Secondary succession and effects of clear-logging on diversity in the subtropical forests on Okinawa Island,southern Japan

In order to clarify the recovery process of the subtropical forest on Okinawa Island, southern Japan, biomass accumulation and the successional trend of species diversity with time were investigated by comparing plots of old-growth and clear logged secondary forests. Self-thinning was an important factor in the development of young secondary forests, and the small variance in tree size within a stand was related to the stand not being fully stratified after clear-cutting. A large variance of size structure in old secondary and old-growth forests implies re-initiation of the understorey. Additionally, the trajectory of stand development indicated that the subtropical forest quickly recovered aboveground biomass, which reached its upper limit at about 50 years after disturbance. However, there was a large distinction in species diversity between the secondary forests and old-growth forests. The diversity of forest floor plants did not recover well after being clear-cut. This indicates that management of the subtropical forest should not only take timber-oriented tree species into account, but also the biodiversity in ground flora. The secondary forests were characterized by Castanopsis sieboldii and Schima wallichii, and the monopolization of C. sieboldii through secondary succession had a negative influence on species diversity. Distylium racemosum dominated at the late development stage and was considered a long-lived competing species that reduced the dominance of C. sieboldii and facilitated the co-occurrence of understorey species. Light-demanding pioneer tree species such as S. wallichii that regenerated after logging should be replaced by competitive effects of climax species, and thus relayed floristic change might increase species diversity along secondary succession.Nomenclature: Hatushima and Amano (1994).     

Disturbance history mediates climate change effects on subtropical forest biomass and dynamics

The responses of forest communities to interacting anthropogenic disturbances like climate change and logging are poorly known. Subtropical forests have been heavily modified by humans and their response to climate change is poorly understood. We investigated the 9‐year change observed in a mixed conifer‐hardwood Atlantic forest mosaic that included both mature and selectively logged forest patches in subtropical South America. We used demographic monitoring data within 10 1 ha plots that were subjected to distinct management histories (plots logged until 1955, until 1987, and unlogged) to test the hypothesis that climate change affected forest structure and dynamics differentially depending on past disturbances. We determined the functional group of all species based on life‐history affinities as well as many functional traits like leaf size, specific leaf area, wood density, total height, stem slenderness, and seed size data for the 66 most abundant species. Analysis of climate data revealed that minimum temperatures and rainfall have been increasing in the last few decades of the 20th century. Floristic composition differed mainly with logging history categories, with only minor change over the nine annual census intervals. Aboveground biomass increased in all plots, but increases were higher in mature unlogged forests, which showed signs of forest growth associated with increased CO₂, temperature, and rainfall/treefall gap disturbance at the same time. Logged forests showed arrested succession as indicated by reduced abundances of Pioneers and biomass‐accumulators like Large Seeded Pioneers and Araucaria, as well as reduced functional diversity. Management actions aimed at creating regeneration opportunities for long‐lived pioneers are needed to restore community functional diversity, and ecosystem services such as increased aboveground biomass accumulation. We conclude that the effects of climate drivers on the dynamics of Brazilian mixed Atlantic forests vary with land‐use legacies, and can differ importantly from the ones prevalent in better known tropical forests.     

Nationally Representative Plot Network Reveals Contrasting Drivers of Net Biomass Change in Secondary and Old-Growth Forests

Uncertainty about the mechanisms driving biomass change at broad spatial scales limits our ability to predict the response of forest biomass storage to global change. Here we use a spatially representative network of 874 forest plots in New Zealand to examine whether commonly hypothesised drivers of forest biomass and biomass change (diversity, disturbance, nutrients and climate) differ between old-growth and secondary forests at a national scale. We calculate biomass stocks and net biomass change for live above-ground biomass, below-ground biomass, deadwood and litter pools. We combine these data with plot-level information on forest type, tree diversity, plant functional traits, climate and disturbance history, and use structural equation models to identify the major drivers of biomass change. Over the period 2002–2014, secondary forest biomass increased by 2.78 (1.68–3.89) Mg ha^?1 y^?1, whereas no significant change was detected in old-growth forests (+0.28; ?0.72 to 1.29 Mg ha^?1 y^?1). The drivers of biomass and biomass change differed between secondary and old-growth forests. Plot-level biomass change of old-growth forest was driven by recent disturbance (large tree mortality within the last decade), whereas biomass change of secondary forest was determined by current biomass and past anthropogenic disturbance. Climate indirectly affected biomass change through its relationship with past anthropogenic disturbance. Our results highlight the importance of disturbance and disturbance history in determining broad-scale patterns of forest biomass change and suggest that explicitly modelling processes driving biomass change within secondary and old-growth forests is essential for predicting future changes in global forest biomass.     

