15 research outputs found
Seasonal drought limits tree species across the Neotropics
AcceptedArticle in Press© 2016 Nordic Society Oikos.Within the tropics, the species richness of tree communities is strongly and positively associated with precipitation. Previous research has suggested that this macroecological pattern is driven by the negative effect of water-stress on the physiological processes of most tree species. This implies that the range limits of taxa are defined by their ability to occur under dry conditions, and thus in terms of species distributions predicts a nested pattern of taxa distribution from wet to dry areas. However, this 'dry-tolerance' hypothesis has yet to be adequately tested at large spatial and taxonomic scales. Here, using a dataset of 531 inventory plots of closed canopy forest distributed across the western Neotropics we investigated how precipitation, evaluated both as mean annual precipitation and as the maximum climatological water deficit, influences the distribution of tropical tree species, genera and families. We find that the distributions of tree taxa are indeed nested along precipitation gradients in the western Neotropics. Taxa tolerant to seasonal drought are disproportionally widespread across the precipitation gradient, with most reaching even the wettest climates sampled; however, most taxa analysed are restricted to wet areas. Our results suggest that the 'dry tolerance' hypothesis has broad applicability in the world's most species-rich forests. In addition, the large number of species restricted to wetter conditions strongly indicates that an increased frequency of drought could severely threaten biodiversity in this region. Overall, this study establishes a baseline for exploring how tropical forest tree composition may change in response to current and future environmental changes in this region.This paper is a product of the RAINFOR and ATDN networks and of ForestPlots.net
researchers (http://www.forestplots.net). RAINFOR and ForestPlots have been
supported by a Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation grant, the European Unionâs
Seventh Framework Programme (283080, âGEOCARBONâ; 282664,
âAMAZALERTâ); European Research Council (ERC) grant âTropical Forests in the
Changing Earth Systemâ (T-FORCES), and Natural Environment Research Council
(NERC) Urgency Grant and NERC Consortium Grants âAMAZONICAâ
(NE/F005806/1) and âTROBITâ (NE/D005590/1). Additional funding for fieldwork was
provided by Tropical Ecology Assessment and Monitoring (TEAM) Network, a
collaboration among Conservation International, the Missouri Botanical Garden, the
Smithsonian Institution, and the Wildlife Conservation Society. A.E.M. receives a PhD
scholarship from the T-FORCES ERC grant. O.L.P. is supported by an ERC Advanced
Grant and a Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award. We thank Jon J. Lloyd,
Chronis Tzedakis, David Galbraith, and two anonymous reviewers for helpful
comments and Dylan Young for helping with the analyses. This study would not be
possible without the extensive contributions of numerous field assistants and rural
communities in the Neotropical forests. Alfredo AlarcĂłn, Patricia Alvarez Loayza,
PlĂnio Barbosa Camargo, Juan Carlos Licona, Alvaro Cogollo, Massiel Corrales
Medina, Jose Daniel Soto, Gloria Gutierrez, Nestor Jaramillo Jarama, Laura Jessica
Viscarra, Irina Mendoza Polo, Alexander Parada Gutierrez, Guido Pardo, Lourens
Poorter, Adriana Prieto, Freddy Ramirez Arevalo, AgustĂn Rudas, Rebeca Sibler and
Javier Silva Espejo additionally contributed data to this study though their RAINFOR
participations. We further thank those colleagues no longer with us, Jean Pierre Veillon,
Samuel Almeida, Sandra Patiño and Raimundo Saraiva. Many data come from Alwyn
Gentry, whose example has inspired new generations to investigate the diversity of the
Neotropics
Evolutionary diversity in tropical tree communities peaks at intermediate precipitation
