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de Lima RB, Görgens EB, da Silva DAS, de Oliveira CP, Batista APB, Caraciolo Ferreira RL, Costa FRC, Ferreira de Lima RA, da Silva Aparício P, de Abreu JC, da Silva JAA, Guimaraes AF, Fearnside PM, Sousa TR, Perdiz R, Higuchi N, Berenguer E, Resende AF, Elias F, de Castilho CV, de Medeiros MB, de Matos Filho JR, Sardinha MA, Freitas MAF, da Silva JJ, da Cunha AP, Santos RM, Muelbert AE, Guedes MC, Imbrózio R, de Sousa CSC, da Silva Aparício WC, da Silva E Silva BM, Silva CA, Marimon BS, Junior BHM, Morandi PS, Storck-Tonon D, Vieira ICG, Schietti J, Coelho F, Alves de Almeida DR, Castro W, Carvalho SPC, da Silva RDSA, Silveira J, Camargo JL, Melgaço K, de Freitas LJM, Vedovato L, Benchimol M, de Oliveira de Almeida G, Prance G, da Silveira AB, Simon MF, Garcia ML, Silveira M, Vital M, Andrade MBT, Silva N, de Araújo RO, Cavalheiro L, Carpanedo R, Fernandes L, Manzatto AG, de Andrade RTG, Magnusson WE, Laurance B, Nelson BW, Peres C, Daly DC, Rodrigues D, Zopeletto AP, de Oliveira EA, Dugachard E, Barbosa FR, Santana F, do Amaral IL, Ferreira LV, Charão LS, Ferreira J, Barlow J, Blanc L, Aragão L, Sist P, de Paiva Salomão R, da Silva ASL, Laurance S, Feldpausch TR, Gardner T, Santiago W, Balee W, Laurance WF, Malhi Y, Phillips OL, da Silva Zanzini AC, Rosa C, Tadeu Oliveira W, Pereira Zanzini L, José Silva R, Mangabeira Albernaz AL. Giants of the Amazon: How does environmental variation drive the diversity patterns of large trees? GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2023; 29:4861-4879. [PMID: 37386918 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.16821] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2022] [Revised: 04/13/2023] [Accepted: 06/02/2023] [Indexed: 07/01/2023]
Abstract
For more than three decades, major efforts in sampling and analyzing tree diversity in South America have focused almost exclusively on trees with stems of at least 10 and 2.5 cm diameter, showing highest species diversity in the wetter western and northern Amazon forests. By contrast, little attention has been paid to patterns and drivers of diversity in the largest canopy and emergent trees, which is surprising given these have dominant ecological functions. Here, we use a machine learning approach to quantify the importance of environmental factors and apply it to generate spatial predictions of the species diversity of all trees (dbh ≥ 10 cm) and for very large trees (dbh ≥ 70 cm) using data from 243 forest plots (108,450 trees and 2832 species) distributed across different forest types and biogeographic regions of the Brazilian Amazon. The diversity of large trees and of all trees was significantly associated with three environmental factors, but in contrasting ways across regions and forest types. Environmental variables associated with disturbances, for example, the lightning flash rate and wind speed, as well as the fraction of photosynthetically active radiation, tend to govern the diversity of large trees. Upland rainforests in the Guiana Shield and Roraima regions had a high diversity of large trees. By contrast, variables associated with resources tend to govern tree diversity in general. Places such as the province of Imeri and the northern portion of the province of Madeira stand out for their high diversity of species in general. Climatic and topographic stability and functional adaptation mechanisms promote ideal conditions for species diversity. Finally, we mapped general patterns of tree species diversity in the Brazilian Amazon, which differ substantially depending on size class.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Eric Bastos Görgens
- Departamento de Engenharia Florestal, Universidade Federal do Vales do Jequitinhonha e Mucuri, Diamantina, Brazil
| | | | | | | | - Rinaldo L Caraciolo Ferreira
- Laboratório de Manejo de Florestas Naturais "José Serafim Feitoza Ferraz", Departamento de Ciência Florestal, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil
| | - Flavia R C Costa
- Coordenação de Pesquisas em Biodiversidade, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Manaus, Brazil
| | | | | | | | - José Antônio Aleixo da Silva
- Laboratório de Manejo de Florestas Naturais "José Serafim Feitoza Ferraz", Departamento de Ciência Florestal, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil
| | - Aretha Franklin Guimaraes
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Botânica Aplicada, Departamento de Biologia, Universidade Federal de Lavras, Lavras, Brazil
| | - Philip M Fearnside
- Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Av. André Araújo, Manaus, Brazil
| | - Thaiane R Sousa
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Manaus, Brazil
| | - Ricardo Perdiz
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Botânica, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (INPA), Manaus, Brazil
| | - Niro Higuchi
- Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia-Coordenação de Pesquisas em Silvicultura Tropical, Manaus, Brazil
| | - Erika Berenguer
- Environmental Change Institute, School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK
| | | | - Fernando Elias
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Pará, Belém, Brazil
| | | | | | | | - Maurício Alves Sardinha
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biodiversidade e Biotecnologia-Rede Bionorte, Universidade Federal do Amapá, Macapá, Brazil
| | | | - José Jussian da Silva
- Instituto Federal de Educação Ciência e Tecnologia do Amapá, Laranjal do Jari, Brazil
| | | | - Renan Mendes Santos
- Laboratório de Manejo Florestal, Universidade do Estado do Amapá, Macapá, Brazil
| | | | | | - Reinaldo Imbrózio
- Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Av. André Araújo, Manaus, Brazil
| | | | | | | | | | - Beatriz Schwantes Marimon
- Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias, Biológicas e Sociais Aplicadas, Universidade do Estado de Mato Grosso, Nova Xavantina, Brazil
| | - Ben Hur Marimon Junior
- Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias, Biológicas e Sociais Aplicadas, Universidade do Estado de Mato Grosso, Nova Xavantina, Brazil
| | - Paulo S Morandi
- Universidade do Estado de Mato Grosso, Campus de Nova Xavantina, Nova Xavantina, Brazil
| | - Danielle Storck-Tonon
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ambiente e Sistemas de Produção Agrícola, Universidade do Estado de Mato Grosso, Tangará da Serra, Brazil
| | | | - Juliana Schietti
- Departamento de Biologia, Universidade Federal do Amazonas, Manaus, Brazil
| | - Fernanda Coelho
- Department of Forestry, University of Brasilia, Brasilia, Brazil
| | - Danilo R Alves de Almeida
- Department of Forest Sciences, "Luiz de Queiroz" College of Agriculture, University of São Paulo (USP/ESALQ), Piracicaba, Brazil
| | - Wendeson Castro
- Laboratório de Botânica e Ecologia Vegetal, Universidade Federal do Acre, Rio Branco, Brazil
| | | | | | - Juliana Silveira
- Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK
| | | | | | | | | | - Maíra Benchimol
- Laboratório de Ecologia Aplicada à Conservação, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Salobrinho, Brazil
| | | | | | | | - Marcelo Fragomeni Simon
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Pará, Belém, Brazil
| | | | - Marcos Silveira
- Museu Universitário, Universidade Federal do Acre, Rio Branco, Brazil
| | - Marcos Vital
- Universidade Federal de Roraima (UFRR), Boa Vista, Brazil
| | - Maryane B T Andrade
- Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Av. André Araújo, Manaus, Brazil
| | | | | | | | - Rainiellen Carpanedo
- Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso (UFMT), Núcleo de Estudos da Biodiversidade da Amazônia Mato-grossense, Sinop, Brazil
| | | | | | | | - William E Magnusson
- Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Av. André Araújo, Manaus, Brazil
| | - Bill Laurance
- James Cook University, Douglas, Queensland, Australia
| | - Bruce Walker Nelson
- Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Av. André Araújo, Manaus, Brazil
| | | | - Douglas C Daly
- Institute of Systematic Botany, The New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, New York, USA
| | - Domingos Rodrigues
- Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso, Instituto de Ciências Naturais, Humanas e Sociais, Sinop, Brazil
| | | | | | | | | | - Flavia Santana
- Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Av. André Araújo, Manaus, Brazil
| | - Iêda Leão do Amaral
- Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Av. André Araújo, Manaus, Brazil
| | | | - Leandro S Charão
- Facultad de Ingeniería y Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Tamaulipas, Victoria, Mexico
| | - Joice Ferreira
- Embrapa Amazônia Oriental, Rede Amazônia Sustentável, Belém, Brazil
| | - Jos Barlow
- Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK
| | - Lilian Blanc
- Unité Propre de Recherche Biens et Services des Écosystèmes Forestiers Tropicaux: l'Enjeu du Changement Global (BSEF), CIRAD, Montpellier, France
| | - Luiz Aragão
- National Institute for Space Research (INPE), São José dos Campos, Brazil
| | - Plinio Sist
- Centre de Coopération International en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (CIRAD), Paris, France
| | | | | | - Susan Laurance
- Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Science (TESS), College of Marine and Environmental Sciences, James Cook University, Douglas, Queensland, Australia
| | | | - Toby Gardner
- Stockholm Environment Institute, Stockholm, Sweden