Changes in liana community structure and functional traits along a chronosequence of selective logging in a moist semi-deciduous forest in Ghana

ABSTRACT

Background: Lianas are an important component of tropical forests that respond to logging disturbance. Determining liana response to selective logging chronosequence is important for understanding long-term logging effects on lianas and tropical forests.

Aims: Our objective was to quantify the response of liana communities to selective logging chronosequence in a moist semi-deciduous forest in Ghana.

Methods: Liana community characteristics were determined in ten 40 m × 40 m plots randomly and homogenously distributed in each of four selectively logged forest stands that had been logged 2, 14, 40 and 68 years before the surveys and in an old-growth forest stand (ca. >200 years).

Results: Liana species composition differed significantly among the forest stands, as a function of logging time span, while species richness fluctuated along the chronosequence. The abundance of liana communities and of reproductive and climbing guilds was lower in the logged forests than in the old-growth forest. The ratio of liana abundance and basal area to those of trees was similar in the logged forests, but significantly lower than those in the old-growth forest.

Conclusions: Logging impacts on liana community structure and functional traits were largely evident, though no clear chronosequence trends were recorded, except for species composition.     

The Effects of Land-use History on Soil Properties and Nutrient Dynamics in Northern Hardwood Forests of the Adirondack Mountains

Soil nutrient pools and nitrogen dynamics in old-growth forests were compared with selectively logged stands and stands that were selectively logged and then burned approximately 100 years ago to test the hypothesis that land-use history exerts persistent controls on nutrient capital and nitrogen (N) transformation rates. We provide estimates of net N mineralization and nitrification rates for old-growth forests from the northeastern United States, a region in which few old-growth forests remain and for which few published accounts of mineralization rates exist. At the plot level, no effects of the dominant tree species were observed on any measured soil properties or N-cycling rates. Effects of alternate disturbance histories were detected in soil carbon (C) and N pools. Old-growth forest soils had higher total C (67 Mg·ha^–1) and N capital (3.3 Mg·ha^–1) than that of historically logged then burned soils (C = 50 Mg·ha^–1 and N = Mg·ha^–1), with intermediate values (C = 54 Mg·ha^–1 and N = 2.7 Mg·ha^–1) in the stands that were historically logged. Despite these differences in C and N content, corresponding differences in C–N ratio, net N mineralization rates, and net nitrification rates were not observed. The N concentration in the green foliage of American beech trees (Fagus grandifolia) was also highest from canopy trees growing in old-growth stands (3.0%), followed by logged stands (2.6%), and lowest in the logged/burned stands (2.2%). These data suggest that some legacies of light harvesting on ecosystem processes may be detected nearly 100 years following the disturbance event. These results are discussed in the context of how multiple forest disturbances act in concert to affect forest dynamics.     

森林采伐对尖峰岭海南特有种子植物多样性的影响

特有种子植物是热带森林植物区系的一个重要组成部分,且很容易受到人为干扰的影响,但是森林采伐对特有种子植物的影响少有报道。本文基于164个25m×25m植被公里网格样地数据,分析了海南岛尖峰岭地区海南特有种子植物(以下简称特有种子植物)的组成结构、样地内特有种子植物物种数与总物种数之间的关系;并从种-面积曲线、累积种-个体关系和物种多度分布3个方面比较了原始林、径级择伐林和皆伐林样地中特有种子植物的物种多样性变化规律。结果显示:尖峰岭地区特有种子植物种类丰富,共有158种,占全岛(397种)的40%;其中木本特有种子植物达98种(藤本除外),在164个样地内共记录到胸径≥1.0cm的52种,占整个尖峰岭地区的53%,以樟科、壳斗科、茜草科种类为主。样地内特有种子植物的物种数与总物种数成正相关关系。采伐后特别是径级择伐后特有种子植物物种数略微增加,但增加的种类大多仅在1-2个样地中出现;而且种群也比较小,表现为较稀有且不稳定的种群结构特征,在后续的更新中消失的可能性较大。但是,采伐后一些特有种子植物仍具有中等大小的种群,例如毛荔枝(Nephelium topengii)、海南紫荆木(Madhucaha inanensis)和尖峰岭锥(Castanopsis jianfenglingen-sis)等。     

