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Ter Steege H, Henkel TW, Helal N, Marimon BS, Marimon-Junior BH, Huth A, Groeneveld J, Sabatier D, Coelho LDS, Filho DDAL, Salomão RP, Amaral IL, Matos FDDA, Castilho CV, Phillips OL, Guevara JE, Carim MDJV, Cárdenas López D, Magnusson WE, Wittmann F, Irume MV, Martins MP, Guimarães JRDS, Molino JF, Bánki OS, Piedade MTF, Pitman NCA, Mendoza AM, Ramos JF, Luize BG, Moraes de Leão Novo EM, Núñez Vargas P, Silva TSF, Venticinque EM, Manzatto AG, Reis NFC, Terborgh J, Casula KR, Honorio Coronado EN, Montero JC, Feldpausch TR, Duque A, Costa FRC, Arboleda NC, Schöngart J, Killeen TJ, Vasquez R, Mostacedo B, Demarchi LO, Assis RL, Baraloto C, Engel J, Petronelli P, Castellanos H, de Medeiros MB, Quaresma A, Simon MF, Andrade A, Camargo JL, Laurance SGW, Laurance WF, Rincón LM, Schietti J, Sousa TR, de Sousa Farias E, Lopes MA, Magalhães JLL, Mendonça Nascimento HE, Lima de Queiroz H, Aymard C GA, Brienen R, Revilla JDC, Vieira ICG, Cintra BBL, Stevenson PR, Feitosa YO, Duivenvoorden JF, Mogollón HF, Araujo-Murakami A, Ferreira LV, Lozada JR, Comiskey JA, de Toledo JJ, Damasco G, Dávila N, Draper F, García-Villacorta R, Lopes A, Vicentini A, Alonso A, Dallmeier F, Gomes VHF, Lloyd J, Neill D, de Aguiar DPP, Arroyo L, Carvalho FA, de Souza FC, do Amaral DD, Feeley KJ, Gribel R, Pansonato MP, Barlow J, Berenguer E, Ferreira J, Fine PVA, Guedes MC, Jimenez EM, Licona JC, Peñuela Mora MC, Villa B, Cerón C, Maas P, Silveira M, Stropp J, Thomas R, Baker TR, Daly D, Dexter KG, Huamantupa-Chuquimaco I, Milliken W, Pennington T, Ríos Paredes M, Fuentes A, Klitgaard B, Pena JLM, Peres CA, Silman MR, Tello JS, Chave J, Cornejo Valverde F, Di Fiore A, Hilário RR, Phillips JF, Rivas-Torres G, van Andel TR, von Hildebrand P, Noronha JC, Barbosa EM, Barbosa FR, de Matos Bonates LC, Carpanedo RDS, Dávila Doza HP, Fonty É, GómeZárate Z R, Gonzales T, Gallardo Gonzales GP, Hoffman B, Junqueira AB, Malhi Y, Miranda IPDA, Pinto LFM, Prieto A, Rodrigues DDJ, Rudas A, Ruschel AR, Silva N, Vela CIA, Vos VA, Zent EL, Zent S, Weiss Albuquerque B, Cano A, Carrero Márquez YA, Correa DF, Costa JBP, Flores BM, Galbraith D, Holmgren M, Kalamandeen M, Nascimento MT, Oliveira AA, Ramirez-Angulo H, Rocha M, Scudeller VV, Sierra R, Tirado M, Umaña Medina MN, van der Heijden G, Vilanova Torre E, Vriesendorp C, Wang O, Young KR, Ahuite Reategui MA, Baider C, Balslev H, Cárdenas S, Casas LF, Farfan-Rios W, Ferreira C, Linares-Palomino R, Mendoza C, Mesones I, Torres-Lezama A, Giraldo LEU, Villarroel D, Zagt R, Alexiades MN, de Oliveira EA, Garcia-Cabrera K, Hernandez L, Palacios Cuenca W, Pansini S, Pauletto D, Ramirez Arevalo F, Sampaio AF, Sandoval EHV, Valenzuela Gamarra L, Levesley A, Pickavance G, Melgaço K. Rarity of monodominance in hyperdiverse Amazonian forests. Sci Rep 2019; 9:13822. [PMID: 31554920 PMCID: PMC6761143 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-50323-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2019] [Accepted: 09/02/2019] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Tropical forests are known for their high diversity. Yet, forest patches do occur in the tropics where a single tree species is dominant. Such “monodominant” forests are known from all of the main tropical regions. For Amazonia, we sampled the occurrence of monodominance in a massive, basin-wide database of forest-inventory plots from the Amazon Tree Diversity Network (ATDN). Utilizing a simple defining metric of at least half of the trees ≥ 10 cm diameter belonging to one species, we found only a few occurrences of monodominance in Amazonia, and the phenomenon was not significantly linked to previously hypothesized life history traits such wood density, seed mass, ectomycorrhizal associations, or Rhizobium nodulation. In our analysis, coppicing (the formation of sprouts at the base of the tree or on roots) was the only trait significantly linked to monodominance. While at specific locales coppicing or ectomycorrhizal associations may confer a considerable advantage to a tree species and lead to its monodominance, very few species have these traits. Mining of the ATDN dataset suggests that monodominance is quite rare in Amazonia, and may be linked primarily to edaphic factors.
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Bongalov B, Burslem DFRP, Jucker T, Thompson SED, Rosindell J, Swinfield T, Nilus R, Clewley D, Phillips OL, Coomes DA. Reconciling the contribution of environmental and stochastic structuring of tropical forest diversity through the lens of imaging spectroscopy. Ecol Lett 2019; 22:1608-1619. [PMID: 31347263 PMCID: PMC6852337 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13357] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2019] [Revised: 03/08/2019] [Accepted: 07/01/2019] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Both niche and stochastic dispersal processes structure the extraordinary diversity of tropical plants, but determining their relative contributions has proven challenging. We address this question using airborne imaging spectroscopy to estimate canopy β-diversity for an extensive region of a Bornean rainforest and challenge these data with models incorporating niches and dispersal. We show that remotely sensed and field-derived estimates of pairwise dissimilarity in community composition are closely matched, proving the applicability of imaging spectroscopy to provide β-diversity data for entire landscapes of over 1000 ha containing contrasting forest types. Our model reproduces the empirical data well and shows that the ecological processes maintaining tropical forest diversity are scale dependent. Patterns of β-diversity are shaped by stochastic dispersal processes acting locally whilst environmental processes act over a wider range of scales.