| | | | | | - William F Laurance
- Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Science (TESS), College of Marine and Environmental Sciences, James Cook University, Douglas, Queensland, Australia
| | - Yadvinder Malhi
- Environmental Change Institute, School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | | | - Antônio Carlos da Silva Zanzini
- Setor de Ecologia e Manejo da Vida Silvestre, Departamento de Ciências Florestais, Universidade Federal de Lavras, Lavras, MG, Brazil
| | - Clarissa Rosa
- Coordenação de Pesquisas em Biodiversidade, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Manaus, Brazil
| | - Wagner Tadeu Oliveira
- CESAM - Centro de Estudos do Ambiente e do Mar, Departamento de Biologia, Collaborating Researcher, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal
| | - Lucas Pereira Zanzini
- Departamento de Engenharia Florestal, Universidade do Estado de Mato Grosso, Cáceres, MT, Brazil
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Gora EM, Schnitzer SA, Bitzer PM, Burchfield JC, Gutierrez C, Yanoviak SP. Lianas increase lightning-caused disturbance severity in a tropical forest. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2023; 238:1865-1875. [PMID: 36951173 DOI: 10.1111/nph.18856] [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: 11/29/2022] [Accepted: 02/14/2023] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
Lightning is an important agent of plant mortality and disturbance in forests. Lightning-caused disturbance is highly variable in terms of its area of effect and disturbance severity (i.e. tree damage and death), but we do not know how this variation is influenced by forest structure and plant composition. We used a novel lightning detection system to quantify how lianas influenced the severity and spatial extent (i.e. area) of lightning disturbance using 78 lightning strikes in central Panama. The local density of lianas (measured as liana basal area) was positively associated with the number of trees killed and damaged by lightning, and patterns of plant damage indicated that this occurred because lianas facilitated more electrical connections from large to small trees. Liana presence, however, did not increase the area of the disturbance. Thus, lianas increased the severity of lightning disturbance by facilitating damage to additional trees without influencing the footprint of the disturbance. These findings indicate that lianas spread electricity to damage and kill understory trees that otherwise would survive a strike. As liana abundance increases in tropical forests, their negative effects on tree survival with respect to the severity of lightning-related tree damage and death are likely to increase.
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Affiliation(s)
- Evan M Gora
- Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Millbrook, New York, NY, 12545, USA
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Panamá
| | - Stefan A Schnitzer
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Panamá
- Department of Biological Sciences, Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI, 53233, USA
| | - Phillip M Bitzer
- Department of Atmospheric and Earth Science, The University of Alabama in Huntsville, Huntsville, AL, 35899, USA
| | - Jeffrey C Burchfield
- Earth System Science Center, The University of Alabama in Huntsville, Huntsville, AL, 35899, USA
| | | | - Stephen P Yanoviak
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Panamá
- Department of Biology, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, 40208, USA
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3
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Zoletto B, van der Sande MT, van der Sleen P, Sheil D. Lightning scars on tropical trees-Evidence and opportunities. Ecol Evol 2023; 13:e10210. [PMID: 37332514 PMCID: PMC10271212 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.10210] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2023] [Revised: 05/31/2023] [Accepted: 06/06/2023] [Indexed: 06/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Lightning strikes are a significant cause of tree mortality and damage in some regions of the tropics. Formation of lightning scars on tropical trees, however, is considered rare and therefore of little relevance in identifying trees struck by lightning. Here, we suggest, based on observations made in the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (Uganda), that lightning scars can be frequent and may be a useful diagnostic feature to aid in identifying trees struck by lightning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bianca Zoletto
- Forest Ecology and Forest Management GroupWageningen UniversityWageningenThe Netherlands
| | - Masha T. van der Sande
- Forest Ecology and Forest Management GroupWageningen UniversityWageningenThe Netherlands
| | - Peter van der Sleen
- Forest Ecology and Forest Management GroupWageningen UniversityWageningenThe Netherlands
| | - Douglas Sheil
- Forest Ecology and Forest Management GroupWageningen UniversityWageningenThe Netherlands
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4
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Feng Y, Negrón-Juárez RI, Romps DM, Chambers JQ. Amazon windthrow disturbances are likely to increase with storm frequency under global warming. Nat Commun 2023; 14:101. [PMID: 36609508 PMCID: PMC9822931 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-35570-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2022] [Accepted: 12/09/2022] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Forest mortality caused by convective storms (windthrow) is a major disturbance in the Amazon. However, the linkage between windthrows at the surface and convective storms in the atmosphere remains unclear. In addition, the current Earth system models (ESMs) lack mechanistic links between convective wind events and tree mortality. Here we find an empirical relationship that maps convective available potential energy, which is well simulated by ESMs, to the spatial pattern of large windthrow events. This relationship builds connections between strong convective storms and forest dynamics in the Amazon. Based on the relationship, our model projects a 51 ± 20% increase in the area favorable to extreme storms, and a 43 ± 17% increase in windthrow density within the Amazon by the end of this century under the high-emission scenario (SSP 585). These results indicate significant changes in tropical forest composition and carbon cycle dynamics under climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanlei Feng
- Department of Geography, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.
| | - Robinson I Negrón-Juárez
- Climate and Ecosystem Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - David M Romps
- Climate and Ecosystem Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA.,Department of Earth and Planetary Science, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Jeffrey Q Chambers
- Department of Geography, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.,Climate and Ecosystem Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA
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5
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Richards JH, Gora EM, Gutierrez C, Burchfield JC, Bitzer PM, Yanoviak SP. Tropical tree species differ in damage and mortality from lightning. NATURE PLANTS 2022; 8:1007-1013. [PMID: 35995834 DOI: 10.1038/s41477-022-01230-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2021] [Accepted: 07/19/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Lightning is an important agent of mortality for large tropical trees with implications for tree demography and forest carbon budgets. We evaluated interspecific differences in susceptibility to lightning damage using a unique dataset of systematically located lightning strikes in central Panama. We measured differences in mortality among trees damaged by lightning and related those to damage frequency and tree functional traits. Eighteen of 30 focal species had lightning mortality rates that deviated from null expectations. Several species showed little damage and three species had no mortality from lightning, whereas palms were especially likely to die from strikes. Species that were most likely to be struck also showed the highest survival. Interspecific differences in tree tolerance to lightning suggest that lightning-caused mortality shapes compositional dynamics over time and space. Shifts in lightning frequency due to climatic change are likely to alter species composition and carbon cycling in tropical forests.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeannine H Richards
- Department of Biology, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, USA
- Department of Botany, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Evan M Gora
- Department of Biology, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, USA
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Panama
- Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Millbrook, New York, NY, USA
| | | | - Jeffrey C Burchfield
- Department of Atmospheric Science, University of Alabama in Huntsville, Huntsville, AL, USA
| | - Philip M Bitzer
- Department of Atmospheric Science, University of Alabama in Huntsville, Huntsville, AL, USA
| | - Stephen P Yanoviak
- Department of Biology, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, USA.
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Panama.
