Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Jessica F. Needham, Daniel J. Johnson, Kristina J. Anderson-Teixeira, Norman Bourg, Sarayudh Bunyavejchewin, Nathalie Butt, Min Cao, Dairon Cardenas, Chia-Hao Chang-Yang, Yu-Yun Chen, George Chuyong, Handanakere S. Dattaraja, Stuart J. Davies, Alvaro Duque, Corneille E. N. Ewango, Edwino S. Fernando, Rosie Fisher, Christine D. Fletcher, Robin Foster, Zhanqing Hao, Terese Hart, Chang-Fu Hsieh, Stephen P. Hubbell, Akira Itoh, David Kenfack, Charles D. Koven, Andrew J. Larson, James A. Lutz, William McShea, Jean-Remy Makana, Yadvinder Malhi, Toby Marthews, Mohizah Bt Mohamad, Michael D. Morecroft, Natalia Norden, Geoffrey Parker, Ankur Shringi, Raman Sukumar, Hebbalalu S. Suresh, I-Fang Sun, Sylvester Tan, Duncan W. Thomas, Jill Thompson, Maria Uriarte, Renato Valencia, Tze Leong Yao, Sandra L. Yap, Zuoqiang Yuan, Hu Yuehua, Jess K. Zimmerman, Daniel Zuleta, Sean M. McMahon
Summary: The growth and survival of individual trees have significant effects on the physical structure and function of forests. However, quantifying the multitude of demographic strategies within and across forests is a challenge due to the diversity of tree species and forest biomes. In this study, the demographic rates of 1961 tree species from temperate and tropical forests were quantified, showing wide variation in demographic diversity (DD) and demographic composition (DC) across forest plots. DC, specifically the relative abundance of large statured species, was found to predict both aboveground biomass and carbon residence time.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Forestry
Clemir Candeia de Oliveira, Fernando Roberto Martins, Bruno Cruz Souza, Everardo Valadares de Sa Barretto Sampaio, Maria Iracema Bezerra Loiola, Arlete Aparecida Soares
Summary: Understanding the recovery time of vegetation structure and species composition is important for the conservation of seasonally deciduous tropical forests, especially for the semi-arid Brazilian Caatinga. This study estimated that it takes more than 35 years for the forest to recover and return to a composition and structure similar to the original one. Therefore, management plans should restrict destructive uses before at least 35 years of regeneration have been reached.
Article
Plant Sciences
Benjamin Bukombe, Marijn Bauters, Pascal Boeckx, Landry Ntaboba Cizungu, Matthew Cooper, Peter Fiener, Laurent Kidinda Kidinda, Isaac Makelele, Daniel Iragi Muhindo, Boris Rewald, Kris Verheyen, Sebastian Doetterl
Summary: The lack of field-based data in the tropics hinders our understanding of the drivers of net primary productivity (NPP) and allocation. This study found that soil fertility parameters reflecting the local parent material are the main drivers of NPP and carbon (C) allocation patterns in tropical montane forests. Topography did not significantly affect C allocation and NPP. Soil organic C stocks were not related to C input in tropical forests, suggesting that plant C input exceeds the soil's capacity to stabilize C.
Article
Environmental Sciences
James E. Smith, Grant M. Domke, Christopher W. Woodall
Summary: Downed woody material (DWM) plays a crucial role in the forest carbon cycle, with diverse carbon drivers and high variability making it difficult to predict. New models developed using nationwide DWM inventory in the US have substantially improved predictions of DWM carbon density at stand level.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Hui Yang, Philippe Ciais, Jean-Pierre Wigneron
Summary: Accurate estimation of land carbon sink is crucial for climate projections and net-zero policies. This study evaluated the global vegetation biomass carbon dynamics from 2010 to 2019 by applying a strict filtering method to microwave satellite data. The results highlight the significant role of demography in driving forest carbon gains and losses.
