Functional decay in tree community within tropical fragmented landscapes: Effects of landscape-scale forest cover

Fruit removal is a key component of the seed dispersal process with direct consequences for plant recruitment. Anthropogenic disturbances might affect removal rates by changing frugivore diversity and their behavior. Here, we investigated the effects of local forest structure and landscape context on fruit removal of two common pioneer species of Melastomataceae family, Clidemia capitellata and Henriettea succosa in 14 Atlantic forest sites. We evaluated local forest structure, measured as canopy openness and conspecific density, and the amount of forest cover at the landscape scale measured in 2000 m buffer radius. Our results showed that the landscape context was more important than local features to explain fruit removal. The percentage of fruits removed from both species sharply decreases with forest loss and increases again in highly deforested landscapes. We demonstrate changes in fruit removal due to forest loss and suggest that both Melastomataceae species rely on the absence of other plant species, and consequently, in a less competitive environment to increase fruit removal and seed dispersal. Abstract in Portuguese is available with online material.

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“…, Rocha‐Santos et al . ). Consequently, just a subset of the original community persists in modified landscapes (Clavel et al .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Forest amount, not structure, influences fruit removal of two pioneer species in Atlantic forest remnants

et al. 2019

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“…In addition, the habitat amount hypothesis was suggested more recently by Fahrig (2013), proposing that habitat amount within a landscape is more important than focal patch area and isolation. The amount of forest in the landscape has, indeed, also been found to be important for tree species richness, abundance and regeneration in forest patches Rocha-Santos et al, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Drivers of species richness and community integrity of small forest patches in an agricultural landscape

Takkis

Kull

Hallikma

et al. 2018

J Vegetation Science

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Questions Long‐term fragmentation and land use in Europe have created a landscape pattern where small forest patches are embedded among agricultural landscapes. These small forest patches can be one of the few habitats left to maintain the species richness and ecosystem functions within intensively managed agroecosystems. We ask, which factors determine vascular plant species richness, community composition and forest community integrity in small forest patches in an agricultural landscape? Location NE Estonia. Methods We combine island biogeographic theory (patch area and isolation) with the properties of the surrounding landscape and local environmental conditions within a patch to study the drivers of species richness and community integrity. Results Patch area together with local environmental factors (understorey light conditions and soil reaction) determined both species richness and community integrity. Total species richness and forest generalists were related to patch area alone, whereas forest specialists were additionally dependent on patch light conditions. Species richness of grassland specialists in the forest patches increased with the amount of natural habitat in the surrounding landscape, while the presence of synanthropic species was positively related to soil reaction. Forest community integrity was higher in larger, more shaded patches with low soil reaction, which together defined suitable conditions for forest communities and hindered the intrusion of species from other habitats. Conclusions Under a suitable set of conditions, encompassing both favourable landscape and local environmental conditions, even small forest patches can provide habitat for both forest and grassland communities in agricultural landscapes. Comprehensive approaches, considering species composition, environment and landscape conditions simultaneously, are needed for making reliable predictions of biodiversity patterns.

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“…Trabalhos focados em compreender padrões gerais de sucessão demonstraram, por exemplo, que esse trade-off pode ser diferente para florestas secundárias úmidas ) e secas , dependendo da disponibilidade de água climática* do sítio no início da sucessão. Esses trade-offs são essencialmente conduzidos pelo processo de filtragem ambiental, mas fatores antrópicos como fragmentação das paisagens (Fernando Magnago et al 2014, Rocha-Santos et al 2017, intensidade e histórico de uso do solo Legendre 2010, Yang et al 2017) também podem afetálos.…”

Section: Introdução Geralunclassified

“…A maioria dos trabalhos que usaram essa abordagem, até o momento, focaram no entendimento dos padrões sucessionais e *indica a quantidade cumulativa de água perdida para a atmosfera durante os meses em que evapotranspiração excede a precipitação (isto é, a soma da evapotranspiração menos precipitação ao longo da estação seca) . abordaram apenas os aspectos relacionados ao sítio, por exemplo, mudanças nas condições de luz e umidade , Swenson et al 2012) ou avaliaram padrões em florestas maduras , mas poucas pesquisas avaliaram como as modificações antrópicas afetam a composição funcional das florestas secundárias tropicais inseridas em paisagens fragmentadas , Rocha-Santos et al 2017, especialmente em relação à beta diversidade funcional ) e com uma abordagem envolvendo processos que operam em escalas temporais, locais e de paisagem.…”

