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Poorter L, Rozendaal DMA, Bongers F, Almeida DJS, Álvarez FS, Andrade JL, Arreola Villa LF, Becknell JM, Bhaskar R, Boukili V, Brancalion PHS, César RG, Chave J, Chazdon RL, Dalla Colletta G, Craven D, de Jong BHJ, Denslow JS, Dent DH, DeWalt SJ, Díaz García E, Dupuy JM, Durán SM, Espírito Santo MM, Fernandes GW, Finegan B, Granda Moser V, Hall JS, Hernández-Stefanoni JL, Jakovac CC, Kennard D, Lebrija-Trejos E, Letcher SG, Lohbeck M, Lopez OR, Marín-Spiotta E, Martínez-Ramos M, Meave JA, Mora F, de Souza Moreno V, Müller SC, Muñoz R, Muscarella R, Nunes YRF, Ochoa-Gaona S, Oliveira RS, Paz H, Sanchez-Azofeifa A, Sanaphre-Villanueva L, Toledo M, Uriarte M, Utrera LP, van Breugel M, van der Sande MT, Veloso MDM, Wright SJ, Zanini KJ, Zimmerman JK, Westoby M. Functional recovery of secondary tropical forests. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:e2003405118. [PMID: 34845017 PMCID: PMC8670493 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2003405118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
One-third of all Neotropical forests are secondary forests that regrow naturally after agricultural use through secondary succession. We need to understand better how and why succession varies across environmental gradients and broad geographic scales. Here, we analyze functional recovery using community data on seven plant characteristics (traits) of 1,016 forest plots from 30 chronosequence sites across the Neotropics. By analyzing communities in terms of their traits, we enhance understanding of the mechanisms of succession, assess ecosystem recovery, and use these insights to propose successful forest restoration strategies. Wet and dry forests diverged markedly for several traits that increase growth rate in wet forests but come at the expense of reduced drought tolerance, delay, or avoidance, which is important in seasonally dry forests. Dry and wet forests showed different successional pathways for several traits. In dry forests, species turnover is driven by drought tolerance traits that are important early in succession and in wet forests by shade tolerance traits that are important later in succession. In both forests, deciduous and compound-leaved trees decreased with forest age, probably because microclimatic conditions became less hot and dry. Our results suggest that climatic water availability drives functional recovery by influencing the start and trajectory of succession, resulting in a convergence of community trait values with forest age when vegetation cover builds up. Within plots, the range in functional trait values increased with age. Based on the observed successional trait changes, we indicate the consequences for carbon and nutrient cycling and propose an ecologically sound strategy to improve forest restoration success.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lourens Poorter
- Forest Ecology and Forest Management Group, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen 6700 AA, The Netherlands;
| | - Danaë M A Rozendaal
- Forest Ecology and Forest Management Group, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen 6700 AA, The Netherlands
- Plant Production Systems Group, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen 6700 AK, The Netherlands
- Centre for Crop Systems Analysis, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen 6700 AK, The Netherlands
| | - Frans Bongers
- Forest Ecology and Forest Management Group, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen 6700 AA, The Netherlands
| | - de Jarcilene S Almeida
- Departamento de Botânica, Centro de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife 50670-901, Brazil
| | - Francisco S Álvarez
- Forests, Biodiversity and Climate Change Programme, Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza, 30501 Turrialba, Costa Rica
| | - José Luís Andrade
- Centro de Investigación Científica de Yucatán A.C., Unidad de Recursos Naturales 97205 Mérida, México
| | - Luis Felipe Arreola Villa
- Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y Sustentabilidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México 58089 Morelia, México
| | | | - Radika Bhaskar
- Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y Sustentabilidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México 58089 Morelia, México
- College of Design, Engineering, and Commerce, Philadelphia University, Philadelphia, PA 19144
| | | | - Pedro H S Brancalion
- Department of Forest Sciences, "Luiz de Queiroz" College of Agriculture, University of São Paulo, Piracicaba 13418-900, Brazil
| | - Ricardo G César
- Department of Forest Sciences, "Luiz de Queiroz" College of Agriculture, University of São Paulo, Piracicaba 13418-900, Brazil
| | - Jerome Chave
- Laboratoire Evolution et Diversité Biologique, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université Paul Sabatier, Toulouse F-31062, France
| | - Robin L Chazdon
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269
- Tropical Forests and People Research Centre, University of the Sunshine Coast, Sippy Downs QLD 4556, Australia
- International Institute for Sustainability, Rio de Janeiro 22460-320, Brazil
| | - Gabriel Dalla Colletta
- Institute of Biology, University of Campinas, Cidade Universitária Zeferino Vaz, Campinas 13083-970, Brazil
| | - Dylan Craven
- Centro de Modelacion y Monitoreo, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Mayor, Santiago, Chile
| | - Ben H J de Jong
- Department of Sustainability Science, El Colegio de la Frontera Sur 24500 Campeche, Mexico
| | - Julie S Denslow
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70118
| | - Daisy H Dent
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Ancon 0843-03092, Panamá
- Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Stirling, Stirling FK9 4LA, United Kingdom
