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Abiem I, Dickie I, Kenfack D, Chapman HM. Factors limiting plant recruitment in a tropical Afromontane Forest. Biotropica 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/btp.13179] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Iveren Abiem
- School of Biological Sciences University of Canterbury Christchurch New Zealand
- Department of Plant Science and Biotechnology University of Jos Jos Nigeria
- Nigerian Montane Forest Project Yelwa Village Nigeria
| | - Ian Dickie
- School of Biological Sciences University of Canterbury Christchurch New Zealand
| | - David Kenfack
- Forest Global Earth Observatory, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Washington District of Columbia USA
| | - Hazel M. Chapman
- School of Biological Sciences University of Canterbury Christchurch New Zealand
- Nigerian Montane Forest Project Yelwa Village Nigeria
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Barber C, Graves SJ, Hall JS, Zuidema PA, Brandt J, Bohlman SA, Asner GP, Bailón M, Caughlin TT. Species-level tree crown maps improve predictions of tree recruit abundance in a tropical landscape. ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS : A PUBLICATION OF THE ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2022; 32:e2585. [PMID: 35333420 DOI: 10.1002/eap.2585] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2021] [Revised: 10/26/2021] [Accepted: 11/04/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Predicting forest recovery at landscape scales will aid forest restoration efforts. The first step in successful forest recovery is tree recruitment. Forecasts of tree recruit abundance, derived from the landscape-scale distribution of seed sources (i.e., adult trees), could assist efforts to identify sites with high potential for natural regeneration. However, previous work revealed wide variation in the effect of seed sources on seedling abundance, from positive to no effect. We quantified the relationship between adult tree seed sources and tree recruits and predicted where natural recruitment would occur in a fragmented, tropical, agricultural landscape. We integrated species-specific tree crown maps generated from hyperspectral imagery and property ownership data with field data on the spatial distribution of tree recruits from five species. We then developed hierarchical Bayesian models to predict landscape-scale recruit abundance. Our models revealed that species-specific maps of tree crowns improved recruit abundance predictions. Conspecific crown area had a much stronger impact on recruitment abundance (8.00% increase in recruit abundance when conspecific tree density increases from zero to one tree; 95% credible interval (CI): 0.80% to 11.57%) than heterospecific crown area (0.03% increase with the addition of a single heterospecific tree, 95% CI: -0.60% to 0.68%). Individual property ownership was also an important predictor of recruit abundance: The best performing model had varying effects of conspecific and heterospecific crown area on recruit abundance, depending on individual property ownership. We demonstrate how novel remote sensing approaches and cadastral data can be used to generate high-resolution and landscape-level maps of tree recruit abundance. Spatial models parameterized with field, cadastral, and remote sensing data are poised to assist decision support for forest landscape restoration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cristina Barber
- Biological Sciences, Boise State University, Boise, Idaho, USA
| | - Sarah J Graves
- Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Jefferson S Hall
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, ForestGEO, Panama City, Panama
| | - Pieter A Zuidema
- Forest Ecology and Forest Management group, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Jodi Brandt
- Human-Environment Systems, Boise State University, Boise, Idaho, USA
| | - Stephanie A Bohlman
- School of Forest Resources and Conservation, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama City, Panama
| | - Gregory P Asner
- Center for Global Discovery and Conservation Science, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA
| | - Mario Bailón
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama City, Panama
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3
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Beltrán LC, Martínez‐Garza C, Howe HF. Return of forest structure and diversity in tropical restoration plantings. Ecosphere 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.4099] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Luis Carlos Beltrán
- Department of Biological Sciences University of Illinois at Chicago Chicago Illinois USA
| | - Cristina Martínez‐Garza
- Centro de Investigación en Biodiversidad y Conservación Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos Cuernavaca Mexico
| | - Henry F. Howe
- Department of Biological Sciences University of Illinois at Chicago Chicago Illinois USA
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Jaafar R, Yadok BG, Elisha EB, Chapman HM. Grassland trees and the common bulbul
Pycnonotus barbatus
promote Afromontane forest restoration. Biotropica 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/btp.12986] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ridwan Jaafar
- Ecology and Biodiversity Department Biology Vrije Universiteit Brussels Brussels Belgium
| | | | | | - Hazel M. Chapman
- School of Biological Sciences University of Canterbury Christchurch New Zealand
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Ndangalasi HJ, Martínez-Garza C, Harjo TCA, Pedigo CA, Wilson RJ, Cordeiro NJ. Seedling recruitment under isolated trees in a tea plantation provides a template for forest restoration in eastern Africa. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0250859. [PMID: 33956837 PMCID: PMC8101954 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0250859] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2020] [Accepted: 04/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Natural regeneration is less expensive than tree planting, but determining what species will arrive and establish to serve as templates for tropical forest restoration remains poorly investigated in eastern Africa. This study summarises seedling recruitment under 29 isolated legacy trees (14 trees comprised of three exotic species and 15 trees comprised of seven native species) in tea plantations in the East Usambara Mountains, Tanzania. Among the findings were that pioneer recruits were very abundant whereas non-pioneers were disproportionately fewer. Importantly, 98% of all recruits were animal-dispersed. The size of legacy trees, driven mostly by the exotic Grevillea robusta, and to some extent, the native Milicia excelsa, explained abundance of recruits. The distribution of bird-dispersed recruits suggested that some bird species use all types of legacy trees equally in this fragmented landscape. In contrast, the distribution of bat-dispersed recruits provided strong evidence that seedling composition differed under native versus exotic legacy trees likely due to fruit bats showing more preference for native legacy trees. Native, as compared to exotic legacy trees, had almost two times more non-pioneer recruits, with Ficus and Milicia excelsa driving this trend. Implications of our findings regarding restoration in the tropics are numerous for the movement of native animal-dispersed tree species in fragmented and disturbed tropical forests surrounded by farmland. Isolated native trees that bear fleshy fruits can attract more frugivores, resulting not only in high recruitment under them, but depending on the dispersal mode of the legacy trees, also different suites of recruited species. When selecting tree species for plantings, to maximize visitation by different dispersal agents and to enhance seedling recruit diversity, bat-dispersed Milicia excelsa and Ficus species are recommended.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Cristina Martínez-Garza
