Wet and dry tropical forests show opposite successional pathways in wood density but converge over time

Author(s):Show less -

Poorter, Lourens ^[1] ; Rozendaal, Danae M. A. ^{[1, 2, 3, 4]} ; Bongers, Frans ^[1] ; de Almeida-Cortez, Jarcilene S. ^[5] ; Zambrano, Angelica Maria Almeyda ^[6] ; Alvarez, Francisco S. ^[7] ; Luis Andrade, Jose ^[8] ; Arreola Villa, Luis Felipe ^[9] ; Balvanera, Patricia ^[9] ; Becknell, Justin M. ^[10] ; Bentos, V, Tony ; Bhaskar, Radika ^[11] ; Boukili, Vanessa ^[12] ; Brancalion, Pedro H. S. ^[13] ; Broadbent, Eben N. ^[6] ; Cesar, Ricardo G. ^[13] ; Chave, Jerome ^[14] ; Chazdon, Robin L. ^{[15, 16]} ; Dalla Colletta, Gabriel ^[17] ; Craven, Dylan ^[18] ; de Jong, Ben H. J. ^[19] ; Denslow, Julie S. ^[20] ; Dent, Daisy H. ^{[21, 22]} ; DeWalt, Saara J. ^[23] ; Garcia, Elisa Diaz ^[13] ; Manuel Dupuy, Juan ^[8] ; Duran, Sandra M. ^{[24, 25]} ; Espirito Santo, Mario M. ^[26] ; Fandino, Maria C. ^[27] ; Fernandes, Geraldo Wilson ^[28] ; Finegan, Bryan ^[7] ; Granda Moser, Vanessa ^[7] ; Hall, Jefferson S. ^[29] ; Hernandez-Stefanoni, Jose Luis ^[8] ; Jakovac, Catarina C. ^{[1, 30, 31, 32]} ; Junqueira, Andre B. ^{[30, 31, 32, 33]} ; Kennard, Deborah ^[34] ; Lebrija-Trejos, Edwin ^[35] ; Letcher, Susan G. ^[36] ; Lohbeck, Madelon ^{[1, 37]} ; Lopez, Omar R. ^{[21, 38]} ; Marin-Spiotta, Erika ^[39] ; Martinez-Ramos, Miguel ^[9] ; Martins, V, Sebastiao ; Massoca, Paulo E. S. ^[31] ; Meave, Jorge A. ^[40] ; Mesquite, Rita ^[31] ; Mora, Francisco ^[9] ; Moreno, Vanessa de Souza ^[13] ; Muller, Sandra C. ^[41] ; Munoz, Rodrigo ^[40] ; Muscarella, Robert ^{[42, 43]} ; de Oliveira Neto, Silvio Nolasco ^[44] ; Nunes, Yule R. F. ^[26] ; Ochoa-Gaona, Susana ^[19] ; Paz, Horacio ^[9] ; Pena-Claros, Marielos ^[1] ; Piotto, Daniel ^[45] ; Ruiz, Jorge ^[46] ; Sanaphre-Villanueva, Lucia ^{[8, 47]} ; Sanchez-Azofeifa, Arturo ^[25] ; Schwartz, Naomi B. ^[48] ; Steininger, Marc K. ^[49] ; Thomas, William Wayt ^[50] ; Toledo, Marisol ^[51] ; Uriarte, Maria ^[52] ; Utrera, Luis P. ^[7] ; van Breugel, Michiel ^{[29, 53, 54]} ; van der Sande, Masha T. ^{[55, 56, 57, 1, 58]} ; van der Wal, Hans ^[59] ; Veloso, Maria D. M. ^[26] ; Vester, Hans F. M. ^[60] ; Vieira, Ima C. G. ^[61] ; Villa, Pedro Manuel ^{[44, 62]} ; Williamson, G. Bruce ^{[63, 31]} ; Wright, S. Joseph ^[21] ; Zanini, Iow J. ^[41] ; Zimmerman, Jess K. ^[64] ; Westoby, Mark ^[65]

Affiliation:Show less -

^[1] Wageningen Univ & Res, Forest Ecol & Forest Management Grp, Wageningen - Netherlands

