Advanced search
Start date
Betweenand
Related content
(Reference retrieved automatically from Web of Science through information on FAPESP grant and its corresponding number as mentioned in the publication by the authors.)

Tropical forest light regimes in a human-modified landscape

Full text
Author(s):
Fauset, Sophie [1, 2] ; Gloor, Manuel U. [1] ; Aidar, Marcos P. M. [3] ; Freitas, Helber C. [4, 5] ; Fyllas, Nikolaos M. [1, 6] ; Marabesi, Mauro A. [2, 3] ; Rochelle, Andr E. L. C. [2] ; Shenkin, Alexander [6] ; Vieira, Simone A. [7] ; Joly, Carlos A. [2]
Total Authors: 10
Affiliation:
[1] Univ Leeds, Sch Geog, Leeds LS2 9JT, W Yorkshire - England
[2] Univ Estadual Campinas, Inst Biol, Dept Biol, Rua Monteiro Lobato, BR-13083862 Campinas, SP - Brazil
[3] Inst Bot Sao Paulo, Ave Miguel Stefano, BR-04301902 Sao Paulo - Brazil
[4] Univ Estadual Paulista, Fac Ciencias, Dept Fis, Ave Engenheiro Luiz Edmundo Carrijo Coube 14-01, BR-17033360 Sao Paulo - Brazil
[5] Univ Estadual Paulista, IPMet, Ctr Meteorol, Estr Municipal Jose Sandrin, BR-17048699 Sao Paulo - Brazil
[6] Univ Oxford, Sch Geog & Environm, Environm Change Inst, S Parks Rd, Oxford OX1 3QY - England
[7] Univ Estadual Campinas, Nucleo Estudos & Pesquisas Ambientais, Rua Flamboyants 155, BR-13083867 Campinas, SP - Brazil
Total Affiliations: 7
Document type: Journal article
Source: ECOSPHERE; v. 8, n. 11 NOV 2017.
Web of Science Citations: 4
Abstract

Light is the key energy input for all vegetated systems. Forest light regimes are complex, with the vertical pattern of light within canopies influenced by forest structure. Human disturbances in tropical forests impact forest structure and hence may influence the light environment and thus competitiveness of different trees. In this study, we measured vertical diffuse light profiles along a gradient of anthropogenic disturbance, sampling intact, logged, secondary, and fragmented sites in the biodiversity hot spot of the Atlantic forest, southeast Brazil, using photosynthetically active radiation sensors and a novel approach with estimations of vertical light profiles from hemispherical photographs. Our results show clear differences in vertical light profiles with disturbance: Fragmented forests are characterized by rapid light extinction within their low canopies, while the profiles in logged forests show high heterogeneity and high light in the mid-canopy despite decades of recovery. The secondary forest showed similar light profiles to intact forest, but with a lower canopy height. We also show that in some cases the upper canopy layer and heavy liana infestations can severely limit light penetration. Light extinction with height above the ground and depth below the canopy top was highest in fragmented forest and negatively correlated with canopy height. The novel, inexpensive, and rapid methods described here can be applied to other sites to quantify rarely measured vertical light profiles. (AU)

FAPESP's process: 12/51872-5 - ECOFOR: Biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in degraded and recovering Amazonian and Atlantic Forests
Grantee:Carlos Alfredo Joly
Support Opportunities: BIOTA-FAPESP Program - Thematic Grants
FAPESP's process: 14/13322-9 - Ecophysiology of Atlantic Forests: a new process-based model
Grantee:Sophie Fauset
Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral