Fire- and distance-dependent recruitment of the Brazil nut in the Peruvian Amazon

Porcher, Vincent; Thomas, Evert; Corvera-Gomringer, Ronald; Lozano, Ricardo Bardales

doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2018.05.052

Cited by 13 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

“…However, it is noteworthy that a strong bottleneck in the transition of Brazil nut seedlings to saplings was reported by Porcher et al. (2018), which is consistent with high selection in early‐age cohorts.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 68%

“…The significant scale of FSGS and loss of genetic diversity in degraded areas observed in this study are likely to affect the density, productivity and viability of the studied Brazil nut populations (Thomas et al, 2018). We found consistent evidence of inbreeding in seedlings, which signals the potential of strong selective pressures that undermine their survival and development and could be one explanation for previously reported bottlenecks in between early life stages (Porcher et al, 2018). However, areas with selective logging and partially degraded forests, at least at the levels we sampled, can still maintain genetic resources and preserve reproductive viability As further studies, we suggest exploring the relationship among genetic diversity, inbreeding, and fitness traits, e.g., seedling establishment and adult-tree productivity, of either natural (Hansson & Westerberg, 2002) or experimental individuals (Rodríguez-Quilón et al, 2015;Vranckx et al, 2014) across a gradient of forest degradation, and thus explore signs of inbreeding depression in studied populations (Grueber et al, 2008).…”

Section: Management Implications and Research Suggestionssupporting

confidence: 76%

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Genetic threats to the Forest Giants of the Amazon: Habitat degradation effects on the socio‐economically important Brazil nut tree (Bertholletia excelsa)

Chiriboga‐Arroyo

Jansen

Lozano

et al. 2020

Plants People Planet

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The Brazil nut is a highly valuable non‐timber forest product from a wild, hyperdominant, emergent tree species that is increasingly vulnerable and exposed to habitat degradation. We provide evidence for how Brazil nut genetic resources are negatively affected by forest degradation and discuss the consequences of this for reproductive success. To avoid negative effects of genetic erosion and inbreeding, we discuss the need to cease large‐scale forest conversion and to promote landscape connectivity. This could support gene flow, maintain genetic diversity across individuals reproducing in clustered patterns, and contribute to securing the long‐termed reproductive viability and resilience of this high socio‐economically and ecologically valuable species.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 68%

Section: Management Implications and Research Suggestionssupporting

confidence: 76%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Genetic threats to the Forest Giants of the Amazon: Habitat degradation effects on the socio‐economically important Brazil nut tree (Bertholletia excelsa)

Chiriboga‐Arroyo

Jansen

Lozano

et al. 2020

Plants People Planet

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“…These patterns are expected to significantly lower the accuracy and precision of area-based assessments of AGB and fruit production of Brazil nut when field plot sizes below 5 hectares are used, a pattern that could also apply to other hyperdominant tree species. Our findings suggest that ubiquitous patterns of negative DDD of tropical tree recruitment 61 , including Brazil nut 62 , might be paralleled by similar effects on seed production and AGB. A limitation of our dataset is that we worked with seed production estimates instead of actual measurements.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 60%

Fine-scale processes shape ecosystem service provision by an Amazonian hyperdominant tree species

Thomas

Atkinson

Kettle

2018

Sci Rep

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Conspecific distance and density-dependence is a key driver of tree diversity in natural forests, but the extent to which this process may influence ecosystem service provision is largely unknown. Drawing on a dataset of >135,000 trees from the Peruvian Amazon, we assessed its manifestation in biomass accumulation and seed production of Brazil nut (Bertholletia excelsa) which plays a keystone role in carbon sequestration and NTFP harvesting in Amazonia. For the first time, we find both negative and positive effects of conspecific proximity on seed production and above ground biomass at small and large nearest neighbour distances, respectively. Plausible explanations for negative effects at small distances are fine-scale genetic structuring and competition for shared resources, whereas positive effects at large distances are likely due to increasing pollen limitation and suboptimal growth conditions. Finally, findings suggest that most field plots in Amazonia used for estimating carbon storage are too small to account for distance and density-dependent effects and hence may be inadequate for measuring species-centric ecosystem services.

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“…Fire has been commonly used to manage vegetation in Amazonia since pre-Columbian times [26], and charcoal is abundant in forest soils of this region [41]. Brazil nut trees have high regeneration capacity after fire disturbances, provided that high light conditions are maintained [17], which makes it perfectly adapted to fallow agricultural practices [75, 76]. Severe windstorms that occur at decadal or centennial scales [20, 77], and impact several hectares almost instantly [78, 79], are a possible alternative explanation for the recruitment increase around 1820.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Growth rings of Brazil nut trees (Bertholletia excelsa) as a living record of historical human disturbance in Central Amazonia

et al. 2019

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The Brazil nut tree ( Bertholletia excelsa ) is an iconic and economically valuable species that dominates vast swathes of the Amazon Basin. This species seems to have been an important part of human subsistence strategies in the region from at least the Early Holocene, and its current distribution may be a legacy of past human settlement. Because B . excelsa is a long-lived pioneer tree it requires natural or human disturbances to increase light availability in the understory for a successful establishment. However, it remains unclear how the long-term population dynamics of this species have been shaped by pre-colonial and post-colonial human practices. Here, we use tree-ring analyses to look at changes in growing conditions over the past 400 years in a Brazil nut tree population in Central Amazonia. We identify changes in tree recruitment and growth rates associated not only with regional climatic variability, but also major political and socio-economic activities recorded by historical documents in the vicinity of Manaus. We demonstrate that the expansion of a post-colonial political center (Manaus) from the middle of the 18 th century onwards coincided with a reduction in recruitment of B . excelsa . We argue that this hiatus suggests the interruption of indigenous management practices, probably due to the collapse of pre-Columbian societies. A second recruitment pulse, and unprecedented cycles of growth release and suppression, aligns with a shift to modern exploitation of the forest into the 20 th century. Our findings shed light on how past histories of human-forest interactions can be revealed by the growth rings of trees in Amazonia. Future interdisciplinary analysis of these trees should enable more detailed investigation of how human forest management has changed in this part of the world, through pre-colonial, colonial, and industrial periods of human activity, with potential implications for conservation.

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Fire- and distance-dependent recruitment of the Brazil nut in the Peruvian Amazon

Cited by 13 publications

References 51 publications

Genetic threats to the Forest Giants of the Amazon: Habitat degradation effects on the socio‐economically important Brazil nut tree (Bertholletia excelsa)

Genetic threats to the Forest Giants of the Amazon: Habitat degradation effects on the socio‐economically important Brazil nut tree (Bertholletia excelsa)

Fine-scale processes shape ecosystem service provision by an Amazonian hyperdominant tree species

Growth rings of Brazil nut trees (Bertholletia excelsa) as a living record of historical human disturbance in Central Amazonia

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