2024-03-29T08:18:31Z
https://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/cgi/oai2
oai:researchonline.jcu.edu.au:40909
2024-03-01T14:29:55Z
7374617475733D707562
74797065733D61727469636C65
Tropical forest regeneration following land abandonment is driven by primary rainforest distribution in an old pastoral region
Sloan, Sean
Goosem, Miriam
Laurance, Susan G.
Context
Tropical forest regeneration is increasingly prominent as agro-pastoral lands are abandoned. Regeneration is characterised as favouring 'marginal' lands; however, observations of its drivers are often coarse or simple, leaving doubt as to spatial dynamics and causation.
Objectives
We quantified the spatial dynamics of forest regeneration relative to marginality and remnant forest cover in a 3000 km^2 pastoral region in northern tropical Australia.
Methods
Classification and regression trees related the extent and distribution of regeneration to soil agricultural potential, land-cover history, terrain slope, distance to primary forest, and primary forest fragment size, as defined by aerial photography.
Results
Secondary forest extent and distribution overwhelmingly reflect the proximity and size of primary forest fragments. Some 85% of secondary forest area occurs <1 km of primary forest, and 86% of secondary forest patches >50 ha are <400 m from primary forest and coincident with historic primary forest fragments. Where primary forest fragments are >8.5 ha, secondary forest area declines less rapidly with increasing distance from primary forest up to 1.5 km. Marginality inferred by soil potential and slope had no bearing on regeneration, except at the coarsest of spatial scales where regeneration is a proxy for primary forest cover.
Conclusion
Findings underline the need to conserve even modest rainforest patches as propagule reservoirs enabling regeneration. Marginality per se may have a limited role in regeneration. As most secondary forest was an extension of primary forest, its unique conservation value relative to that of primary forest may likewise merit reconsideration.
Springer
2016
Article
PeerReviewed
application/pdf
https://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/40909/6/40909%20Sloan%20et%20al%202016.pdf
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10980-015-0267-4
Sloan, Sean, Goosem, Miriam, and Laurance, Susan G. (2016) Tropical forest regeneration following land abandonment is driven by primary rainforest distribution in an old pastoral region. Landscape Ecology, 31 (3). pp. 601-618.
https://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/40909/
restricted
oai:researchonline.jcu.edu.au:46720
2024-02-29T14:58:21Z
7374617475733D707562
74797065733D61727469636C65
Evolutionary heritage influences Amazon tree ecology
Coelho de Souza, Fernando
Dexter, Kyle G.
Phillips, Oliver L.
Brienen, Roel J.W.
Chave, Jerome
Galbraith, David R.
López-gonzález, Gabriela
Mendoza, Abel Monteagudo
Pennington, R. Toby
Poorter, Lourens
Alexiades, Miguel
Esteban, Álvarez-Dávila
Andrade, Ana
Aragão, Luis E.O.C.
Araujo-Murakami, Alejandro
Arets, Eric J.M.M.
Aymard C., Gerardo A.
Baraloto, Christopher
Barroso, Jorcely G.
Bonal, Damien
Boot, Rene G.A.
Camargo, José L.C.
Comiskey, James A.
Valverde, Fernando Cornejo
de Camargo, Plinio B.
Di Fore, Anthony
Elias, Fernando
Erwin, Terry L.
Feldpausch, Ted R.
Ferreira, Leandro
Fyllas, Nikolaos
Gloor, Emanuel
Herault, Bruno
Herrera, Rafael
Higuchi, Niro
Honorio Coronado, Eurídice N.
Killeen, Timothy J.
Laurance, William F.
Laurance, Susan
Lloyd, Jon
Lovejoy, Thomas
Malhi, Yadvinder
Maracahipes, Leandro
Marimon, Beatriz S.
Marimon-Junior, Ben H.
Mendoza, Casimiro
Morandi, Paulo
Neill, David A.
Núñez Vargas, Percy
De Oliveira, Edmar A.
Lenza, Eddie
Palacios, Water A.
Peñuela-Mora, Maria C.
Pipoly, John J.
Pitman, Nigel A.
Prieto, Adriana
Quesada, Carlos A.