Article
Forestry
Sadadi Ojoatre, Jos Barlow, Suzanne R. Jacobs, Mariana C. Rufino
Summary: This study evaluates the changes in a forest complex in Kenya and finds that within 20 years of disturbance, there is rapid recovery of aboveground biomass and carbon accumulation, and the species diversity remains high in these previously disturbed fragments.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2024)
Review
Ecology
Guillermo Banares-de-Dios, Manuel J. Macia, Gabriel Martins de Carvalho, Gabriel Arellano, Luis Cayuela
Summary: Environment plays a significant role in determining floristic composition in tropical forests, but the most important environmental factors and their relative effect across different spatial scales, plant life forms, or forest types are still unclear. Soil and climate variables both explain about the same proportion of the variation in plant species composition, with soils exerting a stronger influence at smaller scales and climate effect increasing at larger scales.
FRONTIERS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Alexander Koch, Wannes Hubau, Simon L. Lewis
Summary: Tropical forests have been a significant carbon sink in the past few decades, but recent research shows that this sink is saturated and declining in the long term. Climate models and statistical models provide different projections on the future carbon sink, with potential impacts of climate change on tropical forest ecosystems. The discrepancies between model projections and observational data highlight the importance of accurately representing vegetation mortality in future climate projections.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Aida Cuni-Sanchez, Martin J. P. Sullivan, Philip J. Platts, Simon L. Lewis, Rob Marchant, Gerard Imani, Wannes Hubau, Iveren Abiem, Hari Adhikari, Tomas Albrecht, Jan Altman, Christian Amani, Abreham B. Aneseyee, Valerio Avitabile, Lindsay Banin, Rodrigue Batumike, Marijn Bauters, Hans Beeckman, Serge K. Begne, Amy C. Bennett, Robert Bitariho, Pascal Boeckx, Jan Bogaert, Achim Braeuning, Franklin Bulonvu, Neil D. Burgess, Kim Calders, Colin Chapman, Hazel Chapman, James Comiskey, Thales de Haulleville, Mathieu Decuyper, Ben DeVries, Jiri Dolezal, Vincent Droissart, Corneille Ewango, Senbeta Feyera, Aster Gebrekirstos, Roy Gereau, Martin Gilpin, Dismas Hakizimana, Jefferson Hall, Alan Hamilton, Olivier Hardy, Terese Hart, Janne Heiskanen, Andreas Hemp, Martin Herold, Ulrike Hiltner, David Horak, Marie-Noel Kamdem, Charles Kayijamahe, David Kenfack, Mwangi J. Kinyanjui, Julia Klein, Janvier Lisingo, Jon Lovett, Mark Lung, Jean-Remy Makana, Yadvinder Malhi, Andrew Marshall, Emanuel H. Martin, Edward T. A. Mitchard, Alexandra Morel, John T. Mukendi, Tom Muller, Felix Nchu, Brigitte Nyirambangutse, Joseph Okello, Kelvin S. -H. Peh, Petri Pellikka, Oliver L. Phillips, Andrew Plumptre, Lan Qie, Francesco Rovero, Moses N. Sainge, Christine B. Schmitt, Ondrej Sedlacek, Alain S. K. Ngute, Douglas Sheil, Demisse Sheleme, Tibebu Y. Simegn, Murielle Simo-Droissart, Bonaventure Sonke, Teshome Soromessa, Terry Sunderland, Miroslav Svoboda, Hermann Taedoumg, James Taplin, David Taylor, Sean C. Thomas, Jonathan Timberlake, Darlington Tuagben, Peter Umunay, Eustrate Uzabaho, Hans Verbeeck, Jason Vleminckx, Goran Wallin, Charlotte Wheeler, Simon Willcock, John T. Woods, Etienne Zibera
Summary: The study reveals that the aboveground carbon stock of a montane African forest network is comparable to that of a lowland African forest network, and is two-thirds higher than default values for these montane forests. The research provides country-specific montane forest AGC stock estimates modeled from the plot network, aiming to guide forest conservation and reforestation interventions. The findings emphasize the need to conserve these biodiverse and carbon-rich ecosystems.