This is the final version. Available from Nature Research via the DOI in this record.âŻTime-calibrated molecular phylogenies are deposited at the Dryad Digital Repository (https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.gf1vhhmk0). A full description with details of data accessibility for Neo-TropTree can be found at http://www.neotroptree.info/.Global patterns of species and evolutionary diversity in plants are primarily determined by a temperature gradient, but precipitation gradients may be more important within the tropics, where plant species richness is positively associated with the amount of rainfall. The impact of precipitation on the distribution of evolutionary diversity, however, is largely unexplored. Here we detail how evolutionary diversity varies along precipitation gradients by bringing together a comprehensive database on the composition of angiosperm tree communities across lowland tropical South America (2,025 inventories from wet to arid biomes), and a new, large-scale phylogenetic hypothesis for the genera that occur in these ecosystems. We find a marked reduction in the evolutionary diversity of communities at low precipitation. However, unlike species richness, evolutionary diversity does not continually increase with rainfall. Rather, our results show that the greatest evolutionary diversity is found in intermediate precipitation regimes, and that there is a decline in evolutionary diversity above 1,490 mm of mean annual rainfall. If conservation is to prioritise evolutionary diversity, areas of intermediate precipitation that are found in the South American âarc of deforestationâ, but which have been neglected in the design of protected area networks in the tropics, merit increased conservation attention.Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento CientĂfico e TecnolĂłgicoConselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento CientĂfico e TecnolĂłgicoConselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento CientĂfico e TecnolĂłgicoNational Science Foundation (NSF)Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation FundLeverhulme TrustCoordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de NĂvel Superio
Hyperdominance in Amazonian Forest Carbon Cycling
While Amazonian forests are extraordinarily diverse, the abundance of trees is skewed strongly towards relatively few âhyperdominantâ species. In addition to their diversity, Amazonian trees are a key component of the global carbon cycle, assimilating and storing more carbon than any other ecosystem on Earth. Here we ask, using a unique data set of 530 forest plots, if the functions of storing and producing woody carbon are concentrated in a small number of tree species, whether the most abundant species also dominate carbon cycling, and whether dominant species are characterized by specific functional traits. We find that dominance of forest function is even more concentrated in a few species than is dominance of tree abundance, with only â1% of Amazon tree species responsible for 50% of carbon storage and productivity. Although those species that contribute most to biomass and productivity are often abundant, species maximum size is also influential, while the identity and ranking of dominant species varies by function and by region
The global abundance of tree palms
Aim: Palms are an iconic, diverse and often abundant component of tropical ecosystems that provide many ecosystem services. Being monocots, tree palms are evolutionarily, morphologically and physiologically distinct from other trees, and these differences have important consequences for ecosystem services (e.g., carbon sequestration and storage) and in terms of responses to climate change. We quantified global patterns of tree palm relative abundance to help improve understanding of tropical forests and reduce uncertainty about these ecosystems under climate change.
Location: Tropical and subtropical moist forests.
Time period: Current.
Major taxa studied: Palms (Arecaceae).
Methods: We assembled a pantropical dataset of 2,548 forest plots (covering 1,191 ha) and quantified tree palm (i.e., â„10 cm diameter at breast height) abundance relative to coâoccurring nonâpalm trees. We compared the relative abundance of tree palms across biogeographical realms and tested for associations with palaeoclimate stability, current climate, edaphic conditions and metrics of forest structure.
Results: On average, the relative abundance of tree palms was more than five times larger between Neotropical locations and other biogeographical realms. Tree palms were absent in most locations outside the Neotropics but present in >80% of Neotropical locations. The relative abundance of tree palms was more strongly associated with local conditions (e.g., higher mean annual precipitation, lower soil fertility, shallower water table and lower plot mean wood density) than metrics of longâterm climate stability. Lifeâform diversity also influenced the patterns; palm assemblages outside the Neotropics comprise many nonâtree (e.g., climbing) palms. Finally, we show that tree palms can influence estimates of aboveâground biomass, but the magnitude and direction of the effect require additional work.