^[2] Wageningen Univ & Res, Lab Geoinformat Sci & Remote Sensing, Wageningen - Netherlands

^[3] Wageningen Univ & Res, Plant Prod Syst Grp, Wageningen - Netherlands

^[4] Wageningen Univ & Res, Ctr Crop Syst Anal, Wageningen - Netherlands

^[5] Univ Fed Pernambuco, CCB, Dept Bot, Recife, PE - Brazil

^[6] Univ Florida, Sch Forest Resources & Conservat, Gainesville, FL 32611 - USA

^[7] Ctr Agron Trop Invest & Enserianza, Turrialba - Costa Rica

^[8] Ctr Invest Cientif Yucatan, Unidad Recursos Nat, Merida - Mexico

^[9] Univ Nacl Autonoma Mexico, Inst Invest Ecosistemas & Sustentabilidad, Morelia, Michoacan - Mexico

^[10] Colby Coll, Environm Studies Program, Waterville, ME 04901 - USA

^[11] Thomas Jefferson Univ, Coll Design Engn & Commerce, Philadelphia, PA 19107 - USA

^[12] Somerville City Hall, Somerville, MA - USA

^[13] Univ Sao Paulo, Luiz de Queiroz Coll Agr, Dept Forest Sci, Piracicaba - Brazil

^[14] Univ Paul Sabatier, CNRS, UMR5174, Lab Evolut & Diversite Biol, Toulouse - France

^[15] Univ Connecticut, Dept Ecol & Evolutionary Biol, Storrs, CT - USA

^[16] Univ Sunshine Coast, Trop Forests & People Res Ctr, Sippy Downs, Qld - Australia

^[17] Univ Estadual Campinas, Inst Biol, Campinas, SP - Brazil

^[18] Univ Gottingen, Fac Forest Sci & Forest Ecol, Biodivers Macroecol & Biogeog, Gottingen - Germany

^[19] El Colegio Frontera, Dept Sustainabil Sci, Lerma - Mexico

^[20] Tulane Univ, Dept Ecol & Evolutionary Biol, New Orleans, LA 70118 - USA

^[21] Smithsonian Trop Res Inst, Panama City - Panama

^[22] Univ Stirling, Biol & Environm Sci, Stirling - Scotland

^[23] Clemson Univ, Dept Biol Sci, Clemson, SC 29634 - USA

^[24] Univ Arizona, Dept Ecol & Evolutionary Biol, Tucson, AZ - USA

^[25] Univ Alberta, Earth & Atmospher Sci Dept, Edmonton, AB - Canada

^[26] Univ Estadual Montes Claros, Dept Biol Geral, Montes Claros - Brazil

^[27] Fondo Patrimonio Nat, Bogota - Colombia

^[28] Univ Fed Minas Gerais, ICB, Ecol Evolut & Biodiversidade DBG, Belo Horizonte, MG - Brazil

^[29] Smithsonian Trop Res Inst, ForestGEO, Panama City - Panama

^[30] Int Inst Sustainabil, Rio De Janeiro - Brazil

^[31] Bentos, Tony, V, Inst Nacl de Pesquisas da Amazonia, Manaus, Amazonas - Brazil

^[32] Pontifical Catholic Univ Rio de Janeiro, Dept Geog & Environm, Ctr Conservat & Sustainabil Sci CSRio, Rio De Janeiro - Brazil

^[33] Univ Autanoma Barcelona, Inst Ciencia & Tecnol Ambientals, Barcelona - Spain

^[34] Colorado Mesa Univ, Dept Phys & Environm Sci, Grand Junction, CO - USA

^[35] Univ Haifa, Fac Nat Sci, Dept Biol & Environm, Tivon - Israel

^[36] Coll Atlantic, Bar Harbor, ME - USA

^[37] World Agroforestry ICRAF, Nairobi - Kenya

^[38] Inst Invest Cient & Serv Alta Tecnol, Panama City - Panama

^[39] Univ Wisconsin, Dept Geog, Madison, WI 53706 - USA

^[40] Univ Nacl Autonoma Mexico, Fac Ciencias, Dept Ecol & Recursos Nat, Mexico City, DF - Mexico