| | - Saara J DeWalt
- Department of Biological Sciences, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634
| | - Elisa Díaz García
- Department of Forest Sciences, "Luiz de Queiroz" College of Agriculture, University of São Paulo, Piracicaba 13418-900, Brazil
| | - Juan Manuel Dupuy
- Centro de Investigación Científica de Yucatán A.C., Unidad de Recursos Naturales 97205 Mérida, México
| | - Sandra M Durán
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55104
| | - Mário M Espírito Santo
- Departamento de Biologia Geral, Universidade Estadual de Montes Claros, Montes Claros 39401-089, Brazil
| | | | - Bryan Finegan
- Forests, Biodiversity and Climate Change Programme, Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza, 30501 Turrialba, Costa Rica
| | - Vanessa Granda Moser
- Forests, Biodiversity and Climate Change Programme, Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza, 30501 Turrialba, Costa Rica
| | - Jefferson S Hall
- Smithsonian Institute Forest Global Earth Observatory, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Ancon 0843-03092, Panamá
| | | | - Catarina C Jakovac
- Forest Ecology and Forest Management Group, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen 6700 AA, The Netherlands
- Departamento de Fitotecnia, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis 88034-000, Brazil
| | - Deborah Kennard
- Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences, Colorado Mesa University, Grand Junction, CO 81501
| | - Edwin Lebrija-Trejos
- Department of Biology and Environment, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Haifa, Tivon 36006, Israel
| | | | - Madelon Lohbeck
- Forest Ecology and Forest Management Group, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen 6700 AA, The Netherlands
- World Agroforestry, Nairobi 00100, Kenya
| | - Omar R Lopez
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Ancon 0843-03092, Panamá
- Instituto de Investigaciones Científicas y Servicios de Alta Tecnología, Panama City 0843-01103, Panamá
| | | | - Miguel Martínez-Ramos
- Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y Sustentabilidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México 58089 Morelia, México
| | - Jorge A Meave
- Departamento de Ecología y Recursos Naturales, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México 04510 Ciudad de México, Mexico
| | - Francisco Mora
- Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y Sustentabilidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México 58089 Morelia, México
| | - Vanessa de Souza Moreno
- Department of Forest Sciences, "Luiz de Queiroz" College of Agriculture, University of São Paulo, Piracicaba 13418-900, Brazil
| | - Sandra C Müller
- Departamento de Ecologia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre 91540-000, Brazil
| | - Rodrigo Muñoz
- Forest Ecology and Forest Management Group, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen 6700 AA, The Netherlands
- Departamento de Ecología y Recursos Naturales, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México 04510 Ciudad de México, Mexico
| | - Robert Muscarella
- Department of Plant Ecology and Evolution, Uppsala University SE-752 36 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Yule R F Nunes
- Departamento de Biologia Geral, Universidade Estadual de Montes Claros, Montes Claros 39401-089, Brazil
| | - Susana Ochoa-Gaona
- Department of Sustainability Science, El Colegio de la Frontera Sur 24500 Campeche, Mexico
| | - Rafael S Oliveira
- Department of Plant Biology, Instituto de Biologia, University of Campinas, Campinas 13083-970, Brazil
| | - Horacio Paz
- Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y Sustentabilidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México 58089 Morelia, México
| | - Arturo Sanchez-Azofeifa
- Earth and Atmospheric Sciences Department, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E3, Canada
| | - Lucía Sanaphre-Villanueva
- Centro de Investigación Científica de Yucatán A.C., Unidad de Recursos Naturales 97205 Mérida, México
- Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnologia, Centro del Cambio Global y la Sustentabilidad A.C. 86080 Villahermosa, Mexico
| | - Marisol Toledo
- Facultad de Ciencias Agrícolas, Universidad Autónoma Gabriel René Moreno, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia
| | - Maria Uriarte
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027
| | - Luis P Utrera
- Forests, Biodiversity and Climate Change Programme, Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza, 30501 Turrialba, Costa Rica
| | - Michiel van Breugel
- Smithsonian Institute Forest Global Earth Observatory, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Ancon 0843-03092, Panamá
- Yale-NUS College, Singapore 138610
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore 117543 Singapore
| | - Masha T van der Sande
- Forest Ecology and Forest Management Group, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen 6700 AA, The Netherlands
- Institute for Global Ecology, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, FL 32901
- Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam 1012 WX Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Maria D M Veloso
- Departamento de Biologia Geral, Universidade Estadual de Montes Claros, Montes Claros 39401-089, Brazil
| | - S Joseph Wright
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Ancon 0843-03092, Panamá
| | - Kátia J Zanini
- Departamento de Ecologia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre 91540-000, Brazil
| | - Jess K Zimmerman
- Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico 00936
| | - Mark Westoby
- Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia
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