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Pos E, Guevara JE, Molino J, Sabatier D, Bánki OS, Pitman NC, Mogollón HF, García‐Villacorta R, Neill D, Phillips OL, Cerón C, Ríos Paredes M, Núñez Vargas P, Dávila N, Fiore AD, Rivas‐Torres G, Thomas‐Caesar R, Vriesendorp C, Young KR, Tirado M, Wang O, Sierra R, Mesones I, Zagt R, Vasquez R, Ahuite Reategui MA, Palacios Cuenca W, Valderrama Sandoval EH, ter Steege H. Scaling issues of neutral theory reveal violations of ecological equivalence for dominant Amazonian tree species. Ecol Lett 2019; 22:1072-1082. [PMID: 30938488 PMCID: PMC6849817 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13264] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2019] [Revised: 02/17/2019] [Accepted: 03/07/2019] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Neutral models are often used as null models, testing the relative importance of niche versus neutral processes in shaping diversity. Most versions, however, focus only on regional scale predictions and neglect local level contributions. Recently, a new formulation of spatial neutral theory was published showing an incompatibility between regional and local scale fits where especially the number of rare species was dramatically under-predicted. Using a forward in time semi-spatially explicit neutral model and a unique large-scale Amazonian tree inventory data set, we show that neutral theory not only underestimates the number of rare species but also fails in predicting the excessive dominance of species on both regional and local levels. We show that although there are clear relationships between species composition, spatial and environmental distances, there is also a clear differentiation between species able to attain dominance with and without restriction to specific habitats. We conclude therefore that the apparent dominance of these species is real, and that their excessive abundance can be attributed to fitness differences in different ways, a clear violation of the ecological equivalence assumption of neutral theory.
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Phillips OL, Sullivan MJP, Baker TR, Monteagudo Mendoza A, Vargas PN, Vásquez R. Species Matter: Wood Density Influences Tropical Forest Biomass at Multiple Scales. SURVEYS IN GEOPHYSICS 2019; 40:913-935. [PMID: 31395992 PMCID: PMC6647473 DOI: 10.1007/s10712-019-09540-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2018] [Accepted: 05/06/2019] [Indexed: 05/17/2023]
Abstract
The mass of carbon contained in trees is governed by the volume and density of their wood. This represents a challenge to most remote sensing technologies, which typically detect surface structure and parameters related to wood volume but not to its density. Since wood density is largely determined by taxonomic identity this challenge is greatest in tropical forests where there are tens of thousands of tree species. Here, using pan-tropical literature and new analyses in Amazonia with plots with reliable identifications we assess the impact that species-related variation in wood density has on biomass estimates of mature tropical forests. We find impacts of species on forest biomass due to wood density at all scales from the individual tree up to the whole biome: variation in tree species composition regulates how much carbon forests can store. Even local differences in composition can cause variation in forest biomass and carbon density of 20% between subtly different local forest types, while additional large-scale floristic variation leads to variation in mean wood density of 10-30% across Amazonia and the tropics. Further, because species composition varies at all scales and even vertically within a stand, our analysis shows that bias and uncertainty always result if individual identity is ignored. Since sufficient inventory-based evidence based on botanical identification now exists to show that species composition matters biome-wide for biomass, we here assemble and provide mean basal-area-weighted wood density values for different forests across the lowand tropical biome. These range widely, from 0.467 to 0.728 g cm-3 with a pan-tropical mean of 0.619 g cm-3. Our analysis shows that mapping tropical ecosystem carbon always benefits from locally validated measurement of tree-by-tree botanical identity combined with tree-by-tree measurement of dimensions. Therefore whenever possible, efforts to map and monitor tropical forest carbon using remote sensing techniques should be combined with tree-level measurement of species identity by botanists working in inventory plots.
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Honorio Coronado EN, Dexter KG, Hart ML, Phillips OL, Pennington RT. Comparative phylogeography of five widespread tree species: Insights into the history of western Amazonia. Ecol Evol 2019; 9:7333-7345. [PMID: 31380054 PMCID: PMC6662334 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.5306] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2019] [Revised: 04/20/2019] [Accepted: 05/04/2019] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Various historical processes have been put forth as drivers of patterns in the spatial distribution of Amazonian trees and their population genetic variation. We tested whether five widespread tree species show congruent phylogeographic breaks and similar patterns of demographic expansion, which could be related to proposed Pleistocene refugia or the presence of geological arches in western Amazonia. We sampled Otoba parvifolia/glycycarpa (Myristicaceae), Clarisia biflora, Poulsenia armata, Ficus insipida (all Moraceae), and Jacaratia digitata (Caricaceae) across the western Amazon Basin. Plastid DNA (trnH-psbA; 674 individuals from 34 populations) and nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacers (ITS; 214 individuals from 30 populations) were sequenced to assess genetic diversity, genetic differentiation, population genetic structure, and demographic patterns. Overall genetic diversity for both markers varied among species, with higher values in populations of shade-tolerant species than in pioneer species. Spatial analysis of molecular variance (SAMOVA) identified three genetically differentiated groups for the plastid marker for each species, but the areas of genetic differentiation were not concordant among species. Fewer SAMOVA groups were found for ITS, with no detectable genetic differentiation among populations in pioneers. The lack of spatially congruent phylogeographic breaks across species suggests no common biogeographic history of these Amazonian tree species. The idiosyncratic phylogeographic patterns of species could be due instead to species-specific responses to geological and climatic changes. Population genetic patterns were similar among species with similar biological features, indicating that the ecological characteristics of species impact large-scale phylogeography.
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Aguirre-Gutiérrez J, Oliveras I, Rifai S, Fauset S, Adu-Bredu S, Affum-Baffoe K, Baker TR, Feldpausch TR, Gvozdevaite A, Hubau W, Kraft NJB, Lewis SL, Moore S, Niinemets Ü, Peprah T, Phillips OL, Ziemińska K, Enquist B, Malhi Y. Drier tropical forests are susceptible to functional changes in response to a long-term drought. Ecol Lett 2019; 22:855-865. [PMID: 30828955 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13243] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2018] [Revised: 10/17/2018] [Accepted: 02/02/2019] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
Climatic changes have profound effects on the distribution of biodiversity, but untangling the links between climatic change and ecosystem functioning is challenging, particularly in high diversity systems such as tropical forests. Tropical forests may also show different responses to a changing climate, with baseline climatic conditions potentially inducing differences in the strength and timing of responses to droughts. Trait-based approaches provide an opportunity to link functional composition, ecosystem function and environmental changes. We demonstrate the power of such approaches by presenting a novel analysis of long-term responses of different tropical forest to climatic changes along a rainfall gradient. We explore how key ecosystem's biogeochemical properties have shifted over time as a consequence of multi-decadal drying. Notably, we find that drier tropical forests have increased their deciduous species abundance and generally changed more functionally than forests growing in wetter conditions, suggesting an enhanced ability to adapt ecologically to a drying environment.
