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- Tree mortality rates appear to be increasing in moist tropical forests (MTFs) with significant carbon cycle consequences. Here, we review the state of knowledge regarding MTF tree mortality, create a conceptual framework with testable hypotheses regarding the drivers, mechanisms and interactions that may underlie increasing MTF mortality rates, and identify the next steps for improved understanding and reduced prediction. Increasing mortality rates are associated with rising temperature and vapor pressure deficit, liana abundance, drought, wind events, fire and, possibly,CO2 fertilization-i...AuthorsNate McDowell, Craig D. Allen, Kristina Anderson-Teixeira, Paulo Brando, Roel Brienen, Jeff Chambers, Brad Christoffersen, Stuart Davies, Chris Doughty, Alvaro Duque, Fernando Espirito-Santo, Rosie Fisher, Clarissa G. Fontes, David Galbraith, Devin Goodsman, Charlotte Grossiord, Henrik Hartmann, Jennifer Holm, Daniel J. Johnson, Abd Rahman Kassim, Michael Keller, Charlie Koven, Lara Kueppers, Tomo'omi Kumagai, Yadvinder Malhi, Sean M. McMahon, Maurizio Mencuccini, Patrick Meir, Paul Moorcroft, Helene C. Muller-Landau, Oliver L. Phillips, Thomas Powell, Carlos A. Sierra, John Sperry, Jeff Warren, Chonggang Xu, Xiangtao XuKeywordsSourceNew PhytologistYear2018
- Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi in the soil may influence tropical tree dynamics and forest succession. The mechanisms are poorly understood, because the functional characteristics and abundances of tree species and AM fungi are likely to be codependent. We used generalized joint attribute modeling to evaluate if AM fungi are associated with three forest community metrics for a sub-tropical montane forest in Puerto Rico. The metrics chosen to reflect changes during forest succession are the abundance of seedlings of different successional status, the amount of foliar damage on seedlings...AuthorsBenedicte Bachelot, María Uriarte, Robert Muscarella, Jimena Forero-Montaña, Jill Thompson, Krista McGuire, Jess Zimmerman, Nathan G. Swenson, James S. ClarkKeywordsSourceEcologyYear2018
- Secondary forests account for more than half of tropical forests and represent a growing carbon sink, but rates of biomass accumulation vary by a factor of two or more even among plots in the same landscape. To better understand the drivers of this variability, we used airborne lidar to measure forest canopy height and estimate biomass over 4529 ha at Serra do Conduru Park in Southern Bahia, Brazil. We measured trees in 30 georeferenced field plots (0.25-ha each) to estimate biomass using allometry. Then we estimated aboveground biomass density (ABD) across the lidar study area using a...AuthorsJustin M. Becknell, Michael Keller, Daniel Piotto, Marcos Longo, Maiza Nara dos-Santos, Marcos A. Scaranello, Rodrigo Bruno de Oliveira Cavalcante, Stephen PorderSourceBiotropicaYear2018
- Understanding migratory connectivity is fundamental to the ecology, evolution, and conservation of migratory species. The endangered Kirtland’s Warbler (Setophaga kirtlandii) has a restricted breeding range in early successional jack pine (Pinus banksiana) forests with most of the population in northern Michigan and smaller subpopulations in Wisconsin and Ontario. Kirtland’s Warblers spend the winter almost exclusively in the Bahamian Archipelago. Using a combination of visual searches and radiotelemetry, we relocated 89 Kirtland’s Warblers on the breeding grounds that were captured and...AuthorsNathan W. Cooper, David N. Ewert, Kimberly R. Hall, Sarah M. Rockwell, Dave Currie, Joseph M. Wunderle, Jr., Jennifer D. White, Peter P. MarraKeywordsSourceAvian Conservation and EcologyYear2018
- Large tropical trees store significant amounts of carbon in woody components and their distribution plays an important role in forest carbon stocks and dynamics. Here, we explore the properties of a new lidar-derived index, the large tree canopy area (LCA) defined as the area occupied by canopy above a reference height. We hypothesize that this simple measure of forest structure representing the crown area of large canopy trees could consistently explain the landscape variations in forest volume and aboveground biomass (AGB) across a range of climate and edaphic conditions. To test this...AuthorsVictoria Meyer, Sassan Saatchi, David B. Clark, Michael Keller, Grégoire Vincent, António Ferraz, Fernando Espírito-Santo, Marcus V N. Oliveira, Dahlia Kaki, Jérôme ChaveKeywordsSourceBiogeosciencesYear2018
