Atmospheric and soil drought risks combined shape community assembly of trees in a tropical dry forest

Méndez‐Toribio, Moisés; Ibarra‐Manríquez, Guillermo; Paz, Horacio; Lebrija‐Trejos, Edwin

doi:10.1111/1365-2745.13355

Cited by 25 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 62 publications

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“…As drought in mountainous areas intensifies (Buytaert et al., 2011; Tognetti, 2015; Williams et al., 2015), the chances of survival for both avoiders (plants cannot postpone dehydration indefinitely; Méndez‐Toribio et al, 2020; Ploughe et al., 2019) and escapers may be reduced (plants cannot regenerate if water availability does not return to pre‐drought levels; Sankaran, 2019). This could lead to the ‘worst‐case’ scenario proposed in our second hypothesis, where the loss of both CS‐ and CR‐species would result in functional homogenization, great loss of dominance and decreased productivity and evapotranspiration.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In an attempt to combine both schemes, Volaire (2018) proposed the existence of three primary plant eco‐physiological strategies: C‐avoider, S‐tolerant and R‐escaper (Figure 1A,B). In this unified approach, the resource‐conservative strategy of stress‐tolerant species confers a higher tolerance to dehydration (S‐tolerant), while the resource‐acquisitive strategy allows either C‐species to maximize their water capture during drought, leading to an avoidance response (C‐avoider), or R‐species to invest in seed production before the drought, thus resulting in an escape response (R‐escaper; Méndez‐Toribio, Ibarra‐Manríquez, Paz, & Lebrija‐Trejos, 2020; Volaire, 2018). Volaire (2018) then recognized that such eco‐physiological classification needed to be tested for a large number of species, as species may combine different strategies and/or may change their strategies, depending on the environmental conditions where they occur.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Three eco‐physiological strategies of response to drought maintain the form and function of a tropical montane grassland

et al. 2020

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Ecologists seek a general scheme to classify the diversity of plant responses to environmental factors into a few strategies (e.g. competitor—C, stress tolerant—S, ruderal—R), while plant physiologists seek a mechanistic scheme to explain such different responses (e.g. tolerance, escape, avoidance). So far, few attempts have been made to combine both perspectives into plant eco‐physiological strategies. Moreover, the relative contribution of different strategies to maintain both community structure and ecosystem functioning during drought has rarely been assessed. Thus, limiting our capacity to predict how extreme events caused by climate change will affect plant communities. Here, we present an integrated framework to identify plant eco‐physiological strategies and to estimate their contribution to community originality (diversity of trait combinations), dominance (species relative frequency) and ecosystem functioning (productivity and evapotranspiration). We applied this framework in a tropical montane grassland in Brazil (Campos de Altitude) and found three eco‐physiological strategies co‐occurring in this community (S‐tolerance/avoidance, CS‐escape/tolerance and CR‐escape/avoidance). While CS‐species contributed more to dominance and functionality, CR‐ and S‐species contributed more to originality. Therefore, all three strategies were important to support the grassland form and function. Synthesis. Plants exhibit different strategies, as well as different contributions to community and ecosystem attributes. We developed an integrated approach to both identify strategies and estimate their relative contribution. Thereby, as droughts intensify, we can better predict which plants are more likely to be lost and how their loss will impact the communities and ecosystem where they occur. This knowledge is necessary for specifying conservation priorities and for developing more efficient conservation practices.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Three eco‐physiological strategies of response to drought maintain the form and function of a tropical montane grassland

et al. 2020

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“…Thus, early in succession, growth of saplings into the large size class is likely low during the dry season, occurring mostly during the wet season. Previous studies in SDTF have shown that many early successional species have a fast or acquisitive strategy maximizing water transport, photosynthesis and biomass accumulation when water is available, while minimizing water loss and respiration costs—hence, also photosynthesis and growth—by closing their stomata or shedding their leaves during dry periods ( Méndez-Toribio et al, 2020 ; Subedi et al, 2019 ). In later stages, canopy closure and biomass accumulation may somewhat buffer the adverse effects of seasonal drought on plant growth, allowing recruitment and species gains of large plants—especially those with slow or conservative strategies—even during the dry season.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Alternatively, local site factors, such as con-specific density, the spatial distribution of neighboring plants or the identity of the dominant species may alter biotic interactions (e.g., competition, herbivory) and/or abiotic conditions (e.g., light and water availability) and thereby affect the demographic rates of small plants ( Granda, Escudero & Valladares, 2014 ; Mesquita et al, 2015 ; Espinosa et al, 2016 ; Ma et al, 2016 ), which may be particularly sensitive to such local factors. Recent studies show that interactions among multiple sources of environmental stress (climatic and soil variables) play a key role in plant species filtering—which may be expected to have a greater impact on small than on large plants—in dry forests ( Bagousse-Pinguet et al, 2017 ; Méndez-Toribio et al, 2020 ). Further studies are needed to elucidate the complexity of ecological factors and plant strategies that influence plant and species density as well as seasonal and successional size-dependent dynamics and demographic rates in SDTF.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seasonal and successional dynamics of size-dependent plant demographic rates in a tropical dry forest