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6
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Flores BM, Staal A. Feedback in tropical forests of the Anthropocene. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2022; 28:5041-5061. [PMID: 35770837 PMCID: PMC9542052 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.16293] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2021] [Revised: 04/06/2022] [Accepted: 05/31/2022] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
Tropical forests are complex systems containing myriad interactions and feedbacks with their biotic and abiotic environments, but as the world changes fast, the future of these ecosystems becomes increasingly uncertain. In particular, global stressors may unbalance the feedbacks that stabilize tropical forests, allowing other feedbacks to propel undesired changes in the whole ecosystem. Here, we review the scientific literature across various fields, compiling known interactions of tropical forests with their environment, including the global climate, rainfall, aerosols, fire, soils, fauna, and human activities. We identify 170 individual interactions among 32 elements that we present as a global tropical forest network, including countless feedback loops that may emerge from different combinations of interactions. We illustrate our findings with three cases involving urgent sustainability issues: (1) wildfires in wetlands of South America; (2) forest encroachment in African savanna landscapes; and (3) synergistic threats to the peatland forests of Borneo. Our findings reveal an unexplored world of feedbacks that shape the dynamics of tropical forests. The interactions and feedbacks identified here can guide future qualitative and quantitative research on the complexities of tropical forests, allowing societies to manage the nonlinear responses of these ecosystems in the Anthropocene.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bernardo M. Flores
- Graduate Program in EcologyFederal University of Santa CatarinaFlorianopolisBrazil
| | - Arie Staal
- Copernicus Institute of Sustainable DevelopmentUtrecht UniversityUtrechtThe Netherlands
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7
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Affiliation(s)
- Kenneth J Feeley
- Department of Biology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida, USA.
| | - Daniel Zuleta
- Forest Global Earth Observatory, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Washington, DC, USA
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8
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Zuidema PA, van der Sleen P. Seeing the forest through the trees: how tree-level measurements can help understand forest dynamics. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2022; 234:1544-1546. [PMID: 35478328 DOI: 10.1111/nph.18144] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2022] [Accepted: 04/04/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Pieter A Zuidema
- Forest Ecology and Forest Management Group, Wageningen University, PO Box 47, 6700 AA, Wageningen, the Netherlands
| | - Peter van der Sleen
- Forest Ecology and Forest Management Group, Wageningen University, PO Box 47, 6700 AA, Wageningen, the Netherlands
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9
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Piponiot C, Anderson-Teixeira KJ, Davies SJ, Allen D, Bourg NA, Burslem DFRP, Cárdenas D, Chang-Yang CH, Chuyong G, Cordell S, Dattaraja HS, Duque Á, Ediriweera S, Ewango C, Ezedin Z, Filip J, Giardina CP, Howe R, Hsieh CF, Hubbell SP, Inman-Narahari FM, Itoh A, Janík D, Kenfack D, Král K, Lutz JA, Makana JR, McMahon SM, McShea W, Mi X, Bt Mohamad M, Novotný V, O'Brien MJ, Ostertag R, Parker G, Pérez R, Ren H, Reynolds G, Md Sabri MD, Sack L, Shringi A, Su SH, Sukumar R, Sun IF, Suresh HS, Thomas DW, Thompson J, Uriarte M, Vandermeer J, Wang Y, Ware IM, Weiblen GD, Whitfeld TJS, Wolf A, Yao TL, Yu M, Yuan Z, Zimmerman JK, Zuleta D, Muller-Landau HC. Distribution of biomass dynamics in relation to tree size in forests across the world. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2022; 234:1664-1677. [PMID: 35201608 DOI: 10.1111/nph.17995] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2021] [Accepted: 10/05/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Tree size shapes forest carbon dynamics and determines how trees interact with their environment, including a changing climate. Here, we conduct the first global analysis of among-site differences in how aboveground biomass stocks and fluxes are distributed with tree size. We analyzed repeat tree censuses from 25 large-scale (4-52 ha) forest plots spanning a broad climatic range over five continents to characterize how aboveground biomass, woody productivity, and woody mortality vary with tree diameter. We examined how the median, dispersion, and skewness of these size-related distributions vary with mean annual temperature and precipitation. In warmer forests, aboveground biomass, woody productivity, and woody mortality were more broadly distributed with respect to tree size. In warmer and wetter forests, aboveground biomass and woody productivity were more right skewed, with a long tail towards large trees. Small trees (1-10 cm diameter) contributed more to productivity and mortality than to biomass, highlighting the importance of including these trees in analyses of forest dynamics. Our findings provide an improved characterization of climate-driven forest differences in the size structure of aboveground biomass and dynamics of that biomass, as well as refined benchmarks for capturing climate influences in vegetation demographic models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Camille Piponiot
- Forest Global Earth Observatory, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado Postal 0843-03092, Panama City, Panama
- Conservation Ecology Center, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, Front Royal, VA, 22630, USA
- UR Forests and Societies, Cirad, Université de Montpellier, Montpellier, 34000, France
| | - Kristina J Anderson-Teixeira
- Forest Global Earth Observatory, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado Postal 0843-03092, Panama City, Panama
- Conservation Ecology Center, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, Front Royal, VA, 22630, USA
| | - Stuart J Davies
- Forest Global Earth Observatory, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado Postal 0843-03092, Panama City, Panama
- Forest Global Earth Observatory, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Washington, DC, 20560, USA
- Department of Botany, National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC, 20560, USA
| | - David Allen
- Department of Biology, Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT, 05753, USA
| | - Norman A Bourg
- Conservation Ecology Center, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, Front Royal, VA, 22630, USA
| | - David F R P Burslem
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, AB24 3UU, UK
| | - Dairon Cárdenas
- Instituto Amazónico de Investigaciones Científicas Sinchi, Bogota, DC, Colombia
| | - Chia-Hao Chang-Yang
- Department of Biological Sciences, National Sun Yat-sen University, Kaohsiung City, 80424
| | - George Chuyong
- Department of Botany and Plant Physiology, University of Buea, Buea, Cameroon
| | - Susan Cordell
- Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry, USDA Forest Service, Hilo, HI, 96720, USA
| | | | - Álvaro Duque
- Departamento de Ciencias Forestales, Universidad Nacional de Colombia Sede Medellín, Medellín, Colombia
| | - Sisira Ediriweera
- Department of Science and Technology, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Uva Wellassa University, Badulla, 90000, Sri Lanka
| | - Corneille Ewango
- Faculty of Sciences, University of Kisangani, BP 2012, Kisangani, Democratic Republic of the Congo
| | - Zacky Ezedin
- Department of Plant & Microbial Biology, University of Minnesota, St Paul, MN, 55108, USA
| | - Jonah Filip
- Binatang Research Centre, Madang, Papua New Guinea
| | - Christian P Giardina
- Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry, USDA Forest Service, Hilo, HI, 96720, USA
| | - Robert Howe
- Department of Natural and Applied Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, Green Bay, WI, 54311-7001, USA
| | - Chang-Fu Hsieh
- Institute of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, National Taiwan University, Taipei, 10617
| | - Stephen P Hubbell
- Forest Global Earth Observatory, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado Postal 0843-03092, Panama City, Panama
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
| | | | - Akira Itoh
- Graduate School of Science, Osaka City University, Osaka, 5588585, Japan
| | - David Janík
- Department of Forest Ecology, Silva Tarouca Research Institute, Brno, 602 00, Czech Republic
| | - David Kenfack
- Forest Global Earth Observatory, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado Postal 0843-03092, Panama City, Panama
- Department of Botany, National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC, 20560, USA
| | - Kamil Král
- Department of Forest Ecology, Silva Tarouca Research Institute, Brno, 602 00, Czech Republic
| | - James A Lutz
- Wildland Resources Department, Utah State University, Logan, UT, 84322, USA
| | - Jean-Remy Makana
- Faculty of Sciences, University of Kisangani, BP 2012, Kisangani, Democratic Republic of the Congo
| | - Sean M McMahon
- Forest Global Earth Observatory, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado Postal 0843-03092, Panama City, Panama
- Forest Global Earth Observatory, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Edgewater, MD, 21037, USA
| | - William McShea
- Conservation Ecology Center, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, Front Royal, VA, 22630, USA
| | - Xiangcheng Mi
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiangshan, Beijing, 100093
| | - Mohizah Bt Mohamad
- Research Development and Innovation Division, Forest Department Sarawak, Bangunan Baitul Makmur 2, Medanraya, Petrajaya, Kuching, 93050, Malaysia
| | - Vojtěch Novotný
- Binatang Research Centre, Madang, Papua New Guinea
- Biology Centre, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic and Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Ceske Budejovice, 37005, Czech Republic
| | - Michael J O'Brien
- Área de Biodiversidad y Conservación, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Móstoles, 28933, Spain
| | - Rebecca Ostertag
- Department of Biology, University of Hawaii, Hilo, HI, 96720, USA
| | - Geoffrey Parker