Selective logging in tropical forests decreases the robustness of liana–tree interaction networks to the loss of host tree species

Selective logging is one of the major drivers of tropical forest degradation, causing important shifts in species composition. Whether such changes modify interactions between species and the networks in which they are embedded remain fundamental questions to assess the ‘health’ and ecosystem functionality of logged forests. We focus on interactions between lianas and their tree hosts within primary and selectively logged forests in the biodiversity hotspot of Malaysian Borneo. We found that lianas were more abundant, had higher species richness, and different species compositions in logged than in primary forests. Logged forests showed heavier liana loads disparately affecting slow-growing tree species, which could exacerbate the loss of timber value and carbon storage already associated with logging. Moreover, simulation scenarios of host tree local species loss indicated that logging might decrease the robustness of liana–tree interaction networks if heavily infested trees (i.e. the most connected ones) were more likely to disappear. This effect is partially mitigated in the short term by the colonization of host trees by a greater diversity of liana species within logged forests, yet this might not compensate for the loss of preferred tree hosts in the long term. As a consequence, species interaction networks may show a lagged response to disturbance, which may trigger sudden collapses in species richness and ecosystem function in response to additional disturbances, representing a new type of ‘extinction debt’.     

杉木林年龄序列地下碳分配变化

  森林地下碳分配在森林碳平衡和碳吸存中具有重要作用, 而揭示人工林生长过程中地下碳分配变化对于人工林碳汇估算和碳汇管理等有重要意义。通过采用年龄序列方法研究了杉木(Cunninghamia lanceolata)林生长过程中地下碳分配变化特点。年龄序列为福建省南平7 a生(幼龄林)、16 a生(中龄林)、21 a生(近熟林)、41 a生(成熟林)和88 a生(老龄林)的杉木林。细根净生产力测定采用连续土芯法, 根系呼吸测定采用壕沟法, 生物量增量测定采用异速生长方程, 地上年凋落物量采用凋落物收集框测定。结果表明: 杉木林细根净生产力在中龄林前没有显著差异, 维持在较高水平; 但此后则显著下降。细根净生产力/地上凋落物量比值随林龄增加而显著下降。老龄林的根系呼吸显著低于其它林龄林分, 根系呼吸与细根生物量间呈显著线性相关。中龄林和近成熟林的地下碳分配(Total belouground carbon allocation, TBCA)显著高于幼龄林和成熟林, 而老龄林的则最低。中龄林、近成熟林和成熟林的地上部分净生产力/TBCA比值显著高于幼龄林和老龄林, 而杉木林的根系碳利用效率(RCUE)则呈现出随林龄增加而降低的趋势。     

Deadwood stocks increase with selective logging and large tree frequency in Gabon

Deadwood is a major component of aboveground biomass (AGB) in tropical forests and is important as habitat and for nutrient cycling and carbon storage. With deforestation and degradation taking place throughout the tropics, improved understanding of the magnitude and spatial variation in deadwood is vital for the development of regional and global carbon budgets. However, this potentially important carbon pool is poorly quantified in Afrotropical forests and the regional drivers of deadwood stocks are unknown. In the first large‐scale study of deadwood in Central Africa, we quantified stocks in 47 forest sites across Gabon and evaluated the effects of disturbance (logging), forest structure variables (live AGB, wood density, abundance of large trees), and abiotic variables (temperature, precipitation, seasonality). Average deadwood stocks (measured as necromass, the biomass of deadwood) were 65 Mg ha^?1 or 23% of live AGB. Deadwood stocks varied spatially with disturbance and forest structure, but not abiotic variables. Deadwood stocks increased significantly with logging (+38 Mg ha^?1) and the abundance of large trees (+2.4 Mg ha^?1 for every tree >60 cm dbh). Gabon holds 0.74 Pg C, or 21% of total aboveground carbon in deadwood, a threefold increase over previous estimates. Importantly, deadwood densities in Gabon are comparable to those in the Neotropics and respond similarly to logging, but represent a lower proportion of live AGB (median of 18% in Gabon compared to 26% in the Neotropics). In forest carbon accounting, necromass is often assumed to be a constant proportion (9%) of biomass, but in humid tropical forests this ratio varies from 2% in undisturbed forest to 300% in logged forest. Because logging significantly increases the deadwood carbon pool, estimates of tropical forest carbon should at a minimum use different ratios for logged (mean of 30%) and unlogged forests (mean of 18%).     

