Using field survey and remote sensing to assess rainforest canopy damage following Cyclone Larry

Abstract We surveyed canopy damage in upland and lowland rainforests following Cyclone Larry, which severely impacted the Innisfail and Atherton Tableland regions in March 2006. An existing damage‐classification was used as a basis for field assessment of rainforest canopy damage. Our field measurements showed that the damage categories were not clearly separated. Upland and lowland sites significantly differed in tree fall variables and measures of forest structure. There was a difference in recruitment of disturbance indicator species owing to varying levels of coarse woody debris at sites. Aspect was not found to be a significant variable in predicting damage owing to complexity of topography and the cyclone wind field. Analysis of remotely sensed imagery indicated that only high damage levels could be reliably discerned. Areas of very rapid vegetation growth in severely damaged sites are most easily detected with vegetation indices based on both near infrared and short wave infrared data. Numbers of fallen trees and their trunk orientations can be reliably quantified using high resolution (sub‐metre) colour aerial photography. This permits some estimation of whether the wind field was unidirectional or locally vortical.     

Divergent rainforest tree microbiomes between phases of the monsoon cycle,host plants and tissues

• The Australian Monsoon Tropics (AMT) contain some of the most biodiverse forests on the continent. Little is known about the dynamics of rainforest plant microbiomes in general, and there have been no community-level studies on Australian rainforest endophytes, their seasonality, tissue and host specificity.
• We tested whether community composition of tropical tree endophytes (fungi and bacteria) differs: (i) at different points during a monsoon cycle, (ii) between leaf and stem tissues, (iii) between forest microclimates (gully/ridge), and between (iv) host plant species, and (v) host plant clade, using amplicon sequencing of the bacterial 16S and fungal ITS2 gene regions.
• Results indicated that the composition of rainforest plant microbiomes differs between wet and dry seasons, which may be explained by physiological shifts in host plants due to annual climate fluctuations from mesic to xeric. Endophyte microbiomes differed between leaves and stems. Distinct fungal communities were associated with host species and clades, with some trees enriched in a number of fungal taxa compared to host plants in other clades. Diversity of bacterial endophytes in plant stems increased in the dry season.
• We conclude that the microbiomes of tropical plants are responsive to monsoonal climate variation, are highly compartmentalised between plant tissues, and may be partly shaped by the relatedness of their host plants.

     

Measurement of tree diversity in the Nigerian rainforest

The diversity of trees 5 cm in diameter and above at breast height was studied at five sites within the Nigerian rainforest. The sites were Gambari, Oban, Omo, Owan and Sapoba forest reserves. Diversity was measured in terms of similarity and heterogeneity and explored at beta and gamma levels. Over 315 species were encountered during the study. In terms of species richness, there are 80, 226, 163, 137 and 159 species in Gambari, Oban, Omo, Owan and Sapoba, respectively. The occurrence of the species showed that, while 26 species are common to all the sites, 62, 17, 15, 8 and 6 species are restricted to Oban, Omo, Sapoba, Gambari and Owan, respectively. Ordination by detrended correspondence analysis indicated gradients along the first two axes. The first axis reflecting rainfall gradient which decreases from Oban through to Sapoba, Owan and Gambari. The second axis showed a separation of Omo, and Owan and Sapoba. This suggests a gradient of soil parent materials, the former site is on the basement complex while the latter is on the cretaceous rock. It is suggested that each forest should be managed based on its particular characteristics, such as species composition and abundance. Thus, forests with high species diversity but fewer numbers of individuals, such as in Oban, should be earmarked for conservation while species-rich forests with relatively more economic species, as in Sapoba and Omo, should be managed for sustained timber production. Floristically poor forest, such as those in Gambari and Owan, should be converted to plantations of fast growing species but with care taken to avoid exposing such sites to soil erosion.     

Breeding systems in a montane tropical cloud forest in Venezuela

The breeding systems, reproductive efficacies and population densities of 75 species of trees, shrubs, perennial herbs and vines in a montane tropical cloud forest in Venezuela are investigated. 56.96% and 44.32% of the trees, versus the other life forms considered, respectively possess obligate outbreeding mechanisms. Two shrubs are non-pseudogamous apomicts. The percentage of dioecy among tree species (31%) is among the highest recorded in tropical forests. Reproductive efficacy is similar under all breeding systems in the forest interior. Obligately outbred taxa are slower recolonizers of a disturbed border as compared with non-obligate outbreeders. Explanations are advanced for the high incidence of dioecy combined with a low level of self-incompatibility among hermaphroditic species. It is concluded that the breeding system spectrum reflects an unpredictable pollination pattern, rather than insufficient pollinator servicing.     

Elevation gradients of lemur abundance emphasise the importance of Madagascar’s lowland rainforest for the conservation of endemic taxa

1. Elevation gradients correlate with changes in several environmental conditions and are known to be related to animal abundance. Animals in regions with a naturally limited extent of lowland rainforest are expected to have evolved adaptations to intermediate elevations that provided a stable environment during their evolution.
2. Since the lowland rainforest of Madagascar has a limited extent and suffers from increasing anthropogenic pressure, it is essential to understand how well species tolerate intermediate and high elevations. In this study, we aim to quantify the relationship between lemur abundance and elevation in the eastern rainforest of Madagascar.
3. We correlated abundance data on 26 lemur species (10 genera), including 492 records from 26 studies, with elevation. We analysed the consistency of correlations across species with a meta-analytical approach. We controlled for species’ body mass, elevational range and median elevation. We then ran generalised linear mixed models to determine whether lemur abundance was related to elevation, body mass, plant productivity and anthropogenic disturbance.
4. Overall, the abundance of lemur species in Malagasy rainforests was negatively correlated with elevation, and species occupying broader elevational ranges showed stronger correlations. Body mass was not related to species’ tolerance of high elevations. Even though several lemur species are able to occupy the entire elevation gradient, the few remaining patches of lowland rainforests host lemur species at greater abundances than other sites. Abundance across species was negatively related to body mass, elevation and seasonality in plant productivity and positively related to plant productivity.
5. Despite the ecological flexibility of many lemur species, the remnant patches of lowland rainforests host the highest levels of lemur abundance and are key to lemur conservation. It is crucial to preserve this priority habitat both for biodiversity conservation and for our understanding of lemur adaptations.

     

Zonation of forest vegetation and soils of Mount Cameroon,West Africa

Mount Cameroon is an active volcano in a wet part of West Africa. The forest vegetation and associated soils on its southern slopes were studied in 1989, 1991 and 1995 in coupled 0.25 ha plots at altitudes of 180, 600, 1,100, 1,800 and 2,180 m. All lianas and trees >10 cm dbh were enumerated and their structural features quantified. The forests were of large stature throughout. The strangling Schefflera species made a substantial contribution to the very high basal areas at 1,800 m. The associated soils were dominated by andisols derived from volcanic ash that showed a distinct increase with altitude in soil organic matter and total N attributed to lower temperatures. Soil pH, exchangeable K⁺, Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, effective cation-exchange capacity and percentage base saturation showed very marked increases explained by the influence of recent volcanic ashfalls. Available N and P showed less distinct trends with altitude. Although there is a large decrease in tree species richness with altitude, forest stand growth (as compared on a basal area basis) does not appear to be limited by soil fertility or temperature. The forest line (altitude treeline and extensive gaps below it) appear to be controlled by periodic volcanic activity, ashfalls and lava flows, which can destroy existing forest through soil burial and fire effects and inhibit regrowth on bare lava flows and deep deposits of volcanic ash.