- Forest Ecology Group, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Edgewater, MD, 21037, USA
| | - Rolando Pérez
- Forest Global Earth Observatory, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado Postal 0843-03092, Panama City, Panama
| | - Haibao Ren
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiangshan, Beijing, 100093
| | - Glen Reynolds
- The Royal Society SEARRP (UK/Malaysia), Danum Valley Field Centre, Lahad Datu, Sabah, Malaysia
| | - Mohamad Danial Md Sabri
- Forestry and Environment Division, Forest Research Institute Malaysia, Kepong, Selangor, 52109, Malaysia
| | - Lawren Sack
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
| | - Ankur Shringi
- Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, Karnataka, India
| | | | - Raman Sukumar
- Centre for Ecological Sciences and Divecha Centre for Climate Change, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, Karnataka, India
| | - I-Fang Sun
- Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Studies, National Dong Hwa University, Hualien, 974301
| | - Hebbalalu S Suresh
- Centre for Ecological Sciences and Divecha Centre for Climate Change, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, Karnataka, India
| | - Duncan W Thomas
- School of Biological Sciences, Washington State University, Vancouver, WA, 99164, USA
| | - Jill Thompson
- UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Bush Estate, Penicuik, Midlothian, EH26 0SB, UK
| | - Maria Uriarte
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10027, USA
| | - John Vandermeer
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Herbarium, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA
| | - Yunquan Wang
- College of Chemistry and Life Sciences, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, 321004
| | - Ian M Ware
- Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry, USDA Forest Service, Hilo, HI, 96720, USA
| | - George D Weiblen
- Department of Plant & Microbial Biology, University of Minnesota, St Paul, MN, 55108, USA
| | | | - Amy Wolf
- Department of Natural and Applied Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, Green Bay, WI, 54311-7001, USA
| | - Tze Leong Yao
- Forestry and Environment Division, Forest Research Institute Malaysia, Kepong, Selangor, 52109, Malaysia
| | - Mingjian Yu
- College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou
| | - Zuoqiang Yuan
- CAS Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Management, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, 110016
| | - Jess K Zimmerman
- Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, PR, USA
| | - Daniel Zuleta
- Forest Global Earth Observatory, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado Postal 0843-03092, Panama City, Panama
- Forest Global Earth Observatory, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Washington, DC, 20560, USA
| | - Helene C Muller-Landau
- Forest Global Earth Observatory, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado Postal 0843-03092, Panama City, Panama
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10
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Tropical tree mortality has increased with rising atmospheric water stress. Nature 2022; 608:528-533. [PMID: 35585230 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-04737-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2021] [Accepted: 04/06/2022] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Evidence exists that tree mortality is accelerating in some regions of the tropics1,2, with profound consequences for the future of the tropical carbon sink and the global anthropogenic carbon budget left to limit peak global warming below 2 °C. However, the mechanisms that may be driving such mortality changes and whether particular species are especially vulnerable remain unclear3-8. Here we analyse a 49-year record of tree dynamics from 24 old-growth forest plots encompassing a broad climatic gradient across the Australian moist tropics and find that annual tree mortality risk has, on average, doubled across all plots and species over the last 35 years, indicating a potential halving in life expectancy and carbon residence time. Associated losses in biomass were not offset by gains from growth and recruitment. Plots in less moist local climates presented higher average mortality risk, but local mean climate did not predict the pace of temporal increase in mortality risk. Species varied in the trajectories of their mortality risk, with the highest average risk found nearer to the upper end of the atmospheric vapour pressure deficit niches of species. A long-term increase in vapour pressure deficit was evident across the region, suggesting that thresholds involving atmospheric water stress, driven by global warming, may be a primary cause of increasing tree mortality in moist tropical forests.
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11
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Menezes LS, de Oliveira AM, Santos FLM, Russo A, de Souza RAF, Roque FO, Libonati R. Lightning patterns in the Pantanal: Untangling natural and anthropogenic-induced wildfires. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 820:153021. [PMID: 35026277 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.153021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2021] [Revised: 01/04/2022] [Accepted: 01/06/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
The identification of fire causes and characteristics is of fundamental importance to better understand fire regimes and drivers. Particularly for Brazil, there is a gap in the quantification of lightning-caused fires. Accordingly, this work is a novel probabilistic assessment of the spatial-temporal patterns of lightning-ignited wildfires in the Pantanal wetland. Here, remote sensing information such as VIIRS active fires, MODIS burned area (BA) and STARNET lightning observations from 2012 to 2017, were combined to estimate the location, number of scars and amount of BA associated with atmospheric discharges on a seasonal basis. The highest lightning activity occurs during summer (December-February), and the lowest during winter (June-August). Conversely, the highest fire activity occurred during spring (September-November) and the lowest during autumn (March-May). Our analysis revealed low evidence of an association between fires and lightning, suggesting that human-related activities are the main source of ignitions. Weak evidence of natural-caused fire occurrence is conveyed by the low spatial-temporal match of lightning and fire throughout the studied period. Natural-caused fires accounted for only 5% of the annual total scars and 83.8% of the BA was human-caused. Most of the fires with extension larger than 1000 ha were not related to lighting. Lightning-fires seem an important element of the summer fire regime given that around half of the total BA during this season may be originated by lightning. By contrast, in the rest of the year the lightning-fires represent a minor percentage of the fire activity in the region. The density of lightning-ignited fires varies considerably, being higher in the north part of the Pantanal. This work provides a basis for a better understanding of lightning-related fire outbreaks in tropical ecosystems, particularly wetlands, which is fundamental to improve region-based strategies for land management actions, ecological studies and modeling climatic and anthropogenic drivers of wildfires.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucas S Menezes
- Departamento de Meteorologia, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Aline M de Oliveira
- Departamento de Meteorologia, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Filippe L M Santos
- Departamento de Meteorologia, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Programa de Pós-Graduação em Clima e Ambiente (CLIAMB), Instituto Nacional de Pesquisa da Amazônia (INPA) and Universidade do Estado do Amazonas (UEA), Manaus, AM, Brazil
| | - Ana Russo
- Instituto Dom Luiz (IDL), Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Rodrigo A F de Souza
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Clima e Ambiente (CLIAMB), Instituto Nacional de Pesquisa da Amazônia (INPA) and Universidade do Estado do Amazonas (UEA), Manaus, AM, Brazil; Universidade do Estado do Amazonas, Escola Superior de Tecnologia, 69050-020 Manaus, AM, Brazil
| | - Fabio O Roque
- Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul, Caixa Postal 549, Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul CEP 79070-900, Brazil; Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Science (TESS) and College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Cairns, QLD 4878, Australia
| | - Renata Libonati
- Departamento de Meteorologia, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Instituto Dom Luiz (IDL), Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal.
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12
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Hammond WM, Williams AP, Abatzoglou JT, Adams HD, Klein T, López R, Sáenz-Romero C, Hartmann H, Breshears DD, Allen CD. Global field observations of tree die-off reveal hotter-drought fingerprint for Earth's forests. Nat Commun 2022; 13:1761. [PMID: 35383157 PMCID: PMC8983702 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-29289-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 27.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2021] [Accepted: 03/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Earth's forests face grave challenges in the Anthropocene, including hotter droughts increasingly associated with widespread forest die-off events. But despite the vital importance of forests to global ecosystem services, their fates in a warming world remain highly uncertain. Lacking is quantitative determination of commonality in climate anomalies associated with pulses of tree mortality-from published, field-documented mortality events-required for understanding the role of extreme climate events in overall global tree die-off patterns. Here we established a geo-referenced global database documenting climate-induced mortality events spanning all tree-supporting biomes and continents, from 154 peer-reviewed studies since 1970. Our analysis quantifies a global "hotter-drought fingerprint" from these tree-mortality sites-effectively a hotter and drier climate signal for tree mortality-across 675 locations encompassing 1,303 plots. Frequency of these observed mortality-year climate conditions strongly increases nonlinearly under projected warming. Our database also provides initial footing for further community-developed, quantitative, ground-based monitoring of global tree mortality.
