Vertical stratification reduces competition for light in dense tropical forests

Laurans, Marilyne; Hérault, Bruno; Vieilledent, Ghislain; Vincent, Grégoire

doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2014.05.059

Cited by 43 publications

(46 citation statements)

References 53 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…; Laurans et al. ); however, neither factor was investigated in the present methodological study. Nevertheless, our methodology succeeded in binding the two processes, and the selection method allowed keeping only the useful variables as the parameters in the final model.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 76%

A joint individual‐based model coupling growth and mortality reveals that tree vigor is a key component of tropical forest dynamics

Aubry‐Kientz

Rossi

Boreux

et al. 2015

Ecology and Evolution

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Tree vigor is often used as a covariate when tree mortality is predicted from tree growth in tropical forest dynamic models, but it is rarely explicitly accounted for in a coherent modeling framework. We quantify tree vigor at the individual tree level, based on the difference between expected and observed growth. The available methods to join nonlinear tree growth and mortality processes are not commonly used by forest ecologists so that we develop an inference methodology based on an MCMC approach, allowing us to sample the parameters of the growth and mortality model according to their posterior distribution using the joint model likelihood. We apply our framework to a set of data on the 20-year dynamics of a forest in Paracou, French Guiana, taking advantage of functional trait-based growth and mortality models already developed independently. Our results showed that growth and mortality are intimately linked and that the vigor estimator is an essential predictor of mortality, highlighting that trees growing more than expected have a far lower probability of dying. Our joint model methodology is sufficiently generic to be used to join two longitudinal and punctual linked processes and thus may be applied to a wide range of growth and mortality models. In the context of global changes, such joint models are urgently needed in tropical forests to analyze, and then predict, the effects of the ongoing changes on the tree dynamics in hyperdiverse tropical forests.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 76%

A joint individual‐based model coupling growth and mortality reveals that tree vigor is a key component of tropical forest dynamics

Aubry‐Kientz

Rossi

Boreux

et al. 2015

Ecology and Evolution

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…, Laurans et al . ) explain most variations in tree height. For instance, tropical trees surrounded by tall individuals reportedly grow faster and become more slender for a given height to access light, approaching their critical buckling height (King et al .…”

Section: Year Of Census Forest Type Pre‐logging Biomass Stocks Biomentioning

confidence: 99%

Tree Height Reduction After Selective Logging in a Tropical Forest

et al. 2016

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

By harvesting scattered large trees, selective logging increases light availability and thereby stimulates growth and crown expansion at early‐life stage among remnant trees. We assessed the effects of logging on total and merchantable bole (i.e., lowest branch at crown base) heights on 952 tropical canopy trees in French Guiana. We observed reductions in both total (mean, −2.3 m) and bole (mean, −2.0 m) heights more than a decade after selective logging. Depending on local logging intensity, height reductions resulted in 2–13 percent decreases in aboveground tree biomass and 3–17 percent decreases in bole volume. These results highlight the adverse effects of logging at both tree and stand levels. This decrease in height is a further threat to future provision of key environmental services, such as timber production and carbon sequestration.

show abstract

“…Recently, [17] showed that the response of wood production to anthropogenic climate change not only depends on the physiological responses of individual trees, but is also highly contingent on whether forests adjust in composition and structure. Indeed, some studies have shown that mortality results from interactions between climate and competition on an individual scale [18], but competition is hard to estimate [19,20] and is consequently seldom included in models of forest response to climate change.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vulnerability of Commercial Tree Species to Water Stress in Logged Forests of the Guiana Shield

Fargeon

Aubry‐Kientz

Brunaux

et al. 2016

Forests

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract:The future of tropical managed forests is threatened by climate change. In anticipation of the increase in the frequency of drought episodes predicted by climatic models for intertropical regions, it is essential to study commercial trees' resilience and vulnerability to water stress by identifying potential interaction effects between selective logging and stress due to a lack of water. Focusing on 14 species representing a potential or acknowledged commercial interest for wood production in the Guiana Shield, a joint model coupling growth and mortality for each species was parametrized, including a climatic variable related to water stress and the quantity of aboveground biomass lost after logging. For the vast majority of the species, water stress had a negative impact on growth rate, while the impact of logging was positive. The opposite results were observed for the mortality. Combining results from growth and mortality models, we generate vulnerability profiles and ranking from species apparently quite resistant to water stress (Chrysophyllum spp., Goupia glabra Aubl., Qualea rosea Aubl.), even under logging pressure, to highly vulnerable species (Sterculia spp.). In light of our results, forest managers in the Guiana Shield may want to conduct (i) a conservation strategy of the most vulnerable species and (ii) a diversification of the logged species. Conservation of the already-adapted species may also be considered as the most certain way to protect the tropical forests under future climates.

show abstract

Vertical stratification reduces competition for light in dense tropical forests

Cited by 43 publications

References 53 publications

A joint individual‐based model coupling growth and mortality reveals that tree vigor is a key component of tropical forest dynamics

A joint individual‐based model coupling growth and mortality reveals that tree vigor is a key component of tropical forest dynamics

Tree Height Reduction After Selective Logging in a Tropical Forest

Vulnerability of Commercial Tree Species to Water Stress in Logged Forests of the Guiana Shield

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About