Article
Forestry
Zuoqiang Yuan, Arshad Ali, Anvar Sanaei, Paloma Ruiz-Benito, Tommaso Jucker, Lei Fang, Edith Bai, Ji Ye, Fei Lin, Shuai Fang, Zhanqing Hao, Xugao Wang
Summary: Large trees play a crucial role in shaping forest above-ground biomass dynamics, driving AGB stock and changes more effectively than species diversity and trait composition in temperate forests. Disturbed forests show higher AGB gain and lower AGB loss compared to old-growth forests, with the largest trees being consistently vital for explaining AGB stock, gain, and loss. Elevation-related topographic factors play a more direct role in determining forest AGB accumulation than soil nutrients, impacting the dominance of resource-conservative trees and influencing the presence of top 1% large trees.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2021)
Article
Forestry
Florian Oberleitner, Carola Egger, Sarah Oberdorfer, Stefan Dullinger, Wolfgang Wanek, Peter Hietz
Summary: Tropical secondary forests play a crucial role in carbon sequestration and biodiversity conservation, but their recovery rates vary widely and are influenced by various environmental factors. Aboveground biomass recovers quickly in the early stages of succession, while tree species richness increases at a slower pace. Recovery rates differ significantly among forests.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Siyu Liu, Martin Brandt, Thomas Nord-Larsen, Jerome Chave, Florian Reiner, Nico Lang, Xiaoye Tong, Philippe Ciais, Christian Igel, Adrian Pascual, Juan Guerra-Hernandez, Sizhuo Li, Maurice Mugabowindekwe, Sassan Saatchi, Yuemin Yue, Zhengchao Chen, Rasmus Fensholt
Summary: This study used nanosatellite imagery to create maps of above-ground biomass of trees in Europe and quantified the contribution of urban and agricultural trees to national carbon stocks. The results showed that although urban and agricultural trees only accounted for 2% of the total tree biomass, there were significant variations between countries, and urban trees made a substantial contribution to national carbon stocks.
Article
Forestry
Christoph Leuschner, Eike Feldmann, Viliam Pichler, Jonas Glatthorn, Dietrich Hertel
Summary: Forest soils are important reservoirs of carbon in the biosphere and play a key role in the global carbon cycle. This study compared primeval and managed forests in the western Carpathians and found that primeval forests have significantly higher soil organic carbon stocks, particularly in the subsoil. Availability of certain nutrients in the soil was found to have a negative effect on soil organic carbon stocks. This study highlights the importance of primeval forest as a reference for assessing forest management effects on carbon storage.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2022)
Review
Ecology
Lilian Mwihaki Mugi, Dora Kiss, James Gitundu Kairo, Mark Richard Huxham
Summary: This study conducted a systematic review of dead wood stocks and production in mangrove ecosystems. The findings showed that dead wood in mangroves plays a significant role in key ecological processes and the livelihood of local communities. However, research on mangrove dead wood is still limited, and further studies are needed to understand its dynamics and the ecological effects of its removal.
FRONTIERS IN FORESTS AND GLOBAL CHANGE
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Walter Huaraca Huasco, Terhi Riutta, Cecile A. J. Girardin, Fernando Hancco Pacha, Beisit L. Puma Vilca, Sam Moore, Sami W. Rifai, Jhon del Aguila-Pasquel, Alejandro Araujo Murakami, Renata Freitag, Alexandra C. Morel, Sheleme Demissie, Christopher E. Doughty, Imma Oliveras, Darcy F. Galiano Cabrera, Liliana Durand Baca, Filio Farfan Amezquita, Javier E. Silva Espejo, Antonio C. L. da Costa, Erick Oblitas Mendoza, Carlos Alberto Quesada, Fidele Evouna Ondo, Josue Edzang Ndong, Kathryn J. Jeffery, Vianet Mihindou, Lee J. T. White, Natacha N'ssi Bengone, Forzia Ibrahim, Shalom D. Addo-Danso, Akwasi Duah-Gyamfi, Gloria Djaney Djagbletey, Kennedy Owusu-Afriyie, Lucy Amissah, Armel T. Mbou, Toby R. Marthews, Daniel B. Metcalfe, Luiz E. O. Aragao, Ben H. Marimon-Junior, Beatriz S. Marimon, Noreen Majalap, Stephen Adu-Bredu, Katharine A. Abernethy, Miles Silman, Robert M. Ewers, Patrick Meir, Yadvinder Malhi
Summary: Fine roots are crucial for the net primary productivity (NPP) of forest ecosystems, with significant effects, but they are less studied compared to aboveground NPP, especially in tropical regions where methodologies are inconsistent. Results showed a positive linear relationship between fine root productivity and sand content in lowland forests, and a positive relationship with mean annual temperature in montane forests, indicating that environmental conditions are important predictors for root productivity.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Kristina J. Anderson-Teixeira, Valentine Herrmann, Christine R. Rollinson, Bianca Gonzalez, Erika B. Gonzalez-Akre, Neil Pederson, M. Ross Alexander, Craig D. Allen, Raquel Alfaro-Sanchez, Tala Awada, Jennifer L. Baltzer, Patrick J. Baker, Joseph D. Birch, Sarayudh Bunyavejchewin, Paolo Cherubini, Stuart J. Davies, Cameron Dow, Ryan Helcoski, Jakub Kaspar, James A. Lutz, Ellis Q. Margolis, Justin T. Maxwell, Sean M. McMahon, Camille Piponiot, Sabrina E. Russo, Pavel Samonil, Anastasia E. Sniderhan, Alan J. Tepley, Ivana Vasickova, Mart Vlam, Pieter A. Zuidema
Summary: The newly developed method can simultaneously model the effects of climate drivers, tree size (DBH), and calendar year on tree growth. The study shows that precipitation, temperature, DBH, and calendar year have additive or interactive effects on tree growth, with climate sensitivity often varying with tree size.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Ecology
P. Samonil, P. Danek, J. A. Lutz, K. J. Anderson-Teixeira, J. Jaros, J. D. Phillips, A. Rousova, D. Adam, A. J. Larson, J. Kaspar, D. Janik, I Vasickova, E. Gonzalez-Akre, M. Egli
Summary: Tree mortality has a fundamental impact on soils, affecting forest regeneration and dynamics. The study investigates the dynamics of soil volumes associated with tree mortality, analyzing the effects of tree death mode and tree species. The concept of ecosystem biogeomorphic succession is also examined.
Review
Plant Sciences
Nidhi Vinod, Martijn Slot, Ian R. McGregor, Elsa M. Ordway, Marielle N. Smith, Tyeen C. Taylor, Lawren Sack, Thomas N. Buckley, Kristina J. Anderson-Teixeira
Summary: Rising temperatures affect forests at different scales, with significant vertical variation across forest strata. This study evaluates the vertical variation in microclimate, leaf temperatures, traits, and gas exchange in forests, and discusses the implications for tree and ecosystem ecology. Integrating these patterns and mechanisms into models is critical for predicting forest-climate feedback as the climate continues to change.
Article
Ecology
Miguel Verdu, Jose L. Garrido, Julio M. Alcantara, Alicia Montesinos-Navarro, Salomon Aguilar, Marcelo A. Aizen, Ali A. Al-Namazi, Mohamed Alifriqui, David Allen, Kristina J. Anderson-Teixeira, Cristina Armas, Jesus M. Bastida, Tono Bellido, Giuliano Bonanomi, Gustavo B. Paterno, Herbert Briceno, Ricardo A. C. de Oliveira, Josefina G. Campoy, Ghassen Chaieb, Chengjin Chu, Sarah E. Collins, Richard Condit, Elena Constantinou, Cihan U. Degirmenci, Leo Delalandre, Milen Duarte, Michel Faife, Fatih Fazlioglu, Edwino S. Fernando, Joel Flores, Hilda Flores-Olvera, Ecaterina Fodor, Gislene Ganade, Maria Begona Garcia, Patricio Garcia-Fayos, Sabrina S. Gavini, Marta Goberna, Lorena Gomez-Aparicio, Enrique Gonzalez-Pendas, Ana Gonzalez-Robles, Stephen P. Hubbell, Kahraman Ipekdal, Maria J. Jorquera, Zaal Kikvidze, Pinar Kutkut, Alicia Ledo, Sandra Lendinez, Buhang Li, Hanlun Liu, Francisco Lloret, Ramiro P. Lopez, Alvaro Lopez-Garcia, Christopher J. Lortie, Gianalberto Losapio, James A. Lutz, Arantzazu L. Luzuriaga, Frantisek Malis, Esteban Manrique, Antonio J. Manzaneda, Vinicius Marcilio-Silva, Richard Michalet, Rafael Molina-Venegas, Jose Antonio Navarro-Cano, Vojtech Novotny, Jens M. Olesen, Juan P. Ortiz-Brunel, Maria Pajares-Murgo, Nikolas Parissis, Geoffrey Parker, Antonio J. Perea, Vidal Perez-Hernandez, Maria Angeles Perez-Navarro, Nuria Piston, Elisa Pizarro-Carbonell, Ivan Prieto, Jorge Prieto-Rubio, Francisco Pugnaire, Nelson Ramirez, Ruben Retuerto, Pedro J. Rey, Daniel A. Rodriguez Ginart, Mariana Rodriguez-Sanchez, Ricardo Sanchez-Martin, Christian Schob, Cagatay Tavsanoglu, Giorgi Tedoradze, Amanda Tercero-Araque, Katja Tielboerger, Blaise Touzard, Irem Tufekcioglu, Sevda Turkis, Francisco M. Usero, Nurbahar Usta, Alfonso Valiente-Banuet, Alexia Vargas-Colin, Ioannis Vogiatzakis, Regino Zamora
Summary: Plant recruitment interactions shape plant community composition, diversity, and structure. Modeling and analyzing the community-level structure of plant recruitment interactions as a complex network can provide relevant information on ecological and evolutionary processes. This data set includes 143 plant recruitment networks across five continents, providing valuable information for testing ecological, biogeographical, and evolutionary hypotheses related to plant recruitment interactions.
Article
Plant Sciences
Brett T. Wolfe, Matteo Detto, Yong-Jiang Zhang, Kristina J. Anderson-Teixeira, Tim Brodribb, Adam D. Collins, Chloe Crawford, L. Turin Dickman, Kim S. Ely, Jessica Francisco, Preston D. Gurry, Haigan Hancock, Christopher T. King, Adelodun R. Majekobaje, Christian J. Mallett, Nate G. McDowell, Zachary Mendheim, Sean T. Michaletz, Daniel B. Myers, Ty J. Price, Alistair Rogers, Lawren Sack, Shawn P. Serbin, Zafar Siddiq, David Willis, Jin Wu, Joseph Zailaa, S. Joseph Wright
Summary: The partitioning of hydraulic resistance along the soil-to-leaf continuum affects transpiration in vascular plants. In trees, the contribution of leaf hydraulic resistance to total soil-to-leaf hydraulic resistance is significant and declines with tree height. Assessing leaf hydraulic resistance using field-based measurements provides a more accurate understanding of its role in tree hydrodynamics.
PLANT CELL AND ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Loren P. Albert, K. C. Cushman, Yuqin Zong, David W. Allen, Luis Alonso, James R. Kellner
Summary: This study quantifies the impact of spectral stray light on the retrieval of solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) using a high-resolution imaging spectrometer. The findings show that spectral stray light can introduce positive or negative biases, ranging from less than +/- 1% to over 30% of SIF. The results have important implications for spectral stray light corrections in SIF remote sensing.
REMOTE SENSING OF ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Zikun Mao, Fons van Der Plas, Adriana Corrales, Kristina J. Anderson-Teixeira, Norman A. Bourg, Chengjin Chu, Zhanqing Hao, Guangze Jin, Juyu Lian, Fei Lin, Buhang Li, Wenqi Luo, William J. McShea, Jonathan A. Myers, Guochun Shen, Xihua Wang, En-Rong Yan, Ji Ye, Wanhui Ye, Zuoqiang Yuan, Xugao Wang
Summary: This study examines how mutualistic associations between trees and different mycorrhizal fungi (arbuscular mycorrhizal vs. ectomycorrhizal) modulate scale-dependent diversity-biomass relationships. The findings suggest that in soil-heterogeneous forests, arbuscular mycorrhizal tree species and ectomycorrhizal tree species respond differently to increasing soil fertility. Arbuscular mycorrhizal tree dominance contributes to higher tree diversity, while ectomycorrhizal tree dominance leads to greater standing biomass. The study highlights the negative effect of mycorrhizal associations on diversity-biomass relationships.
ECOLOGICAL MONOGRAPHS
(2023)
Editorial Material
Ecology
Peter H. H. Thrall, Jonathan Chase, John Drake, Nathalie Espuno, Stephane Hello, Vanessa Ezenwa, Barbara Han, Akira Mori, Helene Muller-Landau
Article
Environmental Sciences
K. C. Cushman, John Armston, Ralph Dubayah, Laura Duncanson, Steven Hancock, David Janik, Kamil Kral, Martin Krucek, David M. Minor, Hao Tang, James R. Kellner
Summary: In this study, the sensitivity of Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) data and aboveground biomass density (AGBD) predictions to leaf phenology was tested. The results suggest that, with consideration of model choice, GEDI data without considering leaf status can be used for AGBD prediction, which increases data availability and reduces sampling error in some forests.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Justin M. Mathias, Kenneth R. Smith, Kristin E. Lantz, Keanan T. Allen, Marvin J. Wright, Afsoon Sabet, Kristina J. Anderson-Teixeira, Richard B. Thomas
Summary: Trees regulate leaf physiology to acquire CO2 and reduce water loss, with the balance between these processes being crucial for understanding carbon uptake and transpiration. The impacts of climate, air pollution, and species variation on water use efficiency (WUE) are not well understood.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Geography, Physical
Calvin Ka Fai Lee, Guangqin Song, Helene C. Muller-Landau, Shengbiao Wu, S. Joseph Wright, K. C. Cushman, Raquel Fernandes Araujo, Stephanie Bohlman, Yingyi Zhao, Ziyu Lin, Zounachuan Sun, Peter Chuen Yan Cheng, Michael Kwok-Po Ng, Jin Wu
Summary: A method integrating deep learning algorithm with high resolution imagery from drone surveys was developed to accurately detect flowering species and track flowering timing in a tropical forest. The method demonstrated high accuracy in classifying flowers and showed potential in advancing fine-scale flower monitoring in the tropics.
ISPRS JOURNAL OF PHOTOGRAMMETRY AND REMOTE SENSING
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
K. C. Cushman, Sassan Saatchi, Ronald E. McRoberts, Kristina J. Anderson-Teixeira, Norman A. Bourg, Bruce Chapman, Sean M. McMahon, Christopher Mulverhill
Summary: Emerging satellite radar and lidar platforms can provide valuable information on aboveground biomass (AGB), but there is a need to estimate and propagate uncertainties in AGB maps due to the spatial resolution limitations. This study presents a workflow to estimate AGB uncertainty using lidar-based models and small field plots, and recommends measuring larger field plots for better calibration or validation of satellite-based map products.
Review
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Nate G. McDowell, Kristina Anderson-Teixeira, Joel A. Biederman, David D. Breshears, Yilin Fang, Laura Fernandez-de-Una, Emily B. Graham, D. Scott Mackay, Jeffrey J. McDonnell, Georgianne W. Moore, Magali F. Nehemy, Camille S. Stevens Rumann, James Stegen, Naomi Tague, Monica G. Turner, Xingyuan Chen
Summary: Terrestrial disturbances are causing disruptions to the hydrologic cycle through changes in vegetation-mediated water use and microclimate. This review synthesizes the literature on post-disturbance ecohydrological coupling, examining the relationship between vegetation and streamflow under changing disturbance regimes, atmospheric CO2, and climate. Disturbance can lead to decoupling between transpiration and streamflow by altering the connectivity, size, availability, and spatial distribution of their source pools. Successional trajectories and changing climate can further impact decoupling. A framework of testable hypotheses is proposed to better understand the processes regulating ecohydrological coupling and guide future research.