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Draper FC, Asner GP, Honorio Coronado EN, Baker TR, García-Villacorta R, Pitman NCA, Fine PVA, Phillips OL, Zárate Gómez R, Amasifuén Guerra CA, Flores Arévalo M, Vásquez Martínez R, Brienen RJW, Monteagudo-Mendoza A, Torres Montenegro LA, Valderrama Sandoval E, Roucoux KH, Ramírez Arévalo FR, Mesones Acuy Í, Del Aguila Pasquel J, Tagle Casapia X, Flores Llampazo G, Corrales Medina M, Reyna Huaymacari J, Baraloto C. Dominant tree species drive beta diversity patterns in western Amazonia. Ecology 2019; 100:e02636. [PMID: 30693479 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.2636] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2018] [Revised: 12/11/2018] [Accepted: 12/20/2018] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
The forests of western Amazonia are among the most diverse tree communities on Earth, yet this exceptional diversity is distributed highly unevenly within and among communities. In particular, a small number of dominant species account for the majority of individuals, whereas the large majority of species are locally and regionally extremely scarce. By definition, dominant species contribute little to local species richness (alpha diversity), yet the importance of dominant species in structuring patterns of spatial floristic turnover (beta diversity) has not been investigated. Here, using a network of 207 forest inventory plots, we explore the role of dominant species in determining regional patterns of beta diversity (community-level floristic turnover and distance-decay relationships) across a range of habitat types in northern lowland Peru. Of the 2,031 recorded species in our data set, only 99 of them accounted for 50% of individuals. Using these 99 species, it was possible to reconstruct the overall features of regional beta diversity patterns, including the location and dispersion of habitat types in multivariate space, and distance-decay relationships. In fact, our analysis demonstrated that regional patterns of beta diversity were better maintained by the 99 dominant species than by the 1,932 others, whether quantified using species-abundance data or species presence-absence data. Our results reveal that dominant species are normally common only in a single forest type. Therefore, dominant species play a key role in structuring western Amazonian tree communities, which in turn has important implications, both practically for designing effective protected areas, and more generally for understanding the determinants of beta diversity patterns.
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Hubau W, De Mil T, Van den Bulcke J, Phillips OL, Angoboy Ilondea B, Van Acker J, Sullivan MJP, Nsenga L, Toirambe B, Couralet C, Banin LF, Begne SK, Baker TR, Bourland N, Chezeaux E, Clark CJ, Collins M, Comiskey JA, Cuni-Sanchez A, Deklerck V, Dierickx S, Doucet JL, Ewango CEN, Feldpausch TR, Gilpin M, Gonmadje C, Hall JS, Harris DJ, Hardy OJ, Kamdem MND, Kasongo Yakusu E, Lopez-Gonzalez G, Makana JR, Malhi Y, Mbayu FM, Moore S, Mukinzi J, Pickavance G, Poulsen JR, Reitsma J, Rousseau M, Sonké B, Sunderland T, Taedoumg H, Talbot J, Tshibamba Mukendi J, Umunay PM, Vleminckx J, White LJT, Zemagho L, Lewis SL, Beeckman H. The persistence of carbon in the African forest understory. NATURE PLANTS 2019; 5:133-140. [PMID: 30664730 DOI: 10.1038/s41477-018-0316-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2018] [Accepted: 10/30/2018] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Quantifying carbon dynamics in forests is critical for understanding their role in long-term climate regulation1-4. Yet little is known about tree longevity in tropical forests3,5-8, a factor that is vital for estimating carbon persistence3,4. Here we calculate mean carbon age (the period that carbon is fixed in trees7) in different strata of African tropical forests using (1) growth-ring records with a unique timestamp accurately demarcating 66 years of growth in one site and (2) measurements of diameter increments from the African Tropical Rainforest Observation Network (23 sites). We find that in spite of their much smaller size, in understory trees mean carbon age (74 years) is greater than in sub-canopy (54 years) and canopy (57 years) trees and similar to carbon age in emergent trees (66 years). The remarkable carbon longevity in the understory results from slow and aperiodic growth as an adaptation to limited resource availability9-11. Our analysis also reveals that while the understory represents a small share (11%) of the carbon stock12,13, it contributes disproportionally to the forest carbon sink (20%). We conclude that accounting for the diversity of carbon age and carbon sequestration among different forest strata is critical for effective conservation management14-16 and for accurate modelling of carbon cycling4.
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Esquivel‐Muelbert A, Baker TR, Dexter KG, Lewis SL, Brienen RJW, Feldpausch TR, Lloyd J, Monteagudo‐Mendoza A, Arroyo L, Álvarez-Dávila E, Higuchi N, Marimon BS, Marimon-Junior BH, Silveira M, Vilanova E, Gloor E, Malhi Y, Chave J, Barlow J, Bonal D, Davila Cardozo N, Erwin T, Fauset S, Hérault B, Laurance S, Poorter L, Qie L, Stahl C, Sullivan MJP, ter Steege H, Vos VA, Zuidema PA, Almeida E, Almeida de Oliveira E, Andrade A, Vieira SA, Aragão L, Araujo‐Murakami A, Arets E, Aymard C GA, Baraloto C, Camargo PB, Barroso JG, Bongers F, Boot R, Camargo JL, Castro W, Chama Moscoso V, Comiskey J, Cornejo Valverde F, Lola da Costa AC, del Aguila Pasquel J, Di Fiore A, Fernanda Duque L, Elias F, Engel J, Flores Llampazo G, Galbraith D, Herrera Fernández R, Honorio Coronado E, Hubau W, Jimenez‐Rojas E, Lima AJN, Umetsu RK, Laurance W, Lopez‐Gonzalez G, Lovejoy T, Aurelio Melo Cruz O, Morandi PS, Neill D, Núñez Vargas P, Pallqui Camacho NC, Parada Gutierrez A, Pardo G, Peacock J, Peña‐Claros M, Peñuela‐Mora MC, Petronelli P, Pickavance GC, Pitman N, Prieto A, Quesada C, Ramírez‐Angulo H, Réjou‐Méchain M, Restrepo Correa Z, Roopsind A, Rudas A, Salomão R, Silva N, Silva Espejo J, Singh J, Stropp J, Terborgh J, Thomas R, Toledo M, Torres‐Lezama A, Valenzuela Gamarra L, van de Meer PJ, van der Heijden G, van der Hout P, Vasquez Martinez R, Vela C, Vieira ICG, Phillips OL. Compositional response of Amazon forests to climate change. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2019; 25:39-56. [PMID: 30406962 PMCID: PMC6334637 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.14413] [Citation(s) in RCA: 128] [Impact Index Per Article: 25.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2018] [Revised: 06/27/2018] [Accepted: 07/04/2018] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
Most of the planet's diversity is concentrated in the tropics, which includes many regions undergoing rapid climate change. Yet, while climate-induced biodiversity changes are widely documented elsewhere, few studies have addressed this issue for lowland tropical ecosystems. Here we investigate whether the floristic and functional composition of intact lowland Amazonian forests have been changing by evaluating records from 106 long-term inventory plots spanning 30 years. We analyse three traits that have been hypothesized to respond to different environmental drivers (increase in moisture stress and atmospheric CO2 concentrations): maximum tree size, biogeographic water-deficit affiliation and wood density. Tree communities have become increasingly dominated by large-statured taxa, but to date there has been no detectable change in mean wood density or water deficit affiliation at the community level, despite most forest plots having experienced an intensification of the dry season. However, among newly recruited trees, dry-affiliated genera have become more abundant, while the mortality of wet-affiliated genera has increased in those plots where the dry season has intensified most. Thus, a slow shift to a more dry-affiliated Amazonia is underway, with changes in compositional dynamics (recruits and mortality) consistent with climate-change drivers, but yet to significantly impact whole-community composition. The Amazon observational record suggests that the increase in atmospheric CO2 is driving a shift within tree communities to large-statured species and that climate changes to date will impact forest composition, but long generation times of tropical trees mean that biodiversity change is lagging behind climate change.