海南尖峰岭不同热带雨林类型与物种多样性变化关联的环境因子

环境因子是影响物种分布并导致物种多样性形成的重要因素,采伐后恢复的热带森林次生林和原始林的环境因子是否一致是一个很重要的问题.对于该问题的回答对长期监测热带森林次生林的变化具有重要意义.该文基于在海南尖峰岭地区设置的164个625 m2植被公里网格样地数据,记录了每个样地的采伐历史并测定了其他的17个环境变量指标,分析了17个环境因子之间的相关关系;将164个样地划分成3种不同采伐历史的森林,通过典范对应分析(CCA)探讨3种森林类型中影响物种分布的环境因子组成;比较两种多元回归模型的优劣,来揭示3种森林类型中影响物种丰富度形成的环境因子组成的差异.结果表明:驱动海南尖峰岭地区物种分布并导致物种多样性差异的环境因子在森林采伐前后并不是一成不变的,而是与森林采伐历史有关联的.除了人为森林采伐干扰外,海拔梯度是形成海南尖峰岭热带天然林物种多样性的最重要因素.CCA分析显示:原始林中,物种分布与海拔、土壤交换性钙和交换性镁含量3个环境因子有较密切的关系,也与4个土壤物理性质环境因子(土壤密度、土壤最大持水能力、毛细管持水量和毛管孔隙度)关系密切;森林采伐后的恢复森林中,土壤全磷和速效磷含量对物种分布的影响增强,但皆伐后土壤交换性钙和交换性镁含量对物种分布的影响减弱.多元回归分析显示:原始林的物种丰富度与海拔和土壤交换性钙含量显著相关,径级择伐后恢复热带天然林的物种丰富度和海拔、土壤全磷含量和速效钾含量显著相关,皆伐后恢复热带天然林的物种丰富度仅和海拔显著相关.研究结果还显示,如果数据中存在空间自相关,建立多元回归模型时应该考虑数据中的空间自相关属性,虽然它并不总是存在的.     

Spatial Patterns and Predictors of Forest Carbon Stocks in Western Mediterranean

Mediterranean semi-arid forest ecosystems are especially sensitive to external forcing. An understanding of the relationship between forest carbon (C) stock, and environmental conditions and forest structure enable prediction of the impacts of climate change on C stocks and help to define management strategies that maximize the value of forests for C mitigation. Based on the national forest inventory of Spain (1997?C2008 with 70,912 plots), we estimated the forest C stock and spatial variability in Peninsular Spain and, we determined the extent to which the observed patterns of stand C stock can be explained by structural and species richness, climate and disturbances. Spain has an average stand C stock of 45.1?Mg C/ha. Total C stock in living biomass is 621 Tg C (7.8% of the C stock of European forests). The statistical models show that structural richness, which is driven by past land use and life forest history including age, development stage, management activities, and disturbance regime, is the main predictor of stand tree C stock with larger C stocks in structurally richer stands. Richness of broadleaf species has a positive effect on both conifer and broadleaf forests, whereas richness of conifer species shows no significant or even a negative effect on C stock. Climate variables have mainly an indirect effect through structural richness but a smaller direct predictive ability when all predictors are considered. To achieve a greater standing C stock, our results suggest promoting high structural richness by managing for uneven-aged stands and favoring broadleaf over conifer species.     