- Departamento de Ecología Evolutiva, Centro de Investigación en Biodiversidad y Conservación, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos, Cuernavaca, Morelos, México
| | - Tesakiah C. A. Harjo
- Department of Biology, Roosevelt University, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Clayton A. Pedigo
- Department of Biology, Roosevelt University, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Rebecca J. Wilson
- Department of Biology, Roosevelt University, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Norbert J. Cordeiro
- Department of Biology, Roosevelt University, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
- Negaunee Integrative Research, Science & Education, The Field Museum, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
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Werden LK, Holl KD, Rosales JA, Sylvester JM, Zahawi RA. Effects of dispersal- and niche-based factors on tree recruitment in tropical wet forest restoration. ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS : A PUBLICATION OF THE ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2020; 30:e02139. [PMID: 32335980 DOI: 10.1002/eap.2139] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2019] [Revised: 02/25/2020] [Accepted: 03/18/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Both dispersal- and niche-based factors can impose major barriers on tree establishment. Our understanding of how these factors interact to determine recruitment rates is based primarily on findings from mature tropical forests, despite the fact that a majority of tropical forests are now secondary. Consequently, factors influencing seed limitation and the seed-to-seedling transition (STS) in disturbed landscapes, and how those factors shift during succession, are not well understood. We used a 3.5-yr record of seed rain and seedling establishment to investigate factors influencing tree recruitment after a decade of recovery in a tropical wet forest restoration experiment in southern Costa Rica. We asked (1) how do a range of restoration treatments (natural regeneration, applied nucleation, plantation), canopy cover, and life-history traits influence the STS and (2) how do seed and establishment limitation (lack of seed arrival or lack of seedling recruitment, respectively) influence vegetation recovery within restoration treatments as compared to remnant forest? We did not observe any differences in STS rates across restoration treatments. However, STS rates were lowest in adjacent later successional remnant forests, where seed source availability did not highly limit seed arrival, underscoring that niche-based processes may increasingly limit recruitment as succession unfolds. Additionally, larger-seeded species had consistently higher STS rates across treatments and remnant forests, though establishment limitation for these species was lowest in the remnant forests. Species were generally seed limited and almost all were establishment limited; these patterns were consistent across treatments. However, our results suggest that differences in recruitment rates could be driven by differential dispersal to treatments with higher canopy cover. We found evidence that barriers to recruitment shift during succession, with the influence of seed limitation, mediated by species-level seed deposition rates, giving way to niche-based processes. However, establishment limitation was lowest in the remnant forests for large-seeded and late successional species, highlighting the importance of habitat specialization and life-history traits in dictating recruitment dynamics. Overall, results demonstrate that active restoration approaches such as tree planting catalyze forest recovery, not only by decreasing components of seed limitation, but also by developing canopy cover that increases establishment rates of larger-seeded species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leland K Werden
- Lyon Arboretum, University of Hawaii at Mānoa, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
| | - Karen D Holl
- Environmental Studies Department, University of California, Santa Cruz, California, 95064, USA
| | - Juan Abel Rosales
- Las Cruces Biological Station, Organization for Tropical Studies, San Vito de Coto Brus, Costa Rica
| | - Janelle M Sylvester
- TROPIMUNDO Erasmus Mundus Program, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Bruxelles, 1000, Belgium
| | - Rakan A Zahawi
- Lyon Arboretum, University of Hawaii at Mānoa, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
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Plant Attributes that Drive Dispersal and Establishment Limitation in Tropical Agricultural Landscapes. FORESTS 2018. [DOI: 10.3390/f9100620] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Factors that influence tropical-forest regeneration have been of interest across the tropics. We tested the degree of dispersal and establishment limitation of pioneer and non-pioneer tree species with different dispersal modes and seed sizes, using data on both seed fall and seedling establishment in primary forest, secondary forest, and pasture excluded from livestock. The study took place in a lowland tropical rain forest in southeastern Mexico. To calculate dispersal and establishment limitation, we used a density-weighted index that considers: (1) whether a seed or seedling of a given species has arrived in the sample area; and (2) the fraction of seeds or seedlings contributed by a given species relative to the total number of seeds or seedlings arriving at a sampling station. Dispersal limitation of non-pioneer species and animal-dispersed species decreased with succession. The secondary forest had less dispersal limitation for wind-dispersed pioneers than pasture, resulting in a dense aggregation of species with seeds dispersed by wind. Overall, establishment limitation differed between animal-dispersed and wind-dispersed species in the primary forest, and was negatively correlated with seed size. The low capacity of most species to arrive, germinate, and establish as seedlings in pastures slows succession back to forest. To overcome barriers to natural succession in pastures, transplanting seedlings of non-pioneer species is suggested because most of them show high dispersal and establishment limitation.
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