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Affiliation(s)
- William M. Hammond
- grid.15276.370000 0004 1936 8091Agronomy Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611 USA
| | - A. Park Williams
- grid.19006.3e0000 0000 9632 6718Department of Geography, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095 USA
| | - John T. Abatzoglou
- grid.266096.d0000 0001 0049 1282Management of Complex Systems, University of California, Merced, CA USA
| | - Henry D. Adams
- grid.30064.310000 0001 2157 6568School of the Environment, Washington State University, Pullman, WA USA
| | - Tamir Klein
- grid.13992.300000 0004 0604 7563Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Rosana López
- grid.5690.a0000 0001 2151 2978Sistemas y Recursos Naturales, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Cuauhtémoc Sáenz-Romero
- grid.412205.00000 0000 8796 243XInstituto de Investigaciones sobre los Recursos Naturales, Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo, Morelia, Michoacán Mexico
| | - Henrik Hartmann
- grid.419500.90000 0004 0491 7318Department of Biogeochemical Processes, Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Jena, Germany
| | - David D. Breshears
- grid.134563.60000 0001 2168 186XSchool of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ USA
| | - Craig D. Allen
- grid.266832.b0000 0001 2188 8502Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM USA
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13
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Zuleta D, Arellano G, Muller-Landau HC, McMahon SM, Aguilar S, Bunyavejchewin S, Cárdenas D, Chang-Yang CH, Duque A, Mitre D, Nasardin M, Pérez R, Sun IF, Yao TL, Davies SJ. Individual tree damage dominates mortality risk factors across six tropical forests. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2022; 233:705-721. [PMID: 34716605 DOI: 10.1111/nph.17832] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2021] [Accepted: 10/21/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
The relative importance of tree mortality risk factors remains unknown, especially in diverse tropical forests where species may vary widely in their responses to particular conditions. We present a new framework for quantifying the importance of mortality risk factors and apply it to compare 19 risks on 31 203 trees (1977 species) in 14 one-year periods in six tropical forests. We defined a condition as a risk factor for a species if it was associated with at least a doubling of mortality rate in univariate analyses. For each risk, we estimated prevalence (frequency), lethality (difference in mortality between trees with and without the risk) and impact ('excess mortality' associated with the risk, relative to stand-level mortality). The most impactful risk factors were light limitation and crown/trunk loss; the most prevalent were light limitation and small size; the most lethal were leaf damage and wounds. Modes of death (standing, broken and uprooted) had limited links with previous conditions and mortality risk factors. We provide the first ranking of importance of tree-level mortality risk factors in tropical forests. Future research should focus on the links between these risks, their climatic drivers and the physiological processes to enable mechanistic predictions of future tree mortality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Zuleta
- Forest Global Earth Observatory, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Washington, DC, 20560, USA
| | - Gabriel Arellano
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA
- Oikobit LLC, Albuquerque, NM, 87120, USA
| | - Helene C Muller-Landau
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado, Balboa, 0843-03092, República de Panamá
| | - Sean M McMahon
- Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Edgewater, MD, 21037, USA
| | - Salomón Aguilar
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado, Balboa, 0843-03092, República de Panamá
| | - Sarayudh Bunyavejchewin
- Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, Forest Research Office, Bangkok, 10900, Thailand
| | - Dairon Cárdenas
- Herbario Amazónico Colombiano, Instituto Amazónico de Investigaciones Científicas Sinchi, Bogotá, 110311, Colombia
| | - Chia-Hao Chang-Yang
- Department of Biological Sciences, National Sun Yat-sen University, Kaohsiung, 80424, Taiwan
| | - Alvaro Duque
- Departamento de Ciencias Forestales, Universidad Nacional de Colombia Sede Medellín, Medellín, 050034, Colombia
| | - David Mitre
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado, Balboa, 0843-03092, República de Panamá
| | - Musalmah Nasardin
- Forestry and Environment Division, Forest Research Institute Malaysia, Kepong, Selangor, 52109, Malaysia
| | - Rolando Pérez
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado, Balboa, 0843-03092, República de Panamá
| | - I-Fang Sun
- Center for Interdisciplinary Research on Ecology and Sustainability, National Dong Hwa University, Hualien, 94701, Taiwan
| | - Tze Leong Yao
- Forestry and Environment Division, Forest Research Institute Malaysia, Kepong, Selangor, 52109, Malaysia
| | - Stuart J Davies
- Forest Global Earth Observatory, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Washington, DC, 20560, USA
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14
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15
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Hernández Gordillo AL, Vilchez Mendoza S, Ngo Bieng MA, Delgado D, Finegan B. Altitude and community traits explain rain forest stand dynamics over a 2370‐m altitudinal gradient in Costa Rica. Ecosphere 2021. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.3867] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Marie Ange Ngo Bieng
- CATIE‐Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza Turrialba Costa Rica
- CIRAD UR Forêts et Sociétés CIRAD Campus International de Baillarguet Montpellier Cedex 5 France
| | - Diego Delgado
- CATIE‐Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza Turrialba Costa Rica
| | - Bryan Finegan
- CATIE‐Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza Turrialba Costa Rica
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16
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England SJ, Robert D. The ecology of electricity and electroreception. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2021; 97:383-413. [PMID: 34643022 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12804] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2021] [Revised: 09/27/2021] [Accepted: 09/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Electricity, the interaction between electrically charged objects, is widely known to be fundamental to the functioning of living systems. However, this appreciation has largely been restricted to the scale of atoms, molecules, and cells. By contrast, the role of electricity at the ecological scale has historically been largely neglected, characterised by punctuated islands of research infrequently connected to one another. Recently, however, an understanding of the ubiquity of electrical forces within the natural environment has begun to grow, along with a realisation of the multitude of ecological interactions that these forces may influence. Herein, we provide the first comprehensive collation and synthesis of research in this emerging field of electric ecology. This includes assessments of the role electricity plays in the natural ecology of predator-prey interactions, pollination, and animal dispersal, among many others, as well as the impact of anthropogenic activity on these systems. A detailed introduction to the ecology and physiology of electroreception - the biological detection of ecologically relevant electric fields - is also provided. Further to this, we suggest avenues for future research that show particular promise, most notably those investigating the recently discovered sense of aerial electroreception.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sam J England
- School of Biological Sciences, Life Sciences Building, University of Bristol, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol, BS8 1TQ, U.K
| | - Daniel Robert
- School of Biological Sciences, Life Sciences Building, University of Bristol, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol, BS8 1TQ, U.K
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17
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Gora EM, Bitzer PM, Burchfield JC, Gutierrez C, Yanoviak SP. The contributions of lightning to biomass turnover, gap formation and plant mortality in a tropical forest. Ecology 2021; 102:e03541. [PMID: 34582567 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.3541] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2021] [Revised: 08/30/2021] [Accepted: 09/03/2021] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Lightning is a common source of disturbance, but its ecological effects in tropical forests are largely undescribed. Here we quantify the contributions of lightning strikes to forest turnover and plant mortality in a lowland Panamanian forest using a real-time lightning monitoring system. We examined 2,195 lightning-damaged trees distributed among 93 different strikes. None exhibited scars or fires. On average, each strike disturbed 451 m2 (95% CI: 365-545 m2 ), created a canopy gap of 304 m2 (95% CI 198-454 m2 ), and caused 7.36 Mg of woody biomass turnover (CI: 5.36-9.65 Mg). Cumulatively, we estimate that lightning strikes in this forest create canopy gaps equaling 0.39% of forest canopy area, representing 20.1% of annual gap area formation, and are responsible for 16.1% of total woody biomass turnover. Trees, lianas, herbaceous climbers and epiphytes were killed by lightning at rates 8-29 times greater than their baseline mortality rates in undamaged control sites. The likelihood of lightning-caused death was higher for trees, lianas, and herbaceous climbers than for epiphytes, and high liana mortality suggests that lightning is an important driver of liana turnover. These results indicate that lightning influences gap dynamics, plant community composition and carbon storage capacity in some tropical forests.
