villenave d'Ornon, France
| | - David L Achat
- UMR 1391 ISPA, Bordeaux Sciences Agro, INRA, Villenave d'Ornon, France
| | - Mathieu Jonard
- Earth and Life Institute, Université Catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - David Vidal
- UMR 1391 ISPA, Bordeaux Sciences Agro, INRA, Villenave d'Ornon, France
| | - Bruno Ringeval
- UMR 1391 ISPA, Bordeaux Sciences Agro, INRA, Villenave d'Ornon, France
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41
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Ellis NM, Leroux SJ. Moose directly slow plant regeneration but have limited indirect effects on soil stoichiometry and litter decomposition rates in disturbed maritime boreal forests. Funct Ecol 2017. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.12785] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Nichola M. Ellis
- Department of Biology Memorial University of Newfoundland 232 Elizabeth Avenue St. John's NLAIB 3X9 Canada
| | - Shawn J. Leroux
- Department of Biology Memorial University of Newfoundland 232 Elizabeth Avenue St. John's NLAIB 3X9 Canada
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42
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Towards integrated ecological research in tropical montane cloud forests. JOURNAL OF TROPICAL ECOLOGY 2016. [DOI: 10.1017/s0266467416000432] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Abstract:Tropical tropical montane cloud forests (TMCFs) cover a small portion of the Earth, yet they are significant biodiversity hotspots and centres of endemism, and they provide important hydrological and biogeochemical functions that affect human livelihoods. Given their fundamental sensitivity to climate, TMCFs also serve as an early warning system for climate change impacts. This paper outlines a new international initiative, CloudNet, that aims to promote integrated research across TMCFs, and introduces a special issue that reviews emerging themes and topics in the ecology of TMCFs, highlighting knowledge gaps and suggesting new directions for research. CloudNet is helping coordinate several new research projects and protocols: (1) a global repository of TMCF data and meta-analyses across multiple sites; (2) a multi-site study of plant functional traits across TMCFs; (3) a multi-site study of decomposition processes across TMCFs; (4) a protocol for standardizing climate data collection across TMCFs. These studies are intended to evaluate the extent to which general patterns emerge, accounting for biogeographic, phylogenetic and environmental differences among sites. Common data collection across TMCFs should also allow better integration across disciplines, such as linking nutrient limitation, seed production and propagule recruitment, and enable cross-site comparisons of how TMCFs respond to drivers of global change, including rising cloud bases, increasing temperatures, altered disturbance regimes, biological invasions and extinction, and changing human land use.
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43
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Weintraub SR, Cole RJ, Schmitt CG, All JD. Climatic controls on the isotopic composition and availability of soil nitrogen across mountainous tropical forest. Ecosphere 2016. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.1412] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Samantha R. Weintraub
- Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research University of Colorado Boulder Boulder Colorado 80303 USA
| | - Rebecca J. Cole
- Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research University of Colorado Boulder Boulder Colorado 80303 USA
| | - Carl G. Schmitt
- Mesoscale and Microscale Meteorology Division National Center for Atmospheric Research Boulder Colorado 80301 USA
| | - John D. All
- Department of Geography and Geology Western Kentucky University Bowling Green Kentucky 42101 USA
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44
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Geographic, environmental and biotic sources of variation in the nutrient relations of tropical montane forests. JOURNAL OF TROPICAL ECOLOGY 2015. [DOI: 10.1017/s0266467415000619] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Abstract:Tropical montane forests (TMF) are associated with a widely observed suite of characteristics encompassing forest structure, plant traits and biogeochemistry. With respect to nutrient relations, montane forests are characterized by slow decomposition of organic matter, high investment in below-ground biomass and poor litter quality, relative to tropical lowland forests. However, within TMF there is considerable variation in substrate age, parent material, disturbance and species composition. Here we emphasize that many TMFs are likely to be co-limited by multiple nutrients, and that feedback among soil properties, species traits, microbial communities and environmental conditions drive forest productivity and soil carbon storage. To date, studies of the biogeochemistry of montane forests have been restricted to a few, mostly neotropical, sites and focused mainly on trees while ignoring mycorrhizas, epiphytes and microbial community structure. Incorporating the geographic, environmental and biotic variability in TMF will lead to a greater recognition of plant–soil feedbacks that are critical to understanding constraints on productivity, both under present conditions and under future climate, nitrogen-deposition and land-use scenarios.
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45
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Tropical montane cloud forest: environmental drivers of vegetation structure and ecosystem function. JOURNAL OF TROPICAL ECOLOGY 2015. [DOI: 10.1017/s0266467415000176] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Abstract:Tropical montane cloud forests (TMCF) are characterized by short trees, often twisted with multiple stems, with many stems per ground area, a large stem diameter to height ratio, and small, often thick leaves. These forests exhibit high root to shoot ratio, with a moderate leaf area index, low above-ground production, low leaf nutrient concentrations and often with luxuriant epiphytic growth. These traits of TMCF are caused by climatic conditions not geological substrate, and are particularly associated with frequent or persistent fog and low cloud. There are several reasons why fog might result in these features. Firstly, the fog and clouds reduce the amount of light received per unit area of ground and as closed-canopy forests absorb most of the light that reaches them the reduction in the total amount of light reduces growth. Secondly, the rate of photosynthesis per leaf area declines in comparison with that in the lowlands, which leads to less carbon fixation. Nitrogen supply limits growth in several of the few TMCFs where it has been investigated experimentally. High root : shoot biomass and production ratios are common in TMCF, and soils are often wet which may contribute to N limitation. Further study is needed to clarify the causes of several key features of TMCF ecosystems including high tree diameter : height ratio.
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46
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Laughlin DC, Richardson SJ, Wright EF, Bellingham PJ. Environmental Filtering and Positive Plant Litter Feedback Simultaneously Explain Correlations Between Leaf Traits and Soil Fertility. Ecosystems 2015. [DOI: 10.1007/s10021-015-9899-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
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