Ramírez-Angulo, Hirma
Rudas, Agustín
Ruokolainen, Kalle
Salomão, Rafael P.
Silveira, Marcos
Stropp, Juliana
ter Steege, Hans
Thomas-Caesar, Raquel
van der Hout, Peter
van der Heijden, Geertje M.F.
van der Meer, Peter J.
Vásquez, Rodolfo V.
Vieira, Simone A.
Vilanova, Emilio
Vos, Vincent A.
Wang, Ophelia
Young, Kenneth R.
Zagt, Roderick, J.
Baker, Timothy R.
Lineages tend to retain ecological characteristics of their ancestors through time. However, for some traits, selection during evolutionary history may have also played a role in determining trait values. To address the relative importance of these processes requires large-scale quantification of traits and evolutionary relationships among species. The Amazonian tree flora comprises a high diversity of angiosperm lineages and species with widely differing life-history characteristics, providing an excellent system to investigate the combined influences of evolutionary heritage and selection in determining trait variation. We used trait data related to the major axes of life-history variation among tropical trees (e.g. growth and mortality rates) from 577 inventory plots in closed-canopy forest, mapped onto a phylogenetic hypothesis spanning more than 300 genera including all major angiosperm clades to test for evolutionary constraints on traits. We found significant phylogenetic signal (PS) for all traits, consistent with evolutionarily related genera having more similar characteristics than expected by chance. Although there is also evidence for repeated evolution of pioneer and shade tolerant life-history strategies within independent lineages, the existence of significant PS allows clearer predictions of the links between evolutionary diversity, ecosystem function and the response of tropical forests to global change.
Royal Society Publishing
2016
Article
PeerReviewed
application/pdf
https://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/46720/1/Coelho%20De%20Souza%20et%20al%202016%20Proceedings%20of%20Royal%20Society.pdf
http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2016.1587
Coelho de Souza, Fernando, Dexter, Kyle G., Phillips, Oliver L., Brienen, Roel J.W., Chave, Jerome, Galbraith, David R., López-gonzález, Gabriela, Mendoza, Abel Monteagudo, Pennington, R. Toby, Poorter, Lourens, Alexiades, Miguel, Esteban, Álvarez-Dávila, Andrade, Ana, Aragão, Luis E.O.C., Araujo-Murakami, Alejandro, Arets, Eric J.M.M., Aymard C., Gerardo A., Baraloto, Christopher, Barroso, Jorcely G., Bonal, Damien, Boot, Rene G.A., Camargo, José L.C., Comiskey, James A., Valverde, Fernando Cornejo, de Camargo, Plinio B., Di Fore, Anthony, Elias, Fernando, Erwin, Terry L., Feldpausch, Ted R., Ferreira, Leandro, Fyllas, Nikolaos, Gloor, Emanuel, Herault, Bruno, Herrera, Rafael, Higuchi, Niro, Honorio Coronado, Eurídice N., Killeen, Timothy J., Laurance, William F., Laurance, Susan, Lloyd, Jon, Lovejoy, Thomas, Malhi, Yadvinder, Maracahipes, Leandro, Marimon, Beatriz S., Marimon-Junior, Ben H., Mendoza, Casimiro, Morandi, Paulo, Neill, David A., Núñez Vargas, Percy, De Oliveira, Edmar A., Lenza, Eddie, Palacios, Water A. , Peñuela-Mora, Maria C., Pipoly, John J., Pitman, Nigel A., Prieto, Adriana, Quesada, Carlos A., Ramírez-Angulo, Hirma, Rudas, Agustín, Ruokolainen, Kalle, Salomão, Rafael P., Silveira, Marcos, Stropp, Juliana, ter Steege, Hans, Thomas-Caesar, Raquel, van der Hout, Peter, van der Heijden, Geertje M.F., van der Meer, Peter J., Vásquez, Rodolfo V., Vieira, Simone A., Vilanova, Emilio, Vos, Vincent A., Wang, Ophelia, Young, Kenneth R., Zagt, Roderick, J. , and Baker, Timothy R. (2016) Evolutionary heritage influences Amazon tree ecology. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B, Biological Sciences, 283. 20161587. pp. 1-10.
https://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/46720/
open
oai:researchonline.jcu.edu.au:50608
2024-02-29T14:34:56Z
7374617475733D707562
74797065733D61727469636C65
Logging and indigenous hunting impacts on persistence of large Neotropical animals
Roopsind, Anand
Caughlin, T. Trevor
Sambhu, Hemchandranauth
Fragoso, Jose M.V.