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Rifai SW, Girardin CAJ, Berenguer E, Del Aguila-Pasquel J, Dahlsjö CAL, Doughty CE, Jeffery KJ, Moore S, Oliveras I, Riutta T, Rowland LM, Murakami AA, Addo-Danso SD, Brando P, Burton C, Ondo FE, Duah-Gyamfi A, Amézquita FF, Freitag R, Pacha FH, Huasco WH, Ibrahim F, Mbou AT, Mihindou VM, Peixoto KS, Rocha W, Rossi LC, Seixas M, Silva-Espejo JE, Abernethy KA, Adu-Bredu S, Barlow J, da Costa ACL, Marimon BS, Marimon-Junior BH, Meir P, Metcalfe DB, Phillips OL, White LJT, Malhi Y. ENSO Drives interannual variation of forest woody growth across the tropics. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2018; 373:rstb.2017.0410. [PMID: 30297475 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2017.0410] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/03/2018] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Meteorological extreme events such as El Niño events are expected to affect tropical forest net primary production (NPP) and woody growth, but there has been no large-scale empirical validation of this expectation. We collected a large high-temporal resolution dataset (for 1-13 years depending upon location) of more than 172 000 stem growth measurements using dendrometer bands from across 14 regions spanning Amazonia, Africa and Borneo in order to test how much month-to-month variation in stand-level woody growth of adult tree stems (NPPstem) can be explained by seasonal variation and interannual meteorological anomalies. A key finding is that woody growth responds differently to meteorological variation between tropical forests with a dry season (where monthly rainfall is less than 100 mm), and aseasonal wet forests lacking a consistent dry season. In seasonal tropical forests, a high degree of variation in woody growth can be predicted from seasonal variation in temperature, vapour pressure deficit, in addition to anomalies of soil water deficit and shortwave radiation. The variation of aseasonal wet forest woody growth is best predicted by the anomalies of vapour pressure deficit, water deficit and shortwave radiation. In total, we predict the total live woody production of the global tropical forest biome to be 2.16 Pg C yr-1, with an interannual range 1.96-2.26 Pg C yr-1 between 1996-2016, and with the sharpest declines during the strong El Niño events of 1997/8 and 2015/6. There is high geographical variation in hotspots of El Niño-associated impacts, with weak impacts in Africa, and strongly negative impacts in parts of Southeast Asia and extensive regions across central and eastern Amazonia. Overall, there is high correlation (r = -0.75) between the annual anomaly of tropical forest woody growth and the annual mean of the El Niño 3.4 index, driven mainly by strong correlations with anomalies of soil water deficit, vapour pressure deficit and shortwave radiation.This article is part of the discussion meeting issue 'The impact of the 2015/2016 El Niño on the terrestrial tropical carbon cycle: patterns, mechanisms and implications'.
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McDowell N, Allen CD, Anderson-Teixeira K, Brando P, Brienen R, Chambers J, Christoffersen B, Davies S, Doughty C, Duque A, Espirito-Santo F, Fisher R, Fontes CG, Galbraith D, Goodsman D, Grossiord C, Hartmann H, Holm J, Johnson DJ, Kassim AR, Keller M, Koven C, Kueppers L, Kumagai T, Malhi Y, McMahon SM, Mencuccini M, Meir P, Moorcroft P, Muller-Landau HC, Phillips OL, Powell T, Sierra CA, Sperry J, Warren J, Xu C, Xu X. Drivers and mechanisms of tree mortality in moist tropical forests. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2018; 219:851-869. [PMID: 29451313 DOI: 10.1111/nph.15027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 169] [Impact Index Per Article: 28.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2017] [Accepted: 12/19/2017] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
Abstract
Tree mortality rates appear to be increasing in moist tropical forests (MTFs) with significant carbon cycle consequences. Here, we review the state of knowledge regarding MTF tree mortality, create a conceptual framework with testable hypotheses regarding the drivers, mechanisms and interactions that may underlie increasing MTF mortality rates, and identify the next steps for improved understanding and reduced prediction. Increasing mortality rates are associated with rising temperature and vapor pressure deficit, liana abundance, drought, wind events, fire and, possibly, CO2 fertilization-induced increases in stand thinning or acceleration of trees reaching larger, more vulnerable heights. The majority of these mortality drivers may kill trees in part through carbon starvation and hydraulic failure. The relative importance of each driver is unknown. High species diversity may buffer MTFs against large-scale mortality events, but recent and expected trends in mortality drivers give reason for concern regarding increasing mortality within MTFs. Models of tropical tree mortality are advancing the representation of hydraulics, carbon and demography, but require more empirical knowledge regarding the most common drivers and their subsequent mechanisms. We outline critical datasets and model developments required to test hypotheses regarding the underlying causes of increasing MTF mortality rates, and improve prediction of future mortality under climate change.