Saenz-Pedroza

Feldman

Reyes‐García

et al. 2020

PeerJ

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Tropical forests are globally important for biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation but are being converted to other land uses. Conversion of seasonally dry tropical forests (SDTF) is particularly high while their protection is low. Secondary succession allows forests to recover their structure, diversity and composition after conversion and subsequent abandonment and is influenced by demographic rates of the constituent species. However, how these rates vary between seasons for different plant sizes at different successional stages in SDTF is not known. The effect of seasonal drought may be more severe early in succession, when temperature and radiation are high, while competition and density-dependent processes may be more important at later stages, when vegetation is tall and dense. Besides, the effects of seasonality and successional stage may vary with plant size. Large plants can better compete with small plants for limiting resources and may also have a greater capacity to withstand stress. We asked how size-dependent density, species density, recruitment and mortality varied between seasons and successional stages in a SDTF. We monitored a chronosequence in Yucatan, Mexico, over six years in three 0.1 ha plots in each of three successional stages: early (3–5 years-old), intermediate (18–20 years-old) and advanced (>50 years-old). Recruitment, mortality and species gain and loss rates were calculated from wet and dry season censuses separately for large (diameter > 5 cm) and small (1–5 cm in diameter) plants. We used linear mixed-effects models to assess the effects of successional stage, seasonality and their changes through time on demographic rates and on plant and species density. Seasonality affected demographic rates and density of large plants, which exhibited high wet-season recruitment and species gain rates at the early stage and high wet-season mortality at the intermediate stage, resulting in an increase in plant and species density early in succession followed by a subsequent stabilization. Small plant density decreased steadily after only 5 years of land abandonment, whereas species density increased with successional stage. A decline in species dominance may be responsible for these contrasting patterns. Seasonality, successional stage and their changes through time had a stronger influence on large plants, likely because of large among-plot variation of small plants. Notwithstanding the short duration of our study, our results suggest that climate-change driven decreases in rainy season precipitation may have an influence on successional dynamics in our study forest as strong as, or even stronger than, prolonged or severe droughts during the dry season.

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“…light and water availability) and thereby affect the demographic rates of small plants (Granda et al, 2014;Mesquita et al, 2015;Espinosa et al, 2016;Ma et al, 2016), which may be particularly sensitive to such local factors. Recent studies show that interactions among multiple sources of environmental stress (climatic and soil variables) play a key role in plant species filtering -which may be expected to have a greater impact on small than on large plants-in dry forests (Bagousse-Pinguet et al, 2017;Méndez-Toribio et al, 2020). Further studies are needed to elucidate the complexity of ecological factors and plant strategies that influence plant and species density as well as seasonal and successional size-dependent dynamics and demographic rates in SDTF.…”

Section: Manuscript To Be Reviewedmentioning

confidence: 99%

Peer Review #3 of "Seasonal and successional dynamics of size-dependent plant demographic rates in a tropical dry forest (v0.2)"

2020

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Tropical forests are globally important for biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation but are being converted to other land uses. Conversion of seasonally dry tropical forests (SDTF) is particularly high while their protection is low. Secondary succession allows forests to recover their structure, diversity and composition after conversion and is influenced by demographic rates of the constituent species. However, how these rates vary between seasons for different plant-sizes at different successional stages in SDTF is not known. The effect of seasonal drought may be more severe early in succession, when temperature and radiation are high, while competition and density-dependent processes may be more important at later stages, when vegetation is tall and dense. Besides, the effects of seasonality and successional stage may vary with plant size. Large plants can better compete with small plants for limiting resources and may also have a greater capacity to withstand stress. We asked how size-dependent density, species density, recruitment and mortality varied between seasons and successional stages in a SDTF. We monitored a chronosequence in Yucatan, Mexico, over six years in three 0.1 ha plots in each of three successional stages: early (3-5 years-old), intermediate (18-20 years-old) and advanced (> 50 years-old). Recruitment, mortality and species gain and loss rates were calculated from wet and dry season censuses separately for large (diameter > 5cm) and small (1-5cm in diameter) plants. We used linear mixed-effects models to assess the effects of successional stage, seasonality and their changes through time on demographic rates and on plant and species density. Seasonality affected demographic rates and density of large plants, which exhibited high wet-season recruitment and species gain rates at the early stage and high wetseason mortality at the intermediate stage, resulting in an increase in plant and species density early in succession followed by a subsequent stabilization. Small plant density decreased steadily after only 5 years of land abandonment, whereas species density increased with successional stage. A decline in species dominance may be responsible for these contrasting patterns. Seasonality, successional stage and their changes through time had a stronger influence on large plants, likely because of large among-plot variation for small plants. Notwithstanding the short duration of our study, our results suggest that climate-change driven decreases in rainy season precipitation may have an influence on successional dynamics in our study forest as strong as, or even stronger than, prolonged or severe droughts during the dry season.

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Atmospheric and soil drought risks combined shape community assembly of trees in a tropical dry forest

Abstract: 1. Predicting plant community assembly is challenging in part because the influence of environmental conditions via plant functional strategies and the relevance of mechanisms of community assembly change across habitats and these changes remain poorly studied.

Cited by 25 publications

References 62 publications

Three eco‐physiological strategies of response to drought maintain the form and function of a tropical montane grassland

Three eco‐physiological strategies of response to drought maintain the form and function of a tropical montane grassland

Seasonal and successional dynamics of size-dependent plant demographic rates in a tropical dry forest

Peer Review #3 of "Seasonal and successional dynamics of size-dependent plant demographic rates in a tropical dry forest (v0.2)"

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