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Affiliation(s)
- Evan M Gora
- Department of Biology, University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky, 40292, USA.,Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Panama
| | - Phillip M Bitzer
- Department of Atmospheric Science, University of Alabama in Huntsville, Huntsville, Alabama, 35805, USA
| | - Jeffrey C Burchfield
- Department of Atmospheric Science, University of Alabama in Huntsville, Huntsville, Alabama, 35805, USA
| | | | - Stephen P Yanoviak
- Department of Biology, University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky, 40292, USA.,Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Panama
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18
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Lai HR, Craven D, Hall JS, Hui FKC, van Breugel M. Successional syndromes of saplings in tropical secondary forests emerge from environment-dependent trait-demography relationships. Ecol Lett 2021; 24:1776-1787. [PMID: 34170613 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13784] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2020] [Revised: 02/03/2021] [Accepted: 04/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Identifying generalisable processes that underpin population dynamics is crucial for understanding successional patterns. While longitudinal or chronosequence data are powerful tools for doing so, the traditional focus on community-level shifts in taxonomic and functional composition rather than species-level trait-demography relationships has made generalisation difficult. Using joint species distribution models, we demonstrate how three traits-photosynthetic rate, adult stature, and seed mass-moderate recruitment and sapling mortality rates of 46 woody species during secondary succession. We show that the pioneer syndrome emerges from higher photosynthetic rates, shorter adult statures and lighter seeds that facilitate exploitation of light in younger secondary forests, while 'long-lived pioneer' and 'late successional' syndromes are associated with trait values that enable species to persist in the understory or reach the upper canopy in older secondary forests. Our study highlights the context dependency of trait-demography relationships, which drive successional shifts in sapling's species composition in secondary forests.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hao Ran Lai
- Yale-NUS College, Singapore, Republic of Singapore.,Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Republic of Singapore.,Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand
| | - Dylan Craven
- Centro de Modelación y Monitoreo de Ecosistemas, Universidad Mayor, Santiago, Chile
| | - Jefferson S Hall
- ForestGEO, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama, Republic of Panama
| | - Francis K C Hui
- Research School of Finance, Actuarial Studies & Statistics, Australian National University, Acton, ACT, Australia
| | - Michiel van Breugel
- Yale-NUS College, Singapore, Republic of Singapore.,Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Republic of Singapore.,ForestGEO, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama, Republic of Panama
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19
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Gora EM, Esquivel-Muelbert A. Implications of size-dependent tree mortality for tropical forest carbon dynamics. NATURE PLANTS 2021; 7:384-391. [PMID: 33782580 DOI: 10.1038/s41477-021-00879-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2020] [Accepted: 02/11/2021] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
Tropical forests are mitigating the ongoing climate crisis by absorbing more atmospheric carbon than they emit. However, widespread increases in tree mortality rates are decreasing the ability of tropical forests to assimilate and store carbon. A relatively small number of large trees dominate the contributions of these forests to the global carbon budget, yet we know remarkably little about how these large trees die. Here, we propose a cohesive and empirically informed framework for understanding and investigating size-dependent drivers of tree mortality. This theory-based framework enables us to posit that abiotic drivers of tree mortality-particularly drought, wind and lightning-regulate tropical forest carbon cycling via their disproportionate effects on large trees. As global change is predicted to increase the pressure from abiotic drivers, the associated deaths of large trees could rapidly and lastingly reduce tropical forest biomass stocks. Focused investigations of large tree death are needed to understand how shifting drivers of mortality are restructuring carbon cycling in tropical forests.
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Affiliation(s)
- Evan M Gora
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Ancón, Panama.
| | - Adriane Esquivel-Muelbert
- School of Geography, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.
- Birmingham Institute of Forest Research, Birmingham, UK.
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20
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Muller-Landau HC, Cushman KC, Arroyo EE, Martinez Cano I, Anderson-Teixeira KJ, Backiel B. Patterns and mechanisms of spatial variation in tropical forest productivity, woody residence time, and biomass. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2021; 229:3065-3087. [PMID: 33207007 DOI: 10.1111/nph.17084] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2020] [Accepted: 10/12/2020] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
Tropical forests vary widely in biomass carbon (C) stocks and fluxes even after controlling for forest age. A mechanistic understanding of this variation is critical to accurately predicting responses to global change. We review empirical studies of spatial variation in tropical forest biomass, productivity and woody residence time, focusing on mature forests. Woody productivity and biomass decrease from wet to dry forests and with elevation. Within lowland forests, productivity and biomass increase with temperature in wet forests, but decrease with temperature where water becomes limiting. Woody productivity increases with soil fertility, whereas residence time decreases, and biomass responses are variable, consistent with an overall unimodal relationship. Areas with higher disturbance rates and intensities have lower woody residence time and biomass. These environmental gradients all involve both direct effects of changing environments on forest C fluxes and shifts in functional composition - including changing abundances of lianas - that substantially mitigate or exacerbate direct effects. Biogeographic realms differ significantly and importantly in productivity and biomass, even after controlling for climate and biogeochemistry, further demonstrating the importance of plant species composition. Capturing these patterns in global vegetation models requires better mechanistic representation of water and nutrient limitation, plant compositional shifts and tree mortality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Helene C Muller-Landau
- Center for Tropical Forest Science-Forest Global Earth Observatory, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, PO Box 0843-03092, Balboa, Ancón, Panama
| | - K C Cushman
- Center for Tropical Forest Science-Forest Global Earth Observatory, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, PO Box 0843-03092, Balboa, Ancón, Panama
| | - Eva E Arroyo
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology, Columbia University, 1200 Amsterdam Avenue, New York, NY, 10027, USA
| | - Isabel Martinez Cano
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, 08544, USA
| | - Kristina J Anderson-Teixeira
- Center for Tropical Forest Science-Forest Global Earth Observatory, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, PO Box 0843-03092, Balboa, Ancón, Panama
- Conservation Ecology Center, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute and National Zoological Park, 1500 Remount Rd, Front Royal, VA, 22630, USA
| | - Bogumila Backiel
- Center for Tropical Forest Science-Forest Global Earth Observatory, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, PO Box 0843-03092, Balboa, Ancón, Panama
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21
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Libonati R, Pereira JMC, Da Camara CC, Peres LF, Oom D, Rodrigues JA, Santos FLM, Trigo RM, Gouveia CMP, Machado-Silva F, Enrich-Prast A, Silva JMN. Twenty-first century droughts have not increasingly exacerbated fire season severity in the Brazilian Amazon. Sci Rep 2021; 11:4400. [PMID: 33623067 PMCID: PMC7902828 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-82158-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2020] [Accepted: 01/13/2021] [Indexed: 01/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Biomass burning in the Brazilian Amazon is modulated by climate factors, such as droughts, and by human factors, such as deforestation, and land management activities. The increase in forest fires during drought years has led to the hypothesis that fire activity decoupled from deforestation during the twenty-first century. However, assessment of the hypothesis relied on an incorrect active fire dataset, which led to an underestimation of the decreasing trend in fire activity and to an inflated rank for year 2015 in terms of active fire counts. The recent correction of that database warrants a reassessment of the relationships between deforestation and fire. Contrasting with earlier findings, we show that the exacerbating effect of drought on fire season severity did not increase from 2003 to 2015 and that the record-breaking dry conditions of 2015 had the least impact on fire season of all twenty-first century severe droughts. Overall, our results for the same period used in the study that originated the fire-deforestation decoupling hypothesis (2003-2015) show that decoupling was clearly weaker than initially proposed. Extension of the study period up to 2019, and novel analysis of trends in fire types and fire intensity strengthened this conclusion. Therefore, the role of deforestation as a driver of fire activity in the region should not be underestimated and must be taken into account when implementing measures to protect the Amazon forest.