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Elias F, Marimon BS, Marimon-Junior BH, Budke JC, Esquivel-Muelbert A, Morandi PS, Reis SM, Phillips OL. Idiosyncratic soil-tree species associations and their relationships with drought in a monodominant Amazon forest. ACTA OECOLOGICA-INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.actao.2018.07.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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Fauset S, Freitas HC, Galbraith DR, Sullivan MJ, Aidar MP, Joly CA, Phillips OL, Vieira SA, Gloor MU. Differences in leaf thermoregulation and water use strategies between three co-occurring Atlantic forest tree species. PLANT, CELL & ENVIRONMENT 2018; 41:1618-1631. [PMID: 29603771 PMCID: PMC6032932 DOI: 10.1111/pce.13208] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2017] [Revised: 03/13/2018] [Accepted: 03/22/2018] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
Given anticipated climate changes, it is crucial to understand controls on leaf temperatures including variation between species in diverse ecosystems. In the first study of leaf energy balance in tropical montane forests, we observed current leaf temperature patterns on 3 tree species in the Atlantic forest, Brazil, over a 10-day period and assessed whether and why patterns may vary among species. We found large leaf-to-air temperature differences (maximum 18.3 °C) and high leaf temperatures (over 35 °C) despite much lower air temperatures (maximum 22 °C). Leaf-to-air temperature differences were influenced strongly by radiation, whereas leaf temperatures were also influenced by air temperature. Leaf energy balance modelling informed by our measurements showed that observed differences in leaf temperature between 2 species were due to variation in leaf width and stomatal conductance. The results suggest a trade-off between water use and leaf thermoregulation; Miconia cabussu has more conservative water use compared with Alchornea triplinervia due to lower transpiration under high vapour pressure deficit, with the consequence of higher leaf temperatures under thermal stress conditions. We highlight the importance of leaf functional traits for leaf thermoregulation and also note that the high radiation levels that occur in montane forests may exacerbate the threat from increasing air temperatures.
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Vilanova E, Ramírez-Angulo H, Torres-Lezama A, Aymard G, Gámez L, Durán C, Hernández L, Herrera R, van der Heijden G, Phillips OL, Ettl GJ. Environmental drivers of forest structure and stem turnover across Venezuelan tropical forests. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0198489. [PMID: 29927972 PMCID: PMC6013196 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0198489] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2018] [Accepted: 05/18/2018] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Using data from 50 long-term permanent plots from across Venezuelan forests in northern South America, we explored large-scale patterns of stem turnover, aboveground biomass (AGB) and woody productivity (AGWP), and the relationships between them and with potential climatic drivers. We used principal component analysis coupled with generalized least squares models to analyze the relationship between climate, forest structure and stem dynamics. Two major axes associated with orthogonal temperature and moisture gradients effectively described more than 90% of the environmental variability in the dataset. Average turnover was 1.91 ± 0.10% year-1 with mortality and recruitment being almost identical, and close to average rates for other mature tropical forests. Turnover rates were significantly different among regions (p < 0.001), with the lowland forests in Western alluvial plains being the most dynamic, and Guiana Shield forests showing the lowest turnover rates. We found a weak positive relationship between AGB and AGWP, with Guiana Shield forests having the highest values for both variables (204.8 ± 14.3 Mg C ha-1 and 3.27 ± 0.27 Mg C ha-1 year-1 respectively), but AGB was much more strongly and negatively related to stem turnover. Our data suggest that moisture is a key driver of turnover, with longer dry seasons favoring greater rates of tree turnover and thus lower biomass, having important implications in the context of climate change, given the increases in drought frequency in many tropical forests. Regional variation in AGWP among Venezuelan forests strongly reflects the effects of climate, with greatest woody productivity where both precipitation and temperatures are high. Overall, forests in wet, low elevation sites and with slow turnover stored the greatest amounts of biomass. Although faster stand dynamics are closely associated with lower carbon storage, stem-level turnover rates and woody productivity did not show any correlation, indicating that stem dynamics and carbon dynamics are largely decoupled from one another.
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Sullivan MJP, Lewis SL, Hubau W, Qie L, Baker TR, Banin LF, Chave J, Cuni-Sanchez A, Feldpausch TR, Lopez-Gonzalez G, Arets E, Ashton P, Bastin JF, Berry NJ, Bogaert J, Boot R, Brearley FQ, Brienen R, Burslem DFRP, de Canniere C, Chudomelová M, Dančák M, Ewango C, Hédl R, Lloyd J, Makana JR, Malhi Y, Marimon BS, Junior BHM, Metali F, Moore S, Nagy L, Vargas PN, Pendry CA, Ramírez-Angulo H, Reitsma J, Rutishauser E, Salim KA, Sonké B, Sukri RS, Sunderland T, Svátek M, Umunay PM, Martinez RV, Vernimmen RRE, Torre EV, Vleminckx J, Vos V, Phillips OL. Field methods for sampling tree height for tropical forest biomass estimation. Methods Ecol Evol 2018; 9:1179-1189. [PMID: 29938017 PMCID: PMC5993227 DOI: 10.1111/2041-210x.12962] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2017] [Accepted: 12/07/2017] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Quantifying the relationship between tree diameter and height is a key component of efforts to estimate biomass and carbon stocks in tropical forests. Although substantial site-to-site variation in height-diameter allometries has been documented, the time consuming nature of measuring all tree heights in an inventory plot means that most studies do not include height, or else use generic pan-tropical or regional allometric equations to estimate height.Using a pan-tropical dataset of 73 plots where at least 150 trees had in-field ground-based height measurements, we examined how the number of trees sampled affects the performance of locally derived height-diameter allometries, and evaluated the performance of different methods for sampling trees for height measurement.Using cross-validation, we found that allometries constructed with just 20 locally measured values could often predict tree height with lower error than regional or climate-based allometries (mean reduction in prediction error = 0.46 m). The predictive performance of locally derived allometries improved with sample size, but with diminishing returns in performance gains when more than 40 trees were sampled. Estimates of stand-level biomass produced using local allometries to estimate tree height show no over- or under-estimation bias when compared with biomass estimates using field measured heights. We evaluated five strategies to sample trees for height measurement, and found that sampling strategies that included measuring the heights of the ten largest diameter trees in a plot outperformed (in terms of resulting in local height-diameter models with low height prediction error) entirely random or diameter size-class stratified approaches.Our results indicate that even limited sampling of heights can be used to refine height-diameter allometries. We recommend aiming for a conservative threshold of sampling 50 trees per location for height measurement, and including the ten trees with the largest diameter in this sample.
