Logging increases the functional and phylogenetic dispersion of understorey plant communities in tropical lowland rain forest

Döbert, Timm F.; Webber, Bruce L.; Sugau, John B.; Dickinson, Katharine J. M.; Didham, Raphaël K.

doi:10.1111/1365-2745.12794

Cited by 34 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 74 publications

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“…Phylogenetic clustering was also observed in other forests including rainforests on Borneo (Döbert, Webber, Didham, Sugau, & Dickinson, 2017;Webb, 2000) and Barro-Colorado Island (Cavender-Bares, Keen, & Miles, 2006), subtropical forests in Florida (Cavender-Bares, Ackerly, Baum, & Bazzaz, 2004), and dry forests in Mexico (Kembel, Hubbell, Sciences, & Biology, 2006). Furthermore, a study in African rainforest reports phylogenetic clustering of tree communities at multiple scales (Parmentier et al, 2014).…”

Section: Change Of Phylogenetic Community Structure Across Land Usementioning

confidence: 83%

Tropical rainforest conversion and land use intensification reduce understorey plant phylogenetic diversity

Kusuma

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Tjitrosoedirdjo³

et al. 2018

Journal of Applied Ecology

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Conversion of rainforest into agricultural land affects multiple facets of tropical plant diversity. While the effects of tropical land use change and intensification on species diversity are comparatively well studied, the effects on phylogenetic diversity (PD) and structure of plant communities are largely unknown. Furthermore, it is not clear how the loss of native species and addition of alien species collectively affect PD and structure. We investigated the PD and structure of understorey plants; a diverse and ecologically important, yet poorly studied group. We studied four prominent land use systems (tropical lowland rainforest, jungle rubber agroforest, rubber plantations, and oil palm plantations) in the lowlands of Sumatra (Indonesia), a region experiencing dramatic land use changes. Across the four systems, we investigated differences in four metrics of phylogenetic community structure (PD, mean pairwise distance, mean nearest taxon distance, and their abundance‐weighted variants). Our analyses were based on a comprehensive vegetation survey consisting of 32 plots, 1,197 species of vascular plants, and 146,599 plant individuals. Our results showed that forest conversion into agricultural systems leads to a pronounced loss of PD. Furthermore, the standardized effect size of mean pairwise distance indicated a gradual change from clustered to overdispersed phylogenetic community structure with increasing land use intensity from forest over jungle rubber to the monoculture plantations. In most land use systems, the presence or absence of alien plant species did not affect phylogenetic structure. Only in oil palm plantations, removing alien species from the data led to a more overdispersed structure. In conclusion, conserving the PD and structure requires efficient protection of the last remaining rainforests. Synthesis and applications. Forest conversion into agricultural areas negatively affects phylogenetic understorey plant diversity and leads to a shift from clustered to overdispersed phylogenetic community structure. These trends are partly driven by alien species particularly in oil palm plantations. Protecting the remaining rainforests and considering multispecies agroforestry systems in favour of intensive monoculture plantations are thus imperative to conserve phylogenetic plant diversity and community structure.

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Section: Change Of Phylogenetic Community Structure Across Land Usementioning

confidence: 83%

Tropical rainforest conversion and land use intensification reduce understorey plant phylogenetic diversity

Kusuma

Rembold

Tjitrosoedirdjo³

et al. 2018

Journal of Applied Ecology

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“…) and provides further evidence of the logging‐induced changes to understory plant community dynamics (Döbert et al . ). We demonstrate that logging of rain forest is associated with the invasion of exotic understory plant species and suggest that consideration should be given to whether low levels of invasion might have potentially negative influences on the long‐term quality of tropical rain forest.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Logging, exotic plant invasions, and native plant reassembly in a lowland tropical rain forest