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Affiliation(s)
- R. Libonati
- grid.8536.80000 0001 2294 473XDepartamento de Meteorologia, Instituto de Geociências, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, 21941-916 Brazil ,grid.9983.b0000 0001 2181 4263Centro de Estudos Florestais, Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Universidade de Lisboa, 1349-017 Lisboa, Portugal ,grid.9983.b0000 0001 2181 4263Instituto Dom Luiz, Universidade de Lisboa, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal
| | - J. M. C. Pereira
- grid.9983.b0000 0001 2181 4263Centro de Estudos Florestais, Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Universidade de Lisboa, 1349-017 Lisboa, Portugal
| | - C. C. Da Camara
- grid.9983.b0000 0001 2181 4263Instituto Dom Luiz, Universidade de Lisboa, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal
| | - L. F. Peres
- grid.8536.80000 0001 2294 473XDepartamento de Meteorologia, Instituto de Geociências, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, 21941-916 Brazil ,grid.420904.b0000 0004 0382 0653Instituto Português do Mar e da Atmosfera, 1749-077 Lisboa, Portugal
| | - D. Oom
- grid.9983.b0000 0001 2181 4263Centro de Estudos Florestais, Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Universidade de Lisboa, 1349-017 Lisboa, Portugal
| | - J. A. Rodrigues
- grid.8536.80000 0001 2294 473XDepartamento de Meteorologia, Instituto de Geociências, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, 21941-916 Brazil
| | - F. L. M. Santos
- grid.8536.80000 0001 2294 473XDepartamento de Meteorologia, Instituto de Geociências, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, 21941-916 Brazil
| | - R. M. Trigo
- grid.8536.80000 0001 2294 473XDepartamento de Meteorologia, Instituto de Geociências, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, 21941-916 Brazil ,grid.9983.b0000 0001 2181 4263Instituto Dom Luiz, Universidade de Lisboa, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal
| | - C. M. P. Gouveia
- grid.9983.b0000 0001 2181 4263Instituto Dom Luiz, Universidade de Lisboa, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal ,grid.420904.b0000 0004 0382 0653Instituto Português do Mar e da Atmosfera, 1749-077 Lisboa, Portugal
| | - F. Machado-Silva
- grid.8536.80000 0001 2294 473XDepartamento de Meteorologia, Instituto de Geociências, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, 21941-916 Brazil ,grid.411173.10000 0001 2184 6919Present Address: Programa de Geociências (Geoquímica Ambiental), Instituto de Química, Universidade Federal Fluminense, Niterói, 24020-141 Brazil
| | - A. Enrich-Prast
- grid.8536.80000 0001 2294 473XDepartamento de Meteorologia, Instituto de Geociências, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, 21941-916 Brazil ,grid.5640.70000 0001 2162 9922Department of Thematic Studies–Environmental Change, Linköping University, 58183 Linköping, Sweden
| | - J. M. N. Silva
- grid.9983.b0000 0001 2181 4263Centro de Estudos Florestais, Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Universidade de Lisboa, 1349-017 Lisboa, Portugal
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22
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Dalagnol R, Wagner FH, Galvão LS, Streher AS, Phillips OL, Gloor E, Pugh TAM, Ometto JPHB, Aragão LEOC. Large-scale variations in the dynamics of Amazon forest canopy gaps from airborne lidar data and opportunities for tree mortality estimates. Sci Rep 2021; 11:1388. [PMID: 33446809 PMCID: PMC7809196 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-80809-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2020] [Accepted: 12/28/2020] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
We report large-scale estimates of Amazonian gap dynamics using a novel approach with large datasets of airborne light detection and ranging (lidar), including five multi-temporal and 610 single-date lidar datasets. Specifically, we (1) compared the fixed height and relative height methods for gap delineation and established a relationship between static and dynamic gaps (newly created gaps); (2) explored potential environmental/climate drivers explaining gap occurrence using generalized linear models; and (3) cross-related our findings to mortality estimates from 181 field plots. Our findings suggest that static gaps are significantly correlated to dynamic gaps and can inform about structural changes in the forest canopy. Moreover, the relative height outperformed the fixed height method for gap delineation. Well-defined and consistent spatial patterns of dynamic gaps were found over the Amazon, while also revealing the dynamics of areas never sampled in the field. The predominant pattern indicates 20-35% higher gap dynamics at the west and southeast than at the central-east and north. These estimates were notably consistent with field mortality patterns, but they showed 60% lower magnitude likely due to the predominant detection of the broken/uprooted mode of death. While topographic predictors did not explain gap occurrence, the water deficit, soil fertility, forest flooding and degradation were key drivers of gap variability at the regional scale. These findings highlight the importance of lidar in providing opportunities for large-scale gap dynamics and tree mortality monitoring over the Amazon.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ricardo Dalagnol
- Earth Observation and Geoinformatics Division, National Institute for Space Research-INPE, São José dos Campos, SP, 12227-010, Brazil.
| | - Fabien H Wagner
- Earth Observation and Geoinformatics Division, National Institute for Space Research-INPE, São José dos Campos, SP, 12227-010, Brazil
- GeoProcessing Division, Foundation for Science, Technology and Space Applications-FUNCATE, São José dos Campos, SP, 12210-131, Brazil
| | - Lênio S Galvão
- Earth Observation and Geoinformatics Division, National Institute for Space Research-INPE, São José dos Campos, SP, 12227-010, Brazil
| | - Annia S Streher
- Earth Observation and Geoinformatics Division, National Institute for Space Research-INPE, São José dos Campos, SP, 12227-010, Brazil
| | | | - Emanuel Gloor
- School of Geography, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK
| | - Thomas A M Pugh
- School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK
- Birmingham Institute of Forest Research, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK
| | - Jean P H B Ometto
- Earth System Sciences Center, National Institute for Space Research-INPE, São José dos Campos, SP, 12227-010, Brazil
| | - Luiz E O C Aragão
- Earth Observation and Geoinformatics Division, National Institute for Space Research-INPE, São José dos Campos, SP, 12227-010, Brazil
- Geography, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, EX4 4RJ, UK
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23
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Gorgens EB, Nunes MH, Jackson T, Coomes D, Keller M, Reis CR, Valbuena R, Rosette J, de Almeida DRA, Gimenez B, Cantinho R, Motta AZ, Assis M, de Souza Pereira FR, Spanner G, Higuchi N, Ometto JP. Resource availability and disturbance shape maximum tree height across the Amazon. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2021; 27:177-189. [PMID: 33118242 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.15423] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2020] [Revised: 10/15/2020] [Accepted: 10/22/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Tall trees are key drivers of ecosystem processes in tropical forest, but the controls on the distribution of the very tallest trees remain poorly understood. The recent discovery of grove of giant trees over 80 meters tall in the Amazon forest requires a reevaluation of current thinking. We used high-resolution airborne laser surveys to measure canopy height across 282,750 ha of old-growth and second-growth forests randomly sampling the entire Brazilian Amazon. We investigated how resources and disturbances shape the maximum height distribution across the Brazilian Amazon through the relations between the occurrence of giant trees and environmental factors. Common drivers of height development are fundamentally different from those influencing the occurrence of giant trees. We found that changes in wind and light availability drive giant tree distribution as much as precipitation and temperature, together shaping the forest structure of the Brazilian Amazon. The location of giant trees should be carefully considered by policymakers when identifying important hot spots for the conservation of biodiversity in the Amazon.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric B Gorgens
- Departamento de Engenharia Florestal, Universidade Federal dos Vales do Jequitinhonha e Mucuri, Diamantina, MG, Brazil
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Bruno Gimenez
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama City, Panama
| | | | - Alline Z Motta
- Departamento de Engenharia Florestal, Universidade Federal dos Vales do Jequitinhonha e Mucuri, Diamantina, MG, Brazil
| | - Mauro Assis
- Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais, São José dos Campos, SP, Brazil
| | | | - Gustavo Spanner
- Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Manaus, AM, Brazil
| | - Niro Higuchi
- Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Manaus, AM, Brazil
| | - Jean Pierre Ometto
- Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais, São José dos Campos, SP, Brazil
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24
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Meyer RT, Cox JA. Cavity construction by reintroduced populations of Red‐cockaded Woodpeckers (Dryobates borealis). Restor Ecol 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/rec.13306] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Robert T. Meyer
- Stoddard Bird Lab Tall Timbers Research Station and Land Conservancy 13093 Henry Beadel Drive Tallahassee FL 32312 U.S.A
| | - James A. Cox
- Stoddard Bird Lab Tall Timbers Research Station and Land Conservancy 13093 Henry Beadel Drive Tallahassee FL 32312 U.S.A
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25
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Jackson TD, Shenkin AF, Majalap N, Bin Jami J, Bin Sailim A, Reynolds G, Coomes DA, Chandler CJ, Boyd DS, Burt A, Wilkes P, Disney M, Malhi Y. The mechanical stability of the world’s tallest broadleaf trees. Biotropica 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/btp.12850] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Tobias D. Jackson
- Forest Ecology and Conservation Group Department of Plant Sciences University of Cambridge Cambridge UK
- Environmental Change Institute School of Geography and the Environment University of Oxford Oxford UK
| | - Alexander F. Shenkin
- Environmental Change Institute School of Geography and the Environment University of Oxford Oxford UK
| | - Noreen Majalap
- Phytochemistry UnitForest Research Centre Sabah Malaysia
| | | | - Azlin Bin Sailim
- South East Asia Rainforest Research Partnership (SEARRP) Sabah Malaysia
| | - Glen Reynolds
- South East Asia Rainforest Research Partnership (SEARRP) Sabah Malaysia
| | - David A. Coomes
- Forest Ecology and Conservation Group Department of Plant Sciences University of Cambridge Cambridge UK
| | | | - Doreen S. Boyd
- School of Geography University of Nottingham Nottingham UK
| | - Andy Burt
- Department of Geography University College London London UK
| | - Phil Wilkes
- Department of Geography University College London London UK
- NERC National Centre for Earth Observation (NCEO) Leicester UK
| | - Mathias Disney
- Department of Geography University College London London UK
- NERC National Centre for Earth Observation (NCEO) Leicester UK
| | - Yadvinder Malhi
- Environmental Change Institute School of Geography and the Environment University of Oxford Oxford UK
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26