Effects of biodiversity,stand factors and functional identity on biomass and productivity during the restoration of subtropical forests in Central China

恢复梯度上华中亚热带森林生物多样性、林分因子及功能特性对生物量、生产力的影响 草地群落上进行的控制实验大都发现生物多样性对生态系统功能有显著促进作用。然而,在天然林中,多样性与林分因子、群落功能特性的相对作用大小仍存在争议。本文在森林恢复梯度上,研究这3类因素对生物量和生产力的相对影响。我们在湖北神农架设置了处于不同恢复阶段的24块(600 m²)亚热 带森林样地,计算了林分生物量和生产力。选择5个关键的植物功能性状,并计算了群落的功能多样性(功能丰富度、功能均匀度和功能离散度)和性状的加权平均值(CWM)。使用一般线性模型(GLMs)、变异分离等方法探究林分因子(密度、林龄、群落最大树高等)、功能特性、物种和功能多样性对生物量和生产力的相对重要性。研究结果表明,随着森林恢复,林分生物量和生产力显著增加,群落物种丰富度显著增加,而功能离散度显著降低。变异分离结果表明,多样性对生物量和生产力的单独效应不显著,但可能通过与林分因子和功能特性的协同效应来影响生物量和生产力。总体而言,我们发现林分因子对亚热带森林生物量和生产力的影响最大,功能特性显著影响生产力,但不影响生物量。这些结果说明,在森林经营中,调整林分结构和群落物种特性是提高森林碳储量和固碳潜力的有效途径。     

Carbon Accumulation in Neotropical Dry Secondary Forests: The Roles of Forest Age and Tree Dominance and Diversity

Tropical secondary forests are important sinks for atmospheric carbon, yet C uptake and accumulation rates are highly uncertain, and the mechanisms poorly understood. We evaluated the recovery of C stocks in four pools (aboveground biomass, litter, roots and topsoil) during dry forest regrowth by combining a space for time replacement (that is, a chronosequence) with a repeated measurements approach (that is, a resampling). We fit nonlinear models to chronosequence data to test whether forest age could explain differences in C stocks across sites, and to changes in aboveground biomass calculated from resampling over two 3-year periods, to test the predictive potential of forest age. We combined data from both approaches into structural equation models (SEM) to assess forest age and tree community attributes (diversity and dominance) as drivers of C stocks and changes in aboveground biomass. Forest age explained differences across sites in C stocks for aboveground biomass, litter and live roots, but not for the remaining pools. Observed C stock changes in aboveground biomass were poorly predicted by forest age. SEM revealed that aboveground biomass C was consistently and positively related to forest age and to the community weighted mean of maximum tree height (H _max CWM), but not to tree diversity. Observed C stock changes were related only to H _max CWM, although not consistently across the two 3-year periods. Our results highlight that the chronosequence approach can yield reasonable insights into long-term C accumulation trends, but erroneous estimates of C change over specific time periods. They also show that, in addition to age, dominance by tall statured species, but not tree species diversity, plays a significant role in C accumulation.     

Long‐term recovery of the functional community assembly and carbon pools in an African tropical forest succession

On the African continent, the population is expected to expand fourfold in the next century, which will increasingly impact the global carbon cycle and biodiversity conservation. Therefore, it is of vital importance to understand how carbon stocks and community assembly recover after slash‐and‐burn events in tropical second growth forests. We inventoried a chronosequence of 15 1‐ha plots in lowland tropical forest of the central Congo Basin and evaluated changes in aboveground and soil organic carbon stocks and in tree species diversity, functional composition, and community‐weighted functional traits with succession. We aimed to track long‐term recovery trajectories of species and carbon stocks in secondary forests, comparing 5 to 200 + year old secondary forest with reference primary forest. Along the successional gradient, the functional composition followed a trajectory from resource acquisition to resource conservation, except for nitrogen‐related leaf traits. Despite a fast, initial recovery of species diversity and functional composition, there were still important structural and carbon stock differences between old growth secondary and pristine forest, which suggests that a full recovery of secondary forests might take much longer than currently shown. As such, the aboveground carbon stocks of 200 + year old forest were only 57% of those in the pristine reference forest, which suggests a slow recovery of aboveground carbon stocks, although more research is needed to confirm this observation. The results of this study highlight the need for more in‐depth studies on forest recovery in Central Africa, to gain insight into the processes that control biodiversity and carbon stock recovery.     