et al. 2017

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Habitat modification and biological invasions are key drivers of global environmental change. However, the extent and impact of exotic plant invasions in modified tropical landscapes remain poorly understood. We examined whether logging drives exotic plant invasions and whether their combined influences alter understory plant community composition in lowland rain forests in Borneo. We tested the relationship between understory communities and local‐ and landscape‐scale logging intensity, using leaf area index (LAI) and aboveground biomass (AGB) data from 192 plots across a logging‐intensity gradient from primary to repeatedly logged forests. Overall, we found relatively low levels of exotic plant invasions, despite an intensive logging history. Exotic species were more speciose, had greater cover, and more biomass in sites with more local‐scale canopy loss. Surprisingly, though, exotic species invasion was not related to either landscape‐scale canopy loss or road configuration. Moreover, logging and invasion did not seem to be acting synergistically on native plant composition, except that seedlings of the canopy‐dominant Dipterocarpaceae family were less abundant in areas with higher exotic plant biomass. Current low levels of invasion, and limited association with native understory community change, suggest there is a window of opportunity to manage invasive impacts. We caution about potential lag effects and the possibly severe negative impacts of exotic plant invasions on the long‐term quality of tropical forest, particularly where agricultural plantations function as permanent seed sources for recurrent dispersal along logging roads. We therefore urge prioritization of strategic management plans to counter the growing threat of exotic plant invasions in modified tropical landscapes.

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“…leaf area and seed mass). Although significant phylogenetic signals have been shown for the traits of understorey plant species in tropical forests (Döbert, Webber, Sugau, Dickinson, & Didham, ), ecological traits associated with understorey forest taxa have also been shown to have weak phylogenetic conservatism due to the effects of local adaptation to microhabitats (Shigyo, Umeki, Ohashi, Kawada, & Hirao, ). In our study, trait phylogenetic signal for understorey communities at the lowest elevation was weaker than other elevational belts.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Forest community assembly is driven by different strata‐dependent mechanisms along an elevational gradient

Luo

Cadotte

Burgess

et al. 2019

Journal of Biogeography

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Aim The mechanisms driving forest community assembly along elevational gradients remain elusive. The distinct strata in heterogeneous forest are subject to differing assembly mechanisms. This study aims to evaluate how different ecological mechanisms driving forest community assembly across strata and spatial scales, and to identify how these assemblages respond to different abiotic or biotic variables along an elevational gradient. Location Yulong Mountain within Hengduan Mountains, Southwest China. Taxon Seed plants. Methods We sampled plant species along a 1,200 m elevational gradient across forest strata (trees, shrubs and herbs) at different spatial scales (neighbourhood and community). We integrated phylogenetic and functional diversity to disentangle the roles of ecological mechanisms in structuring community assembly. We also determined the relative effects of climatic, soil and biotic variables and their interactions on these community assemblages. Results The phylogenetic and functional diversity of trees were lower at the extremes of the elevational gradient, where they were constrained by water availability or temperature. While communities with higher species diversity exhibited an overdispersed structure at mid‐elevations. For shrubs, overdispersion was exhibited at high elevations despite low species richness, which could be consistent with facilitative interactions or competition exclusion. However, most communities of herbs appear to have a markedly random structure, despite some incongruence between phylogenetic divergence and functional convergence, as well as influences from overstorey trees and local light conditions. The relative effects of abiotic variables on community structure were larger at the community scale than at the neighbourhood scale. Main conclusions Our study emphasises the importance of considering phylogenies and traits in understanding the strata‐ and scale‐dependent mechanisms of forest community assembly. Collectively, results indicate that contrasting assembly mechanisms interact across different strata along elevational gradients to shape diverse forest communities.

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Logging increases the functional and phylogenetic dispersion of understorey plant communities in tropical lowland rain forest

Cited by 34 publications

References 74 publications

Tropical rainforest conversion and land use intensification reduce understorey plant phylogenetic diversity

Tropical rainforest conversion and land use intensification reduce understorey plant phylogenetic diversity

Logging, exotic plant invasions, and native plant reassembly in a lowland tropical rain forest

Forest community assembly is driven by different strata‐dependent mechanisms along an elevational gradient

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