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Schnitzer SA, Estrada-Villegas S, Wright SJ. The response of lianas to 20 yr of nutrient addition in a Panamanian forest. Ecology 2020; 101:e03190. [PMID: 32893876 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.3190] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2020] [Revised: 07/28/2020] [Accepted: 08/07/2020] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
Over the past two decades, liana density and basal area have been increasing in many tropical forests, which has profound consequences for forest diversity and functioning. One hypothesis to explain increasing lianas is elevated nutrient deposition in tropical forests resulting from fossil fuels, agricultural fertilizer, and biomass burning. We tested this hypothesis by surveying all lianas ≥1 cm in diameter (n = 3,967) in 32 plots in a fully factorial nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) addition experiment in a mature tropical forest in central Panama. We conducted the nutrient-addition experiment from 1998 until present and we first censused lianas in 2013 and then again in 2018. After 20 yr of nutrient addition (1998-2018), liana density, basal area, and rarefied species richness did not differ significantly among any of the nutrient-addition and control treatments. Moreover, nutrient addition in the most recent 5 yr of the experiment did not affect liana relative growth, recruitment, or mortality rates. From 2013 until 2018, liana density, basal area, and species richness increased annually by 1.6%, 1.4%, and 2.4%, respectively. Nutrient addition did not influence these increases. Our findings indicate that nutrient deposition does not explain increasing lianas in this tropical forest. Instead, increases in tree mortality and disturbance, atmospheric carbon dioxide, drought frequency and severity, and hunting pressure may be more likely explanations for the increase in lianas in tropical forests.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefan A Schnitzer
- Department of Biological Sciences, Marquette University, P.O. Box 1881, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 53201, USA.,Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 0843-03092, Balboa, Republic of Panama
| | - Sergio Estrada-Villegas
- Department of Biological Sciences, Marquette University, P.O. Box 1881, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 53201, USA.,Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 0843-03092, Balboa, Republic of Panama
| | - S Joseph Wright
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 0843-03092, Balboa, Republic of Panama
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27
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Ferraz A, Saatchi SS, Longo M, Clark DB. Tropical tree size-frequency distributions from airborne lidar. ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS : A PUBLICATION OF THE ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2020; 30:e02154. [PMID: 32347996 DOI: 10.1002/eap.2154] [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: 08/19/2019] [Revised: 03/26/2020] [Accepted: 03/30/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
In tropical rainforests, tree size and number density are influenced by disturbance history, soil, topography, climate, and biological factors that are difficult to predict without detailed and widespread forest inventory data. Here, we quantify tree size-frequency distributions over an old-growth wet tropical forest at the La Selva Biological Station in Costa Rica by using an individual tree crown (ITC) algorithm on airborne lidar measurements. The ITC provided tree height, crown area, the number of trees >10 m height and, predicted tree diameter, and aboveground biomass from field allometry. The number density showed strong agreement with field observations at the plot- (97.4%; 3% bias) and tree-height-classes level (97.4%; 3% bias). The lidar trees size spectra of tree diameter and height closely follow the distributions measured on the ground but showed less agreement with crown area observations. The model to convert lidar-derived tree height and crown area to tree diameter produced unbiased (0.8%) estimates of plot-level basal area and with low uncertainty (6%). Predictions on basal area for tree height classes were also unbiased (1.3%) but with larger uncertainties (22%). The biomass estimates had no significant bias at the plot- and tree-height-classes level (-5.2% and 2.1%). Our ITC method provides a powerful tool for tree- to landscape-level tropical forest inventory and biomass estimation by overcoming the limitations of lidar area-based approaches that require local calibration using a large number of inventory plots.
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Affiliation(s)
- António Ferraz
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, 91109, USA
- Institute of Environment and Sustainability, University of California, Los Angeles, California, 90024, USA
| | - Sassan S Saatchi
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, 91109, USA
- Institute of Environment and Sustainability, University of California, Los Angeles, California, 90024, USA
| | - Marcos Longo
- NASA Postdoctoral fellow, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, 91109, USA
| | - David B Clark
- Department of Biology, University of Missouri-St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, 63121, USA
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28
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Gora EM, Burchfield JC, Muller-Landau HC, Bitzer PM, Yanoviak SP. Pantropical geography of lightning-caused disturbance and its implications for tropical forests. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2020; 26:5017-5026. [PMID: 32564481 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.15227] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2020] [Revised: 05/29/2020] [Accepted: 06/08/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Lightning is a major agent of disturbance, but its ecological effects in the tropics are unquantified. Here we used ground and satellite sensors to quantify the geography of lightning strikes in terrestrial tropical ecosystems, and to evaluate whether spatial variation in lightning frequency is associated with variation in tropical forest structure and dynamics. Between 2013 and 2018, tropical terrestrial ecosystems received an average of 100.4 million lightning strikes per year, and the frequency of strikes was spatially autocorrelated at local-to-continental scales. Lightning strikes were more frequent in forests, savannas, and urban areas than in grasslands, shrublands, and croplands. Higher lightning frequency was positively associated with woody biomass turnover and negatively associated with aboveground biomass and the density of large trees (trees/ha) in forests across Africa, Asia, and the Americas. Extrapolating from the only tropical forest study that comprehensively assessed tree damage and mortality from lightning strikes, we estimate that lightning directly damages c. 832 million trees in tropical forests annually, of which c. 194 million die. The similarly high lightning frequency in tropical savannas suggests that lightning also influences savanna tree mortality rates and ecosystem processes. These patterns indicate that lightning-caused disturbance plays a major and largely unappreciated role in pantropical ecosystem dynamics and global carbon cycling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Evan M Gora
- Department of Biology, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, USA
| | - Jeffrey C Burchfield
- Department of Atmospheric Science, University of Alabama in Huntsville, Huntsville, AL, USA
| | | | - Phillip M Bitzer
- Department of Atmospheric Science, University of Alabama in Huntsville, Huntsville, AL, USA
| | - Stephen P Yanoviak
- Department of Biology, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, USA
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Republic of Panama
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29
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Affiliation(s)
- Evan M. Gora
- Department of Biology University of Louisville Louisville KY USA
| | - Stephen P. Yanoviak
- Department of Biology University of Louisville Louisville KY USA
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Balboa Republic of Panama
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30
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McDowell NG, Allen CD, Anderson-Teixeira K, Aukema BH, Bond-Lamberty B, Chini L, Clark JS, Dietze M, Grossiord C, Hanbury-Brown A, Hurtt GC, Jackson RB, Johnson DJ, Kueppers L, Lichstein JW, Ogle K, Poulter B, Pugh TAM, Seidl R, Turner MG, Uriarte M, Walker AP, Xu C. Pervasive shifts in forest dynamics in a changing world. Science 2020; 368:368/6494/eaaz9463. [DOI: 10.1126/science.aaz9463] [Citation(s) in RCA: 301] [Impact Index Per Article: 75.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Craig D. Allen
- U.S. Geological Survey, Fort Collins Science Center, New Mexico Landscapes Field Station, Los Alamos, NM 87544, USA
| | - Kristina Anderson-Teixeira
- Conservation Ecology Center, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, Front Royal, VA 22630, USA
- Forest Global Earth Observatory, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Republic of Panama
| | - Brian H. Aukema
- Department of Entomology, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA
| | - Ben Bond-Lamberty
- Joint Global Change Research Institute, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, College Park, MD 20740, USA
| | - Louise Chini
- Department of Geographical Sciences, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
| | - James S. Clark
- Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA
| | - Michael Dietze
- Department of Earth and Environment, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Charlotte Grossiord
- Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, 8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland
| | - Adam Hanbury-Brown
- Energy and Resources Group, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - George C. Hurtt
- Department of Geographical Sciences, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
| | - Robert B. Jackson
- Department of Earth System Science, Woods Institute for the Environment, and Precourt Institute for Energy, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Daniel J. Johnson
- School of Forest Resources and Conservation, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
| | - Lara Kueppers
- Energy and Resources Group, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
- Division of Climate and Ecosystem Sciences, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | | | - Kiona Ogle
- School of Informatics, Computing, and Cyber Systems, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86001, USA
| | - Benjamin Poulter
- Biospheric Sciences Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
| | - Thomas A. M. Pugh
- School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, B15 2TT Birmingham, UK
- Birmingham Institute of Forest Research, University of Birmingham, B15 2TT Birmingham, UK
| | - Rupert Seidl
- Department of Forest and Soil Sciences, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna, 1180 Vienna, Austria
- School of Life Sciences, Technical University of Munich, 85354 Freising, Germany
| | - Monica G. Turner
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - Maria Uriarte
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA
| | - Anthony P. Walker
- Environmental Sciences Division and Climate Change Science Institute, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA
| | - Chonggang Xu
- Earth and Environmental Sciences Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545, USA
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