浙江古田山次生与老龄常绿阔叶林群落特征的比较

常绿阔叶林为东亚亚热带地区的地带性植被, 对该地区的生物多样性维持和社会发展具有重要的意义。由于长期人类活动的影响, 目前我国分布的常绿阔叶林绝大部分为次生常绿阔叶林。探究次生与老龄常绿阔叶林群落特征的差异, 有利于了解人类干扰对亚热带常绿阔叶林的影响, 为其保护和恢复提供依据。本研究在古田山老龄与次生常绿阔叶林内共设置了29个0.04 ha样地, 比较两者在优势种组成、物种和功能多样性以及生物量等方面的差异。结果表明: (1)次生林与老龄林优势种组成相似, 二者均以甜槠(Castanopsis eyrei)、木荷(Schima superba)等典型常绿阔叶林优势种为主, 但这些树种在次生和老龄常绿阔叶林中的优势度次序不同。(2)整体而言, 次生林的Shannon-Wiener指数和功能离散度高于老龄林; 次生林与老龄林的物种Bray-Curtis指数和功能Sørensen指数均无显著差别。(3)就垂直层次而言, 次生林与老龄林在Shannon-Wiener指数和Bray-Curtis指数的差异主要体现在乔木层和灌木层。(4)就群落结构而言, 次生林的植株密度高于老龄林, 但群落水平和个体水平的生物量均显著小于老龄林。上述结果表明, 人类干扰改变了古田山常绿阔叶林群落的多个重要特征, 不同群落特征的恢复过程并不同步。因此, 对常绿阔叶林生物多样性和生态系统功能的保护和恢复需要从多个角度着手。     

Diversity of wood-decaying fungi under different disturbance regimes—a case study from spruce mountain forests

Rapid destruction of forest habitats has led to the establishment of protected areas in formerly managed forests with the aim of restoring biodiversity. Conservation in spruce-dominated reserves is often contradicted by salvage logging after insect outbreaks. Here we study the community characteristics of wood decaying fungi in a high montane Norway Spruce forest with three different management types: (1) a formerly managed area disturbed by a large-scale bark beetle outbreak, (2) an area with continuous salvage logging, and (3) an old-growth forest. Bark beetle activity in the disturbed area resulted in downed wood amounts comparable to those of the old-growth forest. However, species accumulation curves for the disturbed forest were more similar to those of the logged forest than to those of the old-growth forest. This arose because of differences in the diversity of wood decay classes; wood decay in the disturbed forest was more homogeneous. Logs in the disturbed forest originated almost exclusively from bark-beetle-infested trees, but the causes of tree mortality in the old-growth forest were manifold. Although most red-listed species were clearly confined to old-growth forest, Antrodiella citrinella was most abundant in the disturbed forest. Our analysis furthermore showed that the between stand scale is the most effective unit for diversity wood-decaying fungi. We therefore suggest a conservation strategy for preserving old-growth forests and establishing protected forest stands to enhance structural heterogeneity in spruce-dominated forests. For this, a careful screening of protected areas throughout Europe is necessary to provide managers with guidelines for conservation.     

Wood-inhabiting fungi on fallen logs of Norway spruce: relations to forest management and substrate quality

A survey of the patterns of wood decaying fungi as to occurrence of sporocarps on naturally fallen logs of Norway spruce ( Picea abies ) was undertaken in two nearby forest stands with different histories of management. One stand was an old-growth forest with few signs of logging, and the other stand was selectively logged 60–80 years ago. Altogether 118 species were found. Forest management had a negative impact on the species diversity. Newly fallen and weakly decayed logs in a natural forest had a higher species richness, more red-listed species, as well as more indicator species compared to similar logs in a managed forest. The importance of dead wood for species diversity of wood inhabiting fungi was clearly demonstrated. Presence of logs in later stages of decomposition increased the total species number in a natural forest stand with 42 (63 %), compared to a survey of only newly fallen and weakly decayed logs. Presence of logs in later stages of decomposition also increased the diversity of the species pool colonising newly fallen and weakly decayed logs. The highest number of fruiting species was found on intermediately decayed logs and on logs lying in contact with the ground. The fungal gradient as revealed in a DCA ordination was primarily related to decay. A successional pathway based on the primary decayer Fomitopsis pinicola was not detected.     