Putz, Francis E.
Areas allocated for industrial logging and community-owned forests account for over 50% of all remaining tropical forests. Landscapescale conservation strategies that include these forests are expected to have substantial benefits for biodiversity, especially for large mammals and birds that require extensive habitat but that are susceptible to extirpation due to synergies between logging and hunting. In addition, their responses to logging alone are poorly understood due to their cryptic behavior and low densities. In this study, we assessed the effects of logging and hunting on detection and occupancy rates of large vertebrates in a multiple- use forest on the Guiana Shield. Our study site was certified as being responsibly managed for timber production and indigenous communities are legally guaranteed use-rights to the forest. We coupled camera-trap data for wildlife detection with a spatially explicit dataset on indigenous hunting. A multi-species occupancy model found a weak positive effect of logging on occupancy and detection rates, while hunting had a weak negative effect. Model predictions of species richness were also higher in logged forest sites compared to unlogged forest sites. Density estimates for jaguars and ocelots in our multiple- use area were similar to estimates reported for fully protected areas. Involvement of local communities in forest management, control of forest access, and nesting production forests in a landscape that includes protected areas seemed important for these positive biodiversity outcomes. The maintenance of vertebrate species bodes well for both biodiversity and the humans that depend on multiple- use forests.
Wiley-Blackwell
2017
Article
PeerReviewed
application/pdf
https://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/50608/1/50608%20Roopsind_et_al-2017.pdf
http://doi.org/10.1111/btp.12446
Roopsind, Anand, Caughlin, T. Trevor, Sambhu, Hemchandranauth, Fragoso, Jose M.V., and Putz, Francis E. (2017) Logging and indigenous hunting impacts on persistence of large Neotropical animals. Biotropica, 49 (4). pp. 565-575.
https://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/50608/
restricted
oai:researchonline.jcu.edu.au:57468
2024-03-01T14:46:16Z
7374617475733D707562
74797065733D61727469636C65
Inhibitory effects of Eucalyptus globulus on understorey plant growth and species richness are greater in non‐native regions
Becerra, Pablo I.
Catford, Jane A.
Inderjit,
McLeod, Morgan Luce
Andonian, Krikor
Aschehoug, Eric T.
Montesinos, Daniel
Callaway, Ragan M.
Aim: We studied the novel weapons hypothesis in the context of the broadly distributed tree species Eucalyptus globulus. We evaluated the hypothesis that this Australian species would produce stronger inhibitory effects on species from its non‐native range than on species from its native range.
Location: We worked in four countries where this species is exotic (U.S.A., Chile, India, Portugal) and one country where it is native (Australia).
Time period: 2009–2012.
Major taxa studied: Plants.
Methods: We compared species composition, richness and height of plant communities in 20 paired plots underneath E. globulus individuals and open areas in two sites within its native range and each non‐native region. We also compared effects of litter leachates of E. globulus on root growth of seedlings in species from Australia, Chile, the U.S.A. and India.
Results: In all sites and countries, the plant community under E. globulus canopies had lower species richness than did the plant community in open areas. However, the reduction was much greater in the non‐native ranges: species richness declined by an average of 51% in the eight non‐native sites versus 8% in the two native Australian sites. The root growth of 15 out of 21 species from the non‐native range were highly suppressed by E. globulus litter leachates, whereas the effect of litter leachate varied from facilitation to suppression for six species native to Australia. The mean reduction in root growth for Australian plants was significantly lower than for plants from the U.S.A., Chile and India.
Main conclusions: Our results show biogeographical differences in the impact of an exotic species on understorey plant communities. Consistent with the novel weapons hypothesis, our findings suggest that different adaptations of species from the native and non‐native ranges to biochemical compounds produced by an exotic species may play a role in these biogeographical differences.