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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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Gomes VHF, IJff SD, Raes N, Amaral IL, Salomão RP, de Souza Coelho L, de Almeida Matos FD, Castilho CV, de Andrade Lima Filho D, López DC, Guevara JE, Magnusson WE, Phillips OL, Wittmann F, de Jesus Veiga Carim M, Martins MP, Irume MV, Sabatier D, Molino JF, Bánki OS, da Silva Guimarães JR, Pitman NCA, Piedade MTF, Mendoza AM, Luize BG, Venticinque EM, de Leão Novo EMM, Vargas PN, Silva TSF, Manzatto AG, Terborgh J, Reis NFC, Montero JC, Casula KR, Marimon BS, Marimon BH, Coronado ENH, Feldpausch TR, Duque A, Zartman CE, Arboleda NC, Killeen TJ, Mostacedo B, Vasquez R, Schöngart J, Assis RL, Medeiros MB, Simon MF, Andrade A, Laurance WF, Camargo JL, Demarchi LO, Laurance SGW, de Sousa Farias E, Nascimento HEM, Revilla JDC, Quaresma A, Costa FRC, Vieira ICG, Cintra BBL, Castellanos H, Brienen R, Stevenson PR, Feitosa Y, Duivenvoorden JF, Aymard C GA, Mogollón HF, Targhetta N, Comiskey JA, Vicentini A, Lopes A, Damasco G, Dávila N, García-Villacorta R, Levis C, Schietti J, Souza P, Emilio T, Alonso A, Neill D, Dallmeier F, Ferreira LV, Araujo-Murakami A, Praia D, do Amaral DD, Carvalho FA, de Souza FC, Feeley K, Arroyo L, Pansonato MP, Gribel R, Villa B, Licona JC, Fine PVA, Cerón C, Baraloto C, Jimenez EM, Stropp J, Engel J, Silveira M, Mora MCP, Petronelli P, Maas P, Thomas-Caesar R, Henkel TW, Daly D, Paredes MR, Baker TR, Fuentes A, Peres CA, Chave J, Pena JLM, Dexter KG, Silman MR, Jørgensen PM, Pennington T, Di Fiore A, Valverde FC, Phillips JF, Rivas-Torres G, von Hildebrand P, van Andel TR, Ruschel AR, Prieto A, Rudas A, Hoffman B, Vela CIA, Barbosa EM, Zent EL, Gonzales GPG, Doza HPD, de Andrade Miranda IP, Guillaumet JL, Pinto LFM, de Matos Bonates LC, Silva N, Gómez RZ, Zent S, Gonzales T, Vos VA, Malhi Y, Oliveira AA, Cano A, Albuquerque BW, Vriesendorp C, Correa DF, Torre EV, van der Heijden G, Ramirez-Angulo H, Ramos JF, Young KR, Rocha M, Nascimento MT, Medina MNU, Tirado M, Wang O, Sierra R, Torres-Lezama A, Mendoza C, Ferreira C, Baider C, Villarroel D, Balslev H, Mesones I, Giraldo LEU, Casas LF, Reategui MAA, Linares-Palomino R, Zagt R, Cárdenas S, Farfan-Rios W, Sampaio AF, Pauletto D, Sandoval EHV, Arevalo FR, Huamantupa-Chuquimaco I, Garcia-Cabrera K, Hernandez L, Gamarra LV, Alexiades MN, Pansini S, Cuenca WP, Milliken W, Ricardo J, Lopez-Gonzalez G, Pos E, Ter Steege H. Species Distribution Modelling: Contrasting presence-only models with plot abundance data. Sci Rep 2018; 8:1003. [PMID: 29343741 PMCID: PMC5772443 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-18927-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2017] [Accepted: 12/20/2017] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Species distribution models (SDMs) are widely used in ecology and conservation. Presence-only SDMs such as MaxEnt frequently use natural history collections (NHCs) as occurrence data, given their huge numbers and accessibility. NHCs are often spatially biased which may generate inaccuracies in SDMs. Here, we test how the distribution of NHCs and MaxEnt predictions relates to a spatial abundance model, based on a large plot dataset for Amazonian tree species, using inverse distance weighting (IDW). We also propose a new pipeline to deal with inconsistencies in NHCs and to limit the area of occupancy of the species. We found a significant but weak positive relationship between the distribution of NHCs and IDW for 66% of the species. The relationship between SDMs and IDW was also significant but weakly positive for 95% of the species, and sensitivity for both analyses was high. Furthermore, the pipeline removed half of the NHCs records. Presence-only SDM applications should consider this limitation, especially for large biodiversity assessments projects, when they are automatically generated without subsequent checking. Our pipeline provides a conservative estimate of a species’ area of occupancy, within an area slightly larger than its extent of occurrence, compatible to e.g. IUCN red list assessments.
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Qie L, Lewis SL, Sullivan MJP, Lopez-Gonzalez G, Pickavance GC, Sunderland T, Ashton P, Hubau W, Abu Salim K, Aiba SI, Banin LF, Berry N, Brearley FQ, Burslem DFRP, Dančák M, Davies SJ, Fredriksson G, Hamer KC, Hédl R, Kho LK, Kitayama K, Krisnawati H, Lhota S, Malhi Y, Maycock C, Metali F, Mirmanto E, Nagy L, Nilus R, Ong R, Pendry CA, Poulsen AD, Primack RB, Rutishauser E, Samsoedin I, Saragih B, Sist P, Slik JWF, Sukri RS, Svátek M, Tan S, Tjoa A, van Nieuwstadt M, Vernimmen RRE, Yassir I, Kidd PS, Fitriadi M, Ideris NKH, Serudin RM, Abdullah Lim LS, Saparudin MS, Phillips OL. Long-term carbon sink in Borneo's forests halted by drought and vulnerable to edge effects. Nat Commun 2017; 8:1966. [PMID: 29259276 PMCID: PMC5736600 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-017-01997-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2017] [Accepted: 10/30/2017] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Less than half of anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions remain in the atmosphere. While carbon balance models imply large carbon uptake in tropical forests, direct on-the-ground observations are still lacking in Southeast Asia. Here, using long-term plot monitoring records of up to half a century, we find that intact forests in Borneo gained 0.43 Mg C ha−1 per year (95% CI 0.14–0.72, mean period 1988–2010) in above-ground live biomass carbon. These results closely match those from African and Amazonian plot networks, suggesting that the world’s remaining intact tropical forests are now en masse out-of-equilibrium. Although both pan-tropical and long-term, the sink in remaining intact forests appears vulnerable to climate and land use changes. Across Borneo the 1997–1998 El Niño drought temporarily halted the carbon sink by increasing tree mortality, while fragmentation persistently offset the sink and turned many edge-affected forests into a carbon source to the atmosphere. The existence of a pan-tropical forest carbon sink remains uncertain due to the lack of data from Asia. Here, using direct on-the-ground observations, the authors confirm remaining intact forests in Borneo have provided a long-term carbon sink, but carbon net gains are vulnerable to drought and edge effects.