Conclusions: Tree palms are not only quintessentially tropical, but they are also overwhelmingly Neotropical. Future work to understand the contributions of tree palms to biomass estimates and carbon cycling will be particularly crucial in Neotropical forests
The global abundance of tree palms
Aim Palms are an iconic, diverse and often abundant component of tropical ecosystems that provide many ecosystem services. Being monocots, tree palms are evolutionarily, morphologically and physiologically distinct from other trees, and these differences have important consequences for ecosystem services (e.g., carbon sequestration and storage) and in terms of responses to climate change. We quantified global patterns of tree palm relative abundance to help improve understanding of tropical forests and reduce uncertainty about these ecosystems under climate change. Location Tropical and subtropical moist forests. Time period Current. Major taxa studied Palms (Arecaceae). Methods We assembled a pantropical dataset of 2,548 forest plots (covering 1,191 ha) and quantified tree palm (i.e., â„10 cm diameter at breast height) abundance relative to coâoccurring nonâpalm trees. We compared the relative abundance of tree palms across biogeographical realms and tested for associations with palaeoclimate stability, current climate, edaphic conditions and metrics of forest structure. Results On average, the relative abundance of tree palms was more than five times larger between Neotropical locations and other biogeographical realms. Tree palms were absent in most locations outside the Neotropics but present in >80% of Neotropical locations. The relative abundance of tree palms was more strongly associated with local conditions (e.g., higher mean annual precipitation, lower soil fertility, shallower water table and lower plot mean wood density) than metrics of longâterm climate stability. Lifeâform diversity also influenced the patterns; palm assemblages outside the Neotropics comprise many nonâtree (e.g., climbing) palms. Finally, we show that tree palms can influence estimates of aboveâground biomass, but the magnitude and direction of the effect require additional work. Conclusions Tree palms are not only quintessentially tropical, but they are also overwhelmingly Neotropical. Future work to understand the contributions of tree palms to biomass estimates and carbon cycling will be particularly crucial in Neotropical forests
Expanding tropical forest monitoring into dry forests: the DRYFLOR protocol for permanent plots.
Understanding of tropical forests has been revolutionized by monitoring in permanent plots. Data from global plot networks have transformed our knowledge of forests? diversity, function, contribution to global biogeochemical cycles, and sensitivity to climate change. Monitoring has thus far been concentrated in rain forests. Despite increasing appreciation of their threatened status, biodiversity, and importance to the global carbon cycle, monitoring in tropical dry forests is still in its infancy. We provide a protocol for permanent monitoring plots in tropical dry forests. Expanding monitoring into dry biomes is critical for overcoming the linked challenges of climate change, land use change, and the biodiversity crisis
Synergic adsorption performance of activated carbon prepared from Chinese prickly ash seeds
Spatial patterns of above-ground structure, biomass and composition in a network of six Andean elevation transects
Background:
The Amazon to Andes transition zone provides large expanses of relatively pristine forest wilderness across environmental gradients. Such elevational gradients are an excellent natural laboratory for establishing long-term interactions between forest ecosystems and environmental parameters, which is valuable for understanding ecosystem responses to environmental change.
Aims:
This study presents data on elevational trends of forest structure (biomass, basal area, height, stem density), species richness, and composition from six elevational transects in the Andes.
Methods:
We analysed the spatial patterns of forest structure, above-ground biomass and composition from 76 permanent plots, ranging from lowland Amazonian rain forest to high-elevation cloud forests in Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia.
Results:
Forest above-ground woody biomass stocks ranged from 247 Mg ha
â1
(Peru, 210 m) to 86 Mg ha
â1
(Peru, 3450 m), with significantly decreasing trends of tree height and biomass and an increasing trend of stem density with increasing elevation. We observed an increase in forest richness at three taxonomic levels at mid-elevation, followed by a decrease in richness within the cloud immersion zone.
Conclusions:
The transects show an increase in stem density, a decline in tree height and above-ground coarse wood biomass and a hump-shaped trend in species richness with increasing elevation. These results suggest that environmental change could lead to significant shifts in the properties of these ecosystems over time