Section: Introdução Geralunclassified

“…Esses processos antagônicos têm sido comprovados por diferentes trabalhos ao redor do mundo e têm demonstrado como a diversidade se comporta sob diferentes condições ambientais (Laurance et al 2006, Santos et al 2008, Lôbo et al 2011, Joly et al 2014, Brancalion et al 2016. Distúrbios antrópicos, por exemplo, podem levar à homogeneização biótica, promovendo a substituição de espécies especialistas por espécies generalistas (Clavel et al 2011, Solar et al 2015 ou reduzindo a abundância de espécies com caraterísticas específicas, como tolerância à sombra e sementes grandes (Laurance et al 2006, Santos et al 2008, Lôbo et al 2011, Joly et al 2014, Rocha-Santos et al 2017. A frequência e a intensidade dos distúrbios podem reduzir a diversidade dentro dos fragmentos, mas aumentar a divergência entre os fragmentos , Farah et al 2017 ou promover um aumento no próprio fragmento, pois segundo a hipótese dos "distúrbios intermediários", distúrbios recorrentes criam condições de desequilíbrio que reduzem a probabilidade de exclusão competitiva entre as espécies que coexistem, podendo assim aumentar a riqueza e a diversidade dos fragmentos degradados (Willig and Presley 2018).…”

Section: Introductionunclassified

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Ecologia funcional de florestas estacionais semideciduais em paisagens agrícolas da mata atlântica

Moreno¹

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FUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY OF SEMIDECIDUOUS SEASONAL FORESTS IN AGRICULTURAL LANDSCAPES OF THE ATLANTIC FOREST Large part of the secondary forests across the world is the result of the natural regeneration in abandoned agricultural areas located in landscapes highly human-modified. Knowledge about the functional composition of these forests is still scarce, and research contributing to this understanding results urgent since the functional traits may be important drivers of the forest ecological dynamics and therefore are important for the maintenance of biodiversity and ecosystem services the forest provides. In this context, we chose as a study case a watershed in the Atlantic Forest in Southeastern Brazil, with an agricultural matrix and patches of secondary forests regenerating under different environmental conditions, to answer the following two questions: 1) How temporal, local and landscape factors affect the functional composition of secondary forests regenerating in Eucalyptus plantations and abandoned pastures and (2) how taxonomic and functional diversity behave in forest types under different land-use histories (i.e. conserved remnant forest, degraded remnant forest, secondary forests regenerating in abandoned Eucalyptus plantations and secondary forests regenerating in abandoned pastures). In order to answer the two questions we used the mean value per species of primary data (leaf area, specific leaf area, leaf dry matter content and leaf thickness) and secondary data (wood density). We use mixed generalized models, the community weighted mean with species mean traits and three diversity indexes to answer the first question and dissimilarity tests to answer the second question. Overall, 59 plots were evaluated, including 43 secondary forests, 10 degraded remnant forests and 6 conserved remnant forest, where we registered totaling total of 6.089 individuals and 284 species. We conclude that: 1) leaf area, specific leaf area and functional richness of secondary forests is affected, at the same time and in different ways, by age, slope, soil clay content, basal area of Eucalyptus, average native forest cover , difference in surrounding native forest cover and proximity to sugarcane plantations; and 2) secondary forests tend to have higher functional and taxonomic richness than conserved forests, and within the forest types taxonomic beta diversity results higher than functional, with communities presenting, in general, different abundant species with similar functional traits. Our results demonstrate that secondary forests are affected by both natural and anthropogenic factors, which should be taken into account both in research aimed at understanding the drivers of natural regeneration and in projects that use this process as a strategy to conserve biodiversity and provide ecosystem services. In addition, we show that degraded remnants and secondary forests are important sources of biodiversity and therefore potential providers of ecosystem services.

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Functional decay in tree community within tropical fragmented landscapes: Effects of landscape-scale forest cover

Cited by 58 publications

References 89 publications

Forest amount, not structure, influences fruit removal of two pioneer species in Atlantic forest remnants

Forest amount, not structure, influences fruit removal of two pioneer species in Atlantic forest remnants

Drivers of species richness and community integrity of small forest patches in an agricultural landscape

Ecologia funcional de florestas estacionais semideciduais em paisagens agrícolas da mata atlântica

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