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Coelho de Souza F, Dexter KG, Phillips OL, Brienen RJW, Chave J, Galbraith DR, Lopez Gonzalez G, Monteagudo Mendoza A, Pennington RT, Poorter L, Alexiades M, Álvarez-Dávila E, Andrade A, Aragão LEOC, Araujo-Murakami A, Arets EJMM, Aymard C GA, Baraloto C, Barroso JG, Bonal D, Boot RGA, Camargo JLC, Comiskey JA, Valverde FC, de Camargo PB, Di Fiore A, Elias F, Erwin TL, Feldpausch TR, Ferreira L, Fyllas NM, Gloor E, Herault B, Herrera R, Higuchi N, Honorio Coronado EN, Killeen TJ, Laurance WF, Laurance S, Lloyd J, Lovejoy TE, Malhi Y, Maracahipes L, Marimon BS, Marimon-Junior BH, Mendoza C, Morandi P, Neill DA, Vargas PN, Oliveira EA, Lenza E, Palacios WA, Peñuela-Mora MC, Pipoly JJ, Pitman NCA, Prieto A, Quesada CA, Ramirez-Angulo H, Rudas A, Ruokolainen K, Salomão RP, Silveira M, Stropp J, Ter Steege H, Thomas-Caesar R, van der Hout P, van der Heijden GMF, van der Meer PJ, Vasquez RV, Vieira SA, Vilanova E, Vos VA, Wang O, Young KR, Zagt RJ, Baker TR. Evolutionary heritage influences Amazon tree ecology. Proc Biol Sci 2017; 283:rspb.2016.1587. [PMID: 27974517 PMCID: PMC5204144 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2016.1587] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2016] [Accepted: 11/03/2016] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Lineages tend to retain ecological characteristics of their ancestors through time. However, for some traits, selection during evolutionary history may have also played a role in determining trait values. To address the relative importance of these processes requires large-scale quantification of traits and evolutionary relationships among species. The Amazonian tree flora comprises a high diversity of angiosperm lineages and species with widely differing life-history characteristics, providing an excellent system to investigate the combined influences of evolutionary heritage and selection in determining trait variation. We used trait data related to the major axes of life-history variation among tropical trees (e.g. growth and mortality rates) from 577 inventory plots in closed-canopy forest, mapped onto a phylogenetic hypothesis spanning more than 300 genera including all major angiosperm clades to test for evolutionary constraints on traits. We found significant phylogenetic signal (PS) for all traits, consistent with evolutionarily related genera having more similar characteristics than expected by chance. Although there is also evidence for repeated evolution of pioneer and shade tolerant life-history strategies within independent lineages, the existence of significant PS allows clearer predictions of the links between evolutionary diversity, ecosystem function and the response of tropical forests to global change.
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Willcock S, Phillips OL, Platts PJ, Balmford A, Burgess ND, Lovett JC, Ahrends A, Bayliss J, Doggart N, Doody K, Fanning E, Green JMH, Hall J, Howell KL, Marchant R, Marshall AR, Mbilinyi B, Munishi PKT, Owen N, Swetnam RD, Topp-Jorgensen EJ, Lewis SL. Correction to: Quantifying and understanding carbon storage and sequestration within the Eastern Arc Mountains of Tanzania, a tropical biodiversity hotspot. CARBON BALANCE AND MANAGEMENT 2017; 12:20. [PMID: 29218472 PMCID: PMC5721094 DOI: 10.1186/s13021-017-0088-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Upon publication of the original article [1], the authors noticed that the figure labelling for Fig. 4 in the online version was processed wrong. The top left panel should be panel a, with the panels to its right being b and c. d and e should be the panels on the lower row, and f is correct. The graphs themselves are all correct. It is simply the letter labels that are wrong.
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Phillips OL, Brienen RJW. Carbon uptake by mature Amazon forests has mitigated Amazon nations' carbon emissions. CARBON BALANCE AND MANAGEMENT 2017; 12:1. [PMID: 28413845 PMCID: PMC5285296 DOI: 10.1186/s13021-016-0069-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2016] [Accepted: 12/09/2016] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Several independent lines of evidence suggest that Amazon forests have provided a significant carbon sink service, and also that the Amazon carbon sink in intact, mature forests may now be threatened as a result of different processes. There has however been no work done to quantify non-land-use-change forest carbon fluxes on a national basis within Amazonia, or to place these national fluxes and their possible changes in the context of the major anthropogenic carbon fluxes in the region. Here we present a first attempt to interpret results from ground-based monitoring of mature forest carbon fluxes in a biogeographically, politically, and temporally differentiated way. Specifically, using results from a large long-term network of forest plots, we estimate the Amazon biomass carbon balance over the last three decades for the different regions and nine nations of Amazonia, and evaluate the magnitude and trajectory of these differentiated balances in relation to major national anthropogenic carbon emissions. RESULTS The sink of carbon into mature forests has been remarkably geographically ubiquitous across Amazonia, being substantial and persistent in each of the five biogeographic regions within Amazonia. Between 1980 and 2010, it has more than mitigated the fossil fuel emissions of every single national economy, except that of Venezuela. For most nations (Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname) the sink has probably additionally mitigated all anthropogenic carbon emissions due to Amazon deforestation and other land use change. While the sink has weakened in some regions since 2000, our analysis suggests that Amazon nations which are able to conserve large areas of natural and semi-natural landscape still contribute globally-significant carbon sequestration. CONCLUSIONS Mature forests across all of Amazonia have contributed significantly to mitigating climate change for decades. Yet Amazon nations have not directly benefited from providing this global scale ecosystem service. We suggest that better monitoring and reporting of the carbon fluxes within mature forests, and understanding the drivers of changes in their balance, must become national, as well as international, priorities.
