Monodominance in tropical forests: modelling reveals emerging clusters and phase transitions

Kazmierczak, Martin; Backmann, Pia; Fedriani, José M.; Fischer, Rico; Hartmann, Alexander K.; Huth, Andreas; Müller, Michael; Taubert, Franziska; Grimm, Volker; Groeneveld, Jürgen

doi:10.1098/rsif.2016.0123

Cited by 13 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 64 publications

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“…Monodominance remains a topic of intensive research with controversial findings e.g. 15,16 . The term ‘classical monodominance’ was introduced by Peh 17 and is defined as the occurrence of monodominant forests with environmental conditions similar to those of adjacent mixed-forests.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Rarity of monodominance in hyperdiverse Amazonian forests

Steege

Henkel

Helal

et al. 2019

Sci Rep

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Tropical forests are known for their high diversity. Yet, forest patches do occur in the tropics where a single tree species is dominant. Such “monodominant” forests are known from all of the main tropical regions. For Amazonia, we sampled the occurrence of monodominance in a massive, basin-wide database of forest-inventory plots from the Amazon Tree Diversity Network (ATDN). Utilizing a simple defining metric of at least half of the trees ≥ 10 cm diameter belonging to one species, we found only a few occurrences of monodominance in Amazonia, and the phenomenon was not significantly linked to previously hypothesized life history traits such wood density, seed mass, ectomycorrhizal associations, or Rhizobium nodulation. In our analysis, coppicing (the formation of sprouts at the base of the tree or on roots) was the only trait significantly linked to monodominance. While at specific locales coppicing or ectomycorrhizal associations may confer a considerable advantage to a tree species and lead to its monodominance, very few species have these traits. Mining of the ATDN dataset suggests that monodominance is quite rare in Amazonia, and may be linked primarily to edaphic factors.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They suggested that monodominance is likely to emerge under a combination of mechanisms. Furthermore, the combination of traits and mechanisms leading to monodominance can differ between tree species and tropical areas 11,16,21,24 . Peh et al .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rarity of monodominance in hyperdiverse Amazonian forests

Steege

Henkel

Helal

et al. 2019

Sci Rep

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“…Computer simulations -including agent-based simulations -while being increasingly popular in ecology for some decades (Aikman and Watkinson 1980, DeAngelis et al 1980, Travis et al 2005, Xiao et al 2010, Kazmierczak et al 2016, remain curiously quite rare in island biogeography. In an exhaustive literature study, Leidinger and Cabral (2017) found that since 1992, only 28 studies have been published containing mechanistic simulation models and considering islands or archipelagos.…”

Section: Simulation Models In Island Biogeographymentioning

confidence: 99%

Plant diversity in Oceanic archipelagos: realistic patterns emulated by an agent‐based computer simulation

Jõks

Pärtel

2018

Ecography

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Although islands as natural laboratories have held the attention of scientists for centuries, they continue to offer new study questions, especially in the context of the current biodiversity crisis. To date, habitat diversity on islands and spatial configuration of archipelagos have received less attention than classical island area and isolation. Moreover, in the field where experiments are impossible, correlative methods have dominated, despite the call for more mechanistic approaches. We developed an agentbased computer simulation to study the effect of habitat diversity and archipelago configuration on plant species richness and composition in five archipelagos worldwide (Hawaii, Galapagos, Canary Islands, Cape Verde and Azores) and compared simulated diversity patterns to the empirical data. Habitat diversity proved to be an important factor to achieve realistic simulation results in all five archipelagos, whereas spatial structure of archipelagos was important in more elongated archipelagos. In most cases, simulation results correlate stronger with spermatophyte than with pteridophyte data, which we suggest can be attributed to the different dispersal and evolution rates of the two species groups. Correlation strength between simulated and observed diversity also varied among archipelagos, suggesting that geological and biogeographic histories of archipelagos have affected the species richness and composition on the islands. Our study demonstrates that a relatively simple computer simulation involving just a few essential processes can largely emulate patterns of archipelagic species richness and composition and serve as a powerful additional method to complement empirical approaches.

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“…These traits are all included in the FORMIND model, and may become more or less relevant for the survival of a PFT when certain conditions such as light levels are considered. Furthermore, for other forest communities, the loss of a disperser and consequent aggregation of seeds may actually lead to increased survival and even to the emergence of monodominant stands (Peh et al 2011, Kazmierczak et al 2016.…”

Section: What Is the Community Composition Of A Defaunated Forest?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Defaunation impacts on seed survival and its effect on the biomass of future tropical forests

Paula

Groeneveld

Fischer

et al. 2018

Oikos

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Large animal species, which provide important ecological functions such as dispersal of seeds or top–down control of seed predators, are very vulnerable in fragmented forests, being unable to survive in small fragments, and facing increasing hunting pressure. The loss of large animals affects two main ecological processes crucial for the tree reproductive cycle: seed dispersal of large seeds (e.g. provided by tapirs) and control of seed predator population (e.g. provided by large cats). The changes in both processes are expected to increase seed mortality since seeds are not dispersed away from conspecifics (causing increased pre‐dispersal mortality due to negative density dependent effects) and/or face increased predation after a dispersal event (post‐dispersal mortality). Although an extensive body of empirical knowledge exists on seed predation, the link between seed loss and adult tree community composition and structure is not well established, as well as the temporal scale seed changes affect adults. Using an individual‐based forest model (FORMIND), we evaluate the long‐term consequences of increased pre and post‐dispersal seed mortality on the future forest biomass retention of a Brazilian northeastern Atlantic forest. Our results show that forest biomass is significantly affected after 80–93% pre‐dispersal loss of large seeds, or post‐dispersal predation densities of 20–25 predators per parent tree. Large‐seeded tree species are at increased risk of local extinction causing up to 26.2% loss of forest biomass when both pre and post‐dispersal processes are combined. However, these changes can last up to 100 years after the occurrence of defaunation. In summary we conclude that large animal loss has the potential to reduce future forest biomass and tree species‐richness by impacting seed survival, and should be considered in the planning of biodiversity friendly landscapes as well as in calculations of the global carbon budget.

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Monodominance in tropical forests: modelling reveals emerging clusters and phase transitions

Cited by 13 publications

References 64 publications

Rarity of monodominance in hyperdiverse Amazonian forests

Rarity of monodominance in hyperdiverse Amazonian forests

Plant diversity in Oceanic archipelagos: realistic patterns emulated by an agent‐based computer simulation

Defaunation impacts on seed survival and its effect on the biomass of future tropical forests

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