Wiley-Blackwell
2018
Article
PeerReviewed
application/pdf
https://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/57468/6/57468_Becerra_etal_2018.pdf
https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.12676
Becerra, Pablo I., Catford, Jane A., Inderjit, , McLeod, Morgan Luce, Andonian, Krikor, Aschehoug, Eric T., Montesinos, Daniel, and Callaway, Ragan M. (2018) Inhibitory effects of Eucalyptus globulus on understorey plant growth and species richness are greater in non‐native regions. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 27 (1). pp. 68-76.
https://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/57468/
restricted
oai:researchonline.jcu.edu.au:62965
2024-03-01T15:20:29Z
7374617475733D707562
74797065733D61727469636C65
Functional trait variation among and within species and plant functional types in mountainous Mediterranean forests
Fyllas, Nikolaos
Michelaki, Chrysanthi
Galanidis, Alexandros
Evangelou, Eleftherios
Zaragoza-Castells, Joana
Dimitrakopoulos, Panayiotis G.
Tsadilas, Christos
Arianoutsou, Margarita
Lloyd, Jon
Plant structural and biochemical traits are frequently used to characterise the life history of plants. Although some common patterns of trait covariation have been identified, recent studies suggest these patterns of covariation may differ with growing location and/or plant functional type (PFT). Mediterranean forest tree/shrub species are often divided into three PFTs based on their leaf habit and form, being classified as either needleleaf evergreen (Ne), broadleaf evergreen (Be), or broadleaf deciduous (Bd). Working across 61 mountainous Mediterranean forest sites of contrasting climate and soil type, we sampled and analysed 626 individuals in order to evaluate differences in key foliage trait covariation as modulated by growing conditions both within and between the Ne, Be, and Bd functional types. We found significant differences between PFTs for most traits. When considered across PFTs and by ignoring intraspecific variation, three independent functional dimensions supporting the Leaf-Height-Seed framework were identified. Some traits illustrated a common scaling relationship across and within PFTs, but others scaled differently when considered across PFTs or even within PFTs. For most traits much of the observed variation was attributable to PFT identity and not to growing location, although for some traits there was a strong environmental component and considerable intraspecific and residual variation. Nevertheless, environmental conditions as related to water availability during the dry season and to a smaller extend to soil nutrient status and soil texture, clearly influenced trait values. When compared across species, about half of the trait-environment relationships were species-specific. Our study highlights the importance of the ecological scale within which trait covariation is considered and suggests that at regional to local scales, common trait-by-trait scaling relationships should be treated with caution. PFT definitions by themselves can potentially be an important predictor variable when inferring one trait from another. These findings have important implications for local scale dynamic vegetation models.
Frontiers Research Foundation
2020
Article
PeerReviewed
application/pdf
https://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/62965/1/62965_Fyllas_et_al_2020.pdf
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2020.00212
Fyllas, Nikolaos, Michelaki, Chrysanthi, Galanidis, Alexandros, Evangelou, Eleftherios, Zaragoza-Castells, Joana, Dimitrakopoulos, Panayiotis G., Tsadilas, Christos, Arianoutsou, Margarita, and Lloyd, Jon (2020) Functional trait variation among and within species and plant functional types in mountainous Mediterranean forests. Frontiers in Plant Science, 11. 212.
https://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/62965/
open
oai:researchonline.jcu.edu.au:63560
2024-03-04T14:42:22Z
7374617475733D707562
74797065733D61727469636C65
Functional trait representation differs between restoration plantings and mature tropical rainforest
Engert, Jayden E.
Vogado, Nara O.
Freebody, Kylie
Byrne, Basil
Murphy, Judy
Sheather, Gaylene
Snodgrass, Peter
Nugent, Leah
Lloyd, Dave
Laurance, Susan G.W.
