Microclimate and seeding predation as drivers of tree recruitment in human-disturbed oak forests

Functional responses of recently emerged seedlings of an endemic Mexican oak ( Quercus eduardii ) under climate change conditions

“…Seasonally dry forests originally covered more than 40 % of the American continent, but more than half of these ecosystems were converted in agricultural and grazing fields over the past four centuries (Vieira & Scariot 2006). Several of these fields are currently abandoned because of their low productivity and, although this could be perceived as an opportunity for the natural recovery of forested areas, tree seedling establishment in these habitats is constrained by elevated temperatures and low water availability (Badano et al 2015, González-Salvatierra et al 2013. Thus, forest recovery in abandoned fields could be even harder to achieve in the future because of the advance of climate change.…”

Predicted trajectories of tree community change in Amazonian rainforest fragments

“…At least over the first few decades after isolation, most of the impacts of forest fragmentation on tree communities are driven by edge effects (Olupot , Laurance et al , Benchimol and Peres ). Forest edges experience elevated wind turbulence (Somerville , Laurance and Curran ) and altered microclimate conditions (Camargo and Kapos , Chen et al , Didham and Lawton , Ewers and Banks‐Leite ) that are linked with increases in canopy dessication (Stevenson and Coxson , Briant et al ) and tree mortality (Chen et al , Brando et al , Badano et al , Hallinger et al ), and those mortality rates increase even more for sites that are close to multiple edges (Laurance et al ). High mortality rates open canopy gaps and create opportunities for seedlings and saplings to recruit into the population, so it is no surprise that recruitment rates are also higher near forest edges than deep inside forest interiors (Chen et al , Laurance et al , Bouroncle and Finegan ).…”

“…Nonetheless, there is a lot of interest in understanding what the forests of the future may look like. Undisturbed tropical forests may represent a sizeable sink of atmospheric carbon (Phillips et al 1998, Lewis et al 2009), but habitat degradation in canopy dessication (Stevenson andCoxson 2008, Briant et al 2010) and tree mortality (Chen et al 1992, Brando et al 2014, Badano et al 2015, Hallinger et al 2016, and those mortality rates increase even more for sites that are close to multiple edges (Laurance et al 2006b). High mortality rates open canopy gaps and create opportunities for seedlings and saplings to recruit into the population, so it is no surprise that recruitment rates are also higher near forest edges than deep inside forest interiors (Chen et al 1992, Laurance et al 2006a, Bouroncle and Finegan 2011.…”

Fencing is not enough to reinstate regeneration: Evidence from a large fruited canopy tree Beilschmiedia tawa

“…Dupouey et al, 2002;Hilderbrand et al, 2005;Cramer et al, 2007). The potential effects of a site's history show how important it is to develop context-specific management plans that reflect the particular circumstances of individual fragments (Hilderbrand et al, 2005;Badano et al, 2015).…”

“…Similarly, Badano et al (2015) identified physical stress and seedling predation as the main factors responsible for seedling mortality of Quercus laurina in Mexico and emphasised that factors were highly habitatdependent in their impact. Although we cannot be completely certain that the potted seedlings in our study died due to water stress, most showed evidence of water-stress during a prolonged drought period in 2013 (NIWA, 2014a).…”