Biomass Stock and Productivity of Primeval and Production Beech Forests: Greater Canopy Structural Diversity Promotes Productivity

Our knowledge of temperate broadleaf forest ecology is based mostly on the study of production forests, which lack the terminal stage of forest development and have a simpler stand structure than old-growth and primeval forests. How primeval and production forests differ in net primary production (NPP) is not well known. In three primeval and three nearby production forests of European beech (Fagus sylvatica) in the Slovakian Carpathians, we measured aboveground biomass stocks (live and dead), aboveground NPP (ANPP) and parameters characterizing canopy structural diversity (leaf area index and its spatial variation). Our study aims were (1) to explore the role of canopy structural diversity for ANPP and (2) to assess evidence of a productivity decline in the terminal stage. While aboveground live biomass stocks were on average 20% greater in the primeval forests (386 vs. 320 Mg ha^?1; insignificant difference at two sites), deadwood mass stocks were on average four times larger than in the production forests (86 vs. 19 Mg ha^?1). ANPP was similarly high in the primeval and production forests (10.0 vs. 9.9 Mg ha^?1 y^?1) and did not decrease towards the terminal stage. Production models indicate that, in the primeval forests, about 10% of ANPP (ca. 1 Mg ha^?1 y^?1) was generated by effects related to leaf area heterogeneity, evidencing a positive effect of structural diversity on forest productivity, even though species diversity was low. This study helps to better understand the impact of forest management on the productivity and carbon storage in temperate woodlands.     

Presidential Address—Some Reflections On The Nature Of Species

Background: Variation in the distribution and abundance of woody plants as consequence of disturbances such as fire may be explained by lineage age.

Aims: We tested whether lowland tropical tree lineages that colonise secondary forests are more late-diverging than clades from old-growth forests, and whether tree phylogenetic beta diversity from old-growth to secondary forests is higher in burned than non-burned secondary forests.

Methods: We sampled tree communities in old-growth forests and in secondary forests with distinct disturbance histories (burned and unburned). We calculated mean family age in each plot, and tested for differences among forest types using ANOVA. A phylogenetic fuzzy-weighting procedure was employed to generate a matrix describing the abundance of tree clades per plot, which was then analysed using a principal coordinate analysis.

Results: Most clades found in old-growth forests were underrepresented in secondary forests, which have been heavily colonised by a single species from a young lineage that is not found in old-growth forests. Phylogenetic beta diversity was higher between unburned secondary forests and old-growth forests than between burned secondary forests and old-growth forests.

Conclusions: The capacity of Neotropical trees to colonise secondary forests and persist after fire disturbance may be related to the age of distinct lineages.     

Biodiversity and climate determine the functioning of Neotropical forests

Aim

Tropical forests account for a quarter of the global carbon storage and a third of the terrestrial productivity. Few studies have teased apart the relative importance of environmental factors and forest attributes for ecosystem functioning, especially for the tropics. This study aims to relate aboveground biomass (AGB) and biomass dynamics (i.e., net biomass productivity and its underlying demographic drivers: biomass recruitment, growth and mortality) to forest attributes (tree diversity, community‐mean traits and stand basal area) and environmental conditions (water availability, soil fertility and disturbance).

Location

Neotropics.

Methods

We used data from 26 sites, 201 1‐ha plots and >92,000 trees distributed across the Neotropics. We quantified for each site water availability and soil total exchangeable bases and for each plot three key community‐weighted mean functional traits that are important for biomass stocks and productivity. We used structural equation models to test the hypothesis that all drivers have independent, positive effects on biomass stocks and dynamics.

Results

Of the relationships analysed, vegetation attributes were more frequently associated significantly with biomass stocks and dynamics than environmental conditions (in 67 vs. 33% of the relationships). High climatic water availability increased biomass growth and stocks, light disturbance increased biomass growth, and soil bases had no effect. Rarefied tree species richness had consistent positive relationships with biomass stocks and dynamics, probably because of niche complementarity, but was not related to net biomass productivity. Community‐mean traits were good predictors of biomass stocks and dynamics.

Main conclusions

Water availability has a strong positive effect on biomass stocks and growth, and a future predicted increase in (atmospheric) drought might, therefore, potentially reduce carbon storage. Forest attributes, including species diversity and community‐weighted mean traits, have independent and important relationships with AGB stocks, dynamics and ecosystem functioning, not only in relatively simple temperate systems, but also in structurally complex hyper‐diverse tropical forests.