^[41] Univ Fed Rio Grande do Sul, Dept Ecol, Porto Alegre, RS - Brazil

^[42] Aarhus Univ, Dept Biosci, Sect Ecoinformat & Biodivers, Aarhus - Denmark

^[43] Uppsala Univ, Evolutionary Biol Ctr, Dept Plant Ecol & Evolut, Uppsala - Sweden

^[44] Martins, Sebastiao, V, Univ Fed Vicosa, Dept Engn Florestal, Vicosa, MG - Brazil

^[45] Univ Fed Bahia, Ctr Formagaio Ciencias Agroflorestais, Itabuna - Brazil

^[46] Univ Pedagog & Tecnol Colombia, Geog Area, Sch Social Sci, Tunja - Colombia

^[47] Consejo Nacl Ciencia & Technol, Ctr Cambio Global & Sustentabilidad, Villahermosa - Mexico

^[48] Univ British Columbia, Dept Geog, Vancouver, BC - Canada

^[49] Univ Maryland, Dept Geog Sci, College Pk, MD 20742 - USA

^[50] New York Bot Garden, Inst Systemat Bot, New York, NY - USA

^[51] FCA UAGRM, Santa Cruz - Bolivia

^[52] Columbia Univ, Dept Ecol Evolut & Environm Biol, New York, NY - USA

^[53] Yale NUS Coll, Singapore - Singapore

^[54] Natl Univ Singapore, Dept Biol Sci, Singapore - Singapore

^[55] German Ctr Integrat Biodivers Res iDiv, Leipzig - Germany

^[56] Univ Amsterdam, Inst Biodivers & Ecosyst Dynam, Amsterdam - Netherlands

^[57] Florida Inst Technol, Dept Biol Sci, Melbourne, FL 32901 - USA

^[58] UFZ Helmholtz Ctr Environm Res, Dept Community Ecol, Halle - Germany

^[59] Colegio Frontera Sur, Unidad Villahermosa, Dept Agr Soc & Ambiente, Centro - Mexico

^[60] Bonhoeffer Coll, Enschede - Netherlands

^[61] Museu Paraense Emilio Goeldi, Belem, Para - Brazil

^[62] Fdn Conservac Biodiversidad, Merida - Venezuela

^[63] Louisiana State Univ, Dept Biol Sci, Baton Rouge, LA 70803 - USA

^[64] Univ Puerto Rico, Dept Environm Sci, San Juan, PR 00936 - USA

^[65] Macquarie Univ, Dept Biol Sci, Sydney, NSW - Australia

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: NATURE ECOLOGY & EVOLUTION; v. 3, n. 6, p. 928-934, JUN 2019.
• Web of Science Citations: 6

Abstract

Tropical forests are converted at an alarming rate for agricultural use and pastureland, but also regrow naturally through secondary succession. For successful forest restoration, it is essential to understand the mechanisms of secondary succession. These mechanisms may vary across forest types, but analyses across broad spatial scales are lacking. Here, we analyse forest recovery using 1,403 plots that differ in age since agricultural abandonment from 50 sites across the Neotropics. We analyse changes in community composition using species-specific stem wood density (WD), which is a key trait for plant growth, survival and forest carbon storage. In wet forest, succession proceeds from low towards high community WD (acquisitive towards conservative trait values), in line with standard successional theory. However, in dry forest, succession proceeds from high towards low community WD (conservative towards acquisitive trait values), probably because high WD reflects drought tolerance in harsh early successional environments. Dry season intensity drives WD recovery by influencing the start and trajectory of succession, resulting in convergence of the community WD over time as vegetation cover builds up. These ecological insights can be used to improve species selection for reforestation. Reforestation species selected to establish a first protective canopy layer should, among other criteria, ideally have a similar WD to the early successional communities that dominate under the prevailing macroclimatic conditions. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 14/14503-7 - Chronosequence and landscape effects in tropical forest succession
• Grantee: Ricardo Gomes César
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• FAPESP's process: 11/06782-5 - Multi-scale assessment of environmental impacts in agricultural landscape
• Grantee: Katia Maria Paschoaletto Micchi de Barros Ferraz
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants