Trade-offs in wood anatomical characteristics reflect different strategies used by trees to deal with water transport in response to variation in environmental conditions. To study vascular strategies for Bornean rainforest trees, we compared water transport-related anatomical characteristics in branch wood between the common tree species Vatica dulitensis (Dipterocarpaceae) from old-growth forest and the common pioneer tree species Macaranga gigantea (Euphorbiaceae) from selectively logged forest. We hypothesised that the vessel traits of the pioneer species would reflect the need to capture and transport resources to support its fast growth rate (resource-acquisitive strategy), while the species of the old-growth forest would display more conservative vessel traits (resource-conservative strategy). We found that M. gigantea had significantly greater vessel area, hydraulically weighted diameter, vessel area to number ratio, and potential hydraulic conductivity than V. dulitensis. These results suggest that vessel traits of the common old-growth species would ensure high hydraulic safety during occasional drought when soil moisture is limited, while the common species of selectively logged forest possesses an efficient water transport system but its vessels would confer lower hydraulic safety during drought conditions. These contrasting vascular strategies highlight the potential for divergent responses of species of Bornean forest trees to future climatic extremes.
Tropical forests are threatened by degradation and deforestation but the consequences for these ecosystems are poorly understood, particularly at the landscape scale. We present the most extensive ecosystem analysis to date of the impacts of logging and conversion of tropical forest to oil palm from a large-scale study in Borneo, synthesizing responses from 79 variables categorized into four hierarchical ecological 'levels': 1) structure and environment, 2) species traits, 3) biodiversity and 4) ecosystem functions. Variables at the lowest levels that were directly impacted by the physical processes of timber extraction, such as soil characteristics, were sensitive to even moderate amounts of logging, whereas biodiversity and ecosystem functions proved remarkably resilient to logging in many cases, but were more affected by conversion to oil palm plantation.
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