Impacts of precipitation variability on the dynamics of a dry tropical montane forest

Hiltner, Ulrike; Bräuning, Achim; Gebrekirstos, Aster; Huth, Andreas; Fischer, Rico

doi:10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2015.09.021

Cited by 32 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 36 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…; Hiltner et al . ). The ‘dry tolerance’ hypothesis actually predict that tree taxa are nested along precipitation gradients, with a larger number of taxa (including many rare species) restricted to wet areas, and those tolerant to seasonal drought occurring along a wider portion of the precipitation gradient (Esquivel‐Muelbert et al .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Precipitation mediates the effect of human disturbance on the Brazilian Caatinga vegetation

et al. 2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

1. Seasonally dry tropical forests (SDTFs) are one of the most threatened forests world-wide. These species-rich forests not only cope with several acute (e.g. forest loss) and chronic (e.g. overgrazing and firewood extraction) human disturbances but also with climate change (e.g. longer and more severe droughts); yet, the isolated and combined effects of climate and acute and chronic human disturbances on SDTF vegetation are poorly known. 2. Given the environmental filter imposed by drought in SDTFs, the composition and structure of vegetation is expected to be strongly associated with annual precipitation, and thus the effects of human disturbances on vegetation may also depend on precipitation (i.e. interacting effect). 3. We tested these hypotheses in the Brazilian Caatingaa SDTF threatened by climate change and human disturbances. We evaluated the isolated and combined (both additive and multiplicative) effect of precipitation, a chronic disturbance index and acute disturbance (landscape forest cover) on the diversity, stem density, evenness, taxonomic composition and above-ground biomass of adult trees and shrubs across 19 0Á1-ha plots distributed along a disturbance and precipitation gradients. 4. We recorded 5541 stems from 129 species. Precipitation showed a stronger (positive) effect on species diversity than acute and chronic disturbances and, as expected, the effect of disturbance depended on precipitation (interacting effect): that is, species diversity (especially the number of rare species) was negatively related to forest loss but positively related to chronic disturbance in wetter sites, whereas in drier sites, species diversity was weakly related to forest cover, but strongly and negatively related to chronic disturbance. Contrary to species diversity, community evenness, stem density and biomass were weakly related to all predictors. 5. Synthesis. Precipitation appears to be a strong environmental filter determining the distribution of water-demanding plant species. Chronic disturbance in wetter (high-productive) forests may favour species diversity by increasing ecosystem heterogeneity (intermediate disturbance hypothesis). Yet, the biodiversity costs of chronic disturbance are higher in drier (low-productive) forests; that is, there is a co-limitation imposed by drought and disturbance in drier forests. Overall, our findings indicate that rapid climatic changes in the region will probably have strong negative effects on this seasonally dry tropical forest.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Precipitation mediates the effect of human disturbance on the Brazilian Caatinga vegetation

et al. 2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Generalized biomass equations have been used to estimate tropical forest carbon dynamics, and have played a significant role in improving data availability [18,19]. However, the accuracy of aboveground biomass (AGB) estimation still falls behind what is required, especially in SSA [20,21].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mixed-species allometric equations and estimation of aboveground biomass and carbon stocks in restoring degraded landscape in northern Ethiopia

Mokria

Mekuria

Gebrekirstos

et al. 2018

Environ. Res. Lett.

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Accurate biomass estimation is critical to quantify the changes in biomass and carbon stocks following the restoration of degraded landscapes. However, there is lack of site-specific allometric equations for the estimation of aboveground biomass (AGB), which consequently limits our understanding of the contributions of restoration efforts in mitigating climate change. This study was conducted in northwestern Ethiopia to develop a multi-species allometric equation and investigate the spatial and temporal variation of C-stocks following the restoration of degraded landscapes. We harvested and weighed 84 trees from eleven dominant species from six grazing exclosures and adjacent communal grazing land. We observed that AGB correlates significantly with diameter at stump height D 30 (R 2 = 0.78; P < 0.01), and tree height H (R 2 = 0.41, P < 0.05). Our best model, which includes D 30 and H as predictors explained 82% of the variations in AGB. This model produced the lowest bias with narrow ranges of errors across different diameter classes. Estimated C-stock showed a significant positive correlation with stem density (R 2 = 0.80, P < 0.01) and basal area (R 2 = 0.84, P < 0.01). At the watershed level, the mean C-stock was 3.8 (±0.5) Mg C ha −1 . Plot-level C-stocks varied between 0.1 and 13.7 Mg C ha −1 . Estimated C-stocks in three-and seven-year-old exclosures exceeded estimated C-stock in the communal grazing land by 50%. The species that contribute most to C-stocks were Leucaena sp. (28%), Calpurnia aurea (21%), Euclea racemosa (20.9%), and Dodonaea angustifolia (15.8%). The equations developed in this study allow monitoring changes in C-stocks and C-sequestration following the implementation of restoration practices in northern Ethiopia over space and time. The estimated C-stocks can be used as a reference against which future changes in C-stocks can be compared.

show abstract

“…Climate change impacts on mountain biodiversity and ecosystem services Climate change constitutes a potential threat to montane biodiversity (Taylor et al 2015). One of the main effects is the shift in distribution, biomass, and species richness in mountain ecosystems (Hiltner et al 2016;Ponce-Reyes et al 2017). In the Albertine Rift, a mountainous hotspot, containing more endemic vertebrates than anywhere else in Africa, the projected distribution of ecosystems under a changing climate by 2070 found that areas with suitable conditions for most ecosystems will contract rapidly in extent and shift up in altitude.…”

Section: Climate Change Impacts In African Mountainsmentioning

confidence: 99%

African Mountains in a Changing Climate: Trends, Impacts, and Adaptation Solutions

Nsengiyumva

2019

Mountain Research and Development

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Impacts of precipitation variability on the dynamics of a dry tropical montane forest

Cited by 32 publications

References 36 publications

Precipitation mediates the effect of human disturbance on the Brazilian Caatinga vegetation

Precipitation mediates the effect of human disturbance on the Brazilian Caatinga vegetation

Mixed-species allometric equations and estimation of aboveground biomass and carbon stocks in restoring degraded landscape in northern Ethiopia

African Mountains in a Changing Climate: Trends, Impacts, and Adaptation Solutions

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About