- The BioTIME database contains raw data on species identities and abundances in ecological assemblages through time. These data enable users to calculate temporal trends in biodiversity within and amongst assemblages using a broad range of metrics. BioTIME is being developed as a community led open-source database of biodiversity time series. Our goal is to accelerate and facilitate quantitative analysis of temporal patterns of biodiversity in the anthropocene.Main types of variables included: The database contains 8 773 553 species abundance records, from assemblages consistently sampled...AuthorsMaria Dornelas, Laura H. Antao, Faye Moyes, Amanda E. Bates, William A. Gould, Don HenshawKeywordsSourceGlobal Ecology and BiogeographyYear2018
- Hurricanes Irma and Maria struck Puerto Rico on the 6th and 20th of September 2017, respectively. These two powerful Cat 5 hurricanes severely defoliated forest canopy and deposited massive amounts of litterfall in the forests across the island. We established a 1-ha research plot in each of four forests (Guánica State Forest, Río Abajo State Forest, Guayama Research Area and Luquillo Experiment Forest) before September 2016, and had collected one full year data of litterfall production prior to the arrival of Hurricanes Irma and Maria. Hurricane-induced litterfall was collected within one...AuthorsXianbin Liu, Xiucheng Zeng, Xiaoming Zou, Grizelle Gonzalez, Chao Wang, Si YangKeywordsSourceForestsYear2018
- Tropical forests are subject to seasonal hurricanes resulting in cycles of canopy opening and deposition of litter, followed by periods of recovery and canopy closure. Herein, we review two studies of litter-based communities in Puerto Rico; (i) a survey of bromeliad invertebrates in three montane forest types along an elevational gradient in 1993–1997, during a period of canopy recovery after two severe hurricanes, and the results compared with those from a resurvey in 2010, and (ii) a large scale canopy trimming experiment in the lower montane (Tabonuco) forest designed to simulate an...AuthorsBarbara Richardson, Michael Richardson, Grizelle GonzalezKeywordsSourceForestsYear2018
- Aim: Seasonally dry tropical forest (SDTF) of the Caribbean Islands (primarily West Indies) is floristically distinct from Neotropical SDTF in Central and South America. We evaluate whether tree species composition was associated with climatic gradients or geographical distance. Turnover (dissimilarity) in species composition of different islands or among more distant sites would suggest communities structured by speciation and dispersal limitations. A nested pattern would be consistent with a steep resource gradient. Correlation of species composition with climatic variation would suggest...AuthorsJanet Franklin, Riley Andrade, Mark L. Daniels, Patrick Fairbairn, Maria C. Fandino, Thomas W. Gillespie, Grizelle Gonzalez, Otto Gonzalez, Daniel Imbert, Valerie Kapos, Daniel L. Kelly, Humfredo Marcano-Vega, Elvia J. Meléndez-Ackerman, Kurt P. McLaren, Morag A. McDonald, Julie Ripplinger, Julissa Rojas-Sandoval, Michael S. Ross, Jorge Ruiz, David W. Steadman, Edmund V. J. Tanner, Inge Terrill, Michel VennetierKeywordsSourceJournal of BiogeographyYear2018
- El Yunque National Forest Atlas is a collaborative effort by the International Institute of Tropical Forestry and El Yunque National Forest to provide upto-date maps and analyses of spatial information of an important natural reserve in Puerto Rico and the only tropical forest in the National Forest System of the United States. El Yunque National Forest Atlas serves as a companion tool to the El Yunque National Forest 2014 Forest Plan Assessment Report, Phase One, under the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Forest Service 2012 Planning Rule. The assessment documents current ecological,...AuthorsMaya Quinones, Isabel K. Parés-Ramos, William A. Gould, Grizelle Gonzalez, Kathleen McGinley, Pedro RíosKeywordsSourceGeneral Technical ReportYear2018