The planting and attempted restoration of tropical forest landscapes is increasing rapidly across the globe. Two
limiting aspects of large-scale forest restoration are the demand for appropriate quantities of seeds and seedlings
of native species, and the ability to facilitate succession in planted sites. Species functional traits such as seed
type, tree size, germination time, and wood density may influence the quantity of seedlings that can be produced
for restoration, and the potential of these seedlings to persist and facilitate site succession. Therefore, it is
important to understand the species composition and functional trait representation of restoration plantings. We
explored the species composition and functional trait representation of 846 restoration plantings in the
Australian Wet Tropics containing > 465,000 seedlings from 599 species, using seedling supply records from
six nurseries over a six year period (2012–2017). Despite restoration plantings in the Australian Wet Tropics
containing an impressive number of species, just 52 species contributed over half of all individual seedlings. We
found that species with small animal-dispersed seeds and low wood density were more abundant, on average,
and had greater representation in restoration plantings than in mature rainforest. Despite this, we did not find
evidence that restoration plantings had a diminished capacity to grow tall or sequester carbon as there was no
significant difference in the relative abundance of tall tree species or species with high wood density. Small
seeded and fast growing species may be cheaper to produce in nurseries and may accelerate site succession as
these characteristics are associated with pioneer and early successional species, however these traits are also
associated with higher mortality rates. Understanding how functional trait representation influences the success
of restoration plantings will require further insight into temporal aspects of site succession.
Elsevier
2020
Article
PeerReviewed
application/pdf
https://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/63560/1/Engert%20et%20al%202020%20Functional%20trait%20representation%20differes%20between%20restoration%20plantings%20and%20mature%20tropical%20rainforest%20FEM.pdf
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2020.118304
Engert, Jayden E., Vogado, Nara O., Freebody, Kylie, Byrne, Basil, Murphy, Judy, Sheather, Gaylene, Snodgrass, Peter, Nugent, Leah, Lloyd, Dave, and Laurance, Susan G.W. (2020) Functional trait representation differs between restoration plantings and mature tropical rainforest. Forest Ecology and Management, 473. 118304.
https://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/63560/
restricted
oai:researchonline.jcu.edu.au:64935
2024-02-28T14:57:29Z
7374617475733D707562
74797065733D61727469636C65
Enhancing plant diversity in secondary forests
Palma, Ana C.
Goosem, Miriam
Stevenson, Pablo R.
Laurance, Susan G.W.
Dispersal, recruitment and establishment limitations are crucial processes shaping forest composition. In secondary forests these mechanisms may operate differently than in mature forests, because young and isolated secondary forests may suffer stronger limitations due to a lack of suitable dispersers and harsh environmental conditions— such as the elevated competition of exotic grasses. To assess establishment limitations in these forests, we undertook transplant experiments involving seeds and seedlings along a chronosequence of secondary forests in tropical Australia. The experiments included six species that varied in seed size (6–50 mm in length) and successional status (early to late successional). Seeds of five species were placed in one of three treatments: (1) exposed seeds, (2) fenced seeds, and (3) buried seeds, and multiple seedlings of six species were transplanted in block treatments. After 14–17 months, seed from all plant species germinated across all ages of secondary forests. However, in young secondary forest sites (4–12 years) fewer germinated seeds survived. The highest survival rates were observed for buried seeds (27.2%) compared to the low
survival of exposed seeds (6.0%). Planted seedlings (6 spp) had the greatest overall survival (63.1%) and the highest growth rates in older secondary forests. We found that
species identity was important for growth and survival in both experiments, but detected no effect of successional status or seed size. A crucial finding of this study was that the buried seeds of all species germinated and had relatively high survival irrespective of variation in site conditions or successional status, suggesting that seed availability may be a greater barrier to recovery of secondary forests in the region than the establishment limitations imposed by environmental conditions.
Frontiers Research
2020
Article
PeerReviewed
application/pdf
https://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/64935/1/Palma%20et%20al%202020%20Seeding%20experiments%20secondary%20forest.pdf
https://doi.org/10.3389/ffgc.2020.571352
Palma, Ana C., Goosem, Miriam, Stevenson, Pablo R., and Laurance, Susan G.W. (2020) Enhancing plant diversity in secondary forests. Frontiers in Forests and Global Change, 3. 571352.
https://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/64935/
open