Biogeochemical recuperation of lowland tropical forest during succession

Abstract

2019. Biogeochemical recuperation of lowland tropical forest during succession. Ecology 100(4):Abstract. High rates of land conversion and land use change have vastly increased the proportion of secondary forest in the lowland tropics relative to mature forest. As secondary forests recover following abandonment, nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) must be present in sufficient quantities to sustain high rates of net primary production and to replenish the nutrients lost during land use prior to secondary forest establishment. Biogeochemical theory and results from individual studies suggest that N can recuperate during secondary forest recovery, especially relative to P. Here, we synthesized 23 metrics of N and P in soil and plants from 45 secondary forest chronosequences located in the wet tropics to empirically explore (1) whether there is a consistent change in nutrients and nutrient cycling processes during secondary succession in the biome; (2) which metrics of N and P in soil and plants recuperate most consistently; (3) if the recuperation of nutrients during succession approaches similar nutrient concentrations and fluxes as those in mature forest in~100 yr following the initiation of succession; and (4) whether site characteristics, including disturbance history, climate, and soil order are significantly related to nutrient recuperation. During secondary forest succession, nine metrics of N and/or P cycling changed consistently and substantially. In most sites, N concentrations and fluxes in both plants and soil increased during secondary succession, and total P concentrations increased in surface soil. Changes in nutrient concentrations and nutrient cycling processes during secondary succession were similar whether mature forest was included or excluded from the analysis, indicating that nutrient recuperation in secondary forest leads to biogeochemical conditions that are similar to those of mature forest. Further, of the N and P metrics that recuperated, only soil total P and foliar d 15 N were strongly influenced by site characteristics like climate, soils, or disturbance history. Predictable nutrient recuperation across a diverse and productive ecosystem may support future forest growth and could provide a means to quantify successful restoration of ecosystem function in secondary tropical forest beyond biomass or species composition.

Afrotropical secondary forests exhibit fast diversity and functional recovery, but slow compositional and carbon recovery after shifting cultivation

“…Additionally, N rapidly recovers after disturbance in the Central Congo basin due to the active biological nitrogen fixation in the early successional stages (Bauters et al, 2016) and the deposition of high amounts of exogenous nitrogen in older forests (Bauters et al, 2018). Leaf phosphorus slightly increased from 5 years to 60 years and then decreased in OG, while canopy N:P initially decreased (5-12 years) before it increased again, suggesting increasing P limitation for the most advanced successional stages (Sullivan et al, 2019).…”

Biological nitrogen fixation by two Acacia species and associated root-nodule bacteria in a suburban Australian forest subjected to prescribed burning

“…Although prescribed burns are generally of low intensity (Huang et al 2013), the loss of N through volatilisation during the fire is (Guinto et al 2001;Reverchon et al 2012). Several studies have demonstrated the constraining nature of N in forest post-disturbance recovery (Davidson et al 2004;Amazonas et al 2011;Sullivan et al 2019) and the importance of N 2 -fixing species to relieve this N deficiency (West et al 2005). Batterman et al (2013) showed that BNF could overcome the N limitation created by the fast plant growth occurring during secondary succession, through a feedback mechanism between postdisturbance forest regrowth and BNF.…”

Consistency Analysis and Accuracy Assessment of Eight Global Forest Datasets over Myanmar

“…Forest is the dominant component of the earth's biogeochemical system, which provides critical refuge for terrestrial biodiversity [1,2]. Accurate and up-to-date forest cover information is considered an important parameter to help humans to protect, conserve, monitor, and sustainably manage forests and ensure their ecological functions [3].…”

“…To help end-users to select their specific forest datasets, this study aims to evaluate the accuracy, consistency, and discrepancies of eight forest datasets in Myanmar (i.e., Hansen2010, CCI-LC2015, FROM-GLC2015/2017, FROM-GLC10, GLC-FCS2015/2020, and GlobeLand30-2020). Specifically, (1) we provide accuracy assessment by comparison with sample points collected from multi-temporal high-resolution images on Google Earth (GE);…”