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Esquivel-Muelbert A, Galbraith D, Dexter KG, Baker TR, Lewis SL, Meir P, Rowland L, Costa ACLD, Nepstad D, Phillips OL. Biogeographic distributions of neotropical trees reflect their directly measured drought tolerances. Sci Rep 2017; 7:8334. [PMID: 28827613 PMCID: PMC5567183 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-08105-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2017] [Accepted: 07/10/2017] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
High levels of species diversity hamper current understanding of how tropical forests may respond to environmental change. In the tropics, water availability is a leading driver of the diversity and distribution of tree species, suggesting that many tropical taxa may be physiologically incapable of tolerating dry conditions, and that their distributions along moisture gradients can be used to predict their drought tolerance. While this hypothesis has been explored at local and regional scales, large continental-scale tests are lacking. We investigate whether the relationship between drought-induced mortality and distributions holds continentally by relating experimental and observational data of drought-induced mortality across the Neotropics to the large-scale bioclimatic distributions of 115 tree genera. Across the different experiments, genera affiliated to wetter climatic regimes show higher drought-induced mortality than dry-affiliated ones, even after controlling for phylogenetic relationships. This pattern is stronger for adult trees than for saplings or seedlings, suggesting that the environmental filters exerted by drought impact adult tree survival most strongly. Overall, our analysis of experimental, observational, and bioclimatic data across neotropical forests suggests that increasing moisture-stress is indeed likely to drive significant changes in floristic composition.
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Malhi Y, Girardin CAJ, Goldsmith GR, Doughty CE, Salinas N, Metcalfe DB, Huaraca Huasco W, Silva-Espejo JE, Del Aguilla-Pasquell J, Farfán Amézquita F, Aragão LEOC, Guerrieri R, Ishida FY, Bahar NHA, Farfan-Rios W, Phillips OL, Meir P, Silman M. The variation of productivity and its allocation along a tropical elevation gradient: a whole carbon budget perspective. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2017; 214:1019-1032. [PMID: 27768811 DOI: 10.1111/nph.14189] [Citation(s) in RCA: 67] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2016] [Accepted: 07/12/2016] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
Why do forest productivity and biomass decline with elevation? To address this question, research to date generally has focused on correlative approaches describing changes in woody growth and biomass with elevation. We present a novel, mechanistic approach to this question by quantifying the autotrophic carbon budget in 16 forest plots along a 3300 m elevation transect in Peru. Low growth rates at high elevations appear primarily driven by low gross primary productivity (GPP), with little shift in either carbon use efficiency (CUE) or allocation of net primary productivity (NPP) between wood, fine roots and canopy. The lack of trend in CUE implies that the proportion of photosynthate allocated to autotrophic respiration is not sensitive to temperature. Rather than a gradual linear decline in productivity, there is some limited but nonconclusive evidence of a sharp transition in NPP between submontane and montane forests, which may be caused by cloud immersion effects within the cloud forest zone. Leaf-level photosynthetic parameters do not decline with elevation, implying that nutrient limitation does not restrict photosynthesis at high elevations. Our data demonstrate the potential of whole carbon budget perspectives to provide a deeper understanding of controls on ecosystem functioning and carbon cycling.
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Bahar NHA, Ishida FY, Weerasinghe LK, Guerrieri R, O'Sullivan OS, Bloomfield KJ, Asner GP, Martin RE, Lloyd J, Malhi Y, Phillips OL, Meir P, Salinas N, Cosio EG, Domingues TF, Quesada CA, Sinca F, Escudero Vega A, Zuloaga Ccorimanya PP, Del Aguila-Pasquel J, Quispe Huaypar K, Cuba Torres I, Butrón Loayza R, Pelaez Tapia Y, Huaman Ovalle J, Long BM, Evans JR, Atkin OK. Leaf-level photosynthetic capacity in lowland Amazonian and high-elevation Andean tropical moist forests of Peru. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2017; 214:1002-1018. [PMID: 27389684 DOI: 10.1111/nph.14079] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2015] [Accepted: 05/23/2016] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
We examined whether variations in photosynthetic capacity are linked to variations in the environment and/or associated leaf traits for tropical moist forests (TMFs) in the Andes/western Amazon regions of Peru. We compared photosynthetic capacity (maximal rate of carboxylation of Rubisco (Vcmax ), and the maximum rate of electron transport (Jmax )), leaf mass, nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) per unit leaf area (Ma , Na and Pa , respectively), and chlorophyll from 210 species at 18 field sites along a 3300-m elevation gradient. Western blots were used to quantify the abundance of the CO2 -fixing enzyme Rubisco. Area- and N-based rates of photosynthetic capacity at 25°C were higher in upland than lowland TMFs, underpinned by greater investment of N in photosynthesis in high-elevation trees. Soil [P] and leaf Pa were key explanatory factors for models of area-based Vcmax and Jmax but did not account for variations in photosynthetic N-use efficiency. At any given Na and Pa , the fraction of N allocated to photosynthesis was higher in upland than lowland species. For a small subset of lowland TMF trees examined, a substantial fraction of Rubisco was inactive. These results highlight the importance of soil- and leaf-P in defining the photosynthetic capacity of TMFs, with variations in N allocation and Rubisco activation state further influencing photosynthetic rates and N-use efficiency of these critically important forests.
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Rowland L, Zaragoza‐Castells J, Bloomfield KJ, Turnbull MH, Bonal D, Burban B, Salinas N, Cosio E, Metcalfe DJ, Ford A, Phillips OL, Atkin OK, Meir P. Scaling leaf respiration with nitrogen and phosphorus in tropical forests across two continents. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2017; 214:1064-1077. [PMID: 27159833 PMCID: PMC5412872 DOI: 10.1111/nph.13992] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2016] [Accepted: 03/30/2016] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
Leaf dark respiration (Rdark ) represents an important component controlling the carbon balance in tropical forests. Here, we test how nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) affect Rdark and its relationship with photosynthesis using three widely separated tropical forests which differ in soil fertility. Rdark was measured on 431 rainforest canopy trees, from 182 species, in French Guiana, Peru and Australia. The variation in Rdark was examined in relation to leaf N and P content, leaf structure and maximum photosynthetic rates at ambient and saturating atmospheric CO2 concentration. We found that the site with the lowest fertility (French Guiana) exhibited greater rates of Rdark per unit leaf N, P and photosynthesis. The data from Australia, for which there were no phylogenetic overlaps with the samples from the South American sites, yielded the most distinct relationships of Rdark with the measured leaf traits. Our data indicate that no single universal scaling relationship accounts for variation in Rdark across this large biogeographical space. Variability between sites in the absolute rates of Rdark and the Rdark : photosynthesis ratio were driven by variations in N- and P-use efficiency, which were related